Thirty Years' WarThe Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle, famine, and disease, while some areas of what is now modern Germany experienced population declines of over 50%. Related conflicts include the Eighty Years' War, the War of the Mantuan Succession, the Franco-Spanish War, the Dutch-Portuguese War and the Portuguese Restoration War.
Free imperial cityIn the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (Freie Reichsstadt, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that had a certain amount of autonomy and was represented in the Imperial Diet. An imperial city held the status of Imperial immediacy, and as such, was subordinate only to the Holy Roman Emperor, as opposed to a territorial city or town (Landstadt) which was subordinate to a territorial prince - be it an ecclesiastical lord (prince-bishop, prince-abbot) or a secular prince (duke (Herzog), margrave, count (Graf), etc.
PraguePrague (prɑːɡ ; Praha ˈpraɦa; Prag, pʁaːk; Praga) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oceanic climate, with relatively warm summers and chilly winters. Prague is a political, cultural, and economic hub of central Europe, with a rich history and Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architectures. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and residence of several Holy Roman Emperors, most notably Charles IV (r.
RegensburgRegensburg is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the fourth-largest city in the State of Bavaria after Munich, Nuremberg and Augsburg. From its foundation as an imperial Roman river fort, the city has been the political, economic and cultural centre of the surrounding region; it is still known in the Romance languages as a cognate of its Latin name of "Ratisbona" (the version "Ratisbon" was long current in English).
AnsbachAnsbach (ˈænzbæk , ˈansbax; Anschba) is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the river Main. In 2020, its population was 41,681. Developed in the 8th century as a Benedictine monastery, it became the seat of the Hohenzollern family in 1331. In 1460, the Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach lived here. The city has a castle known as Margrafen–Schloss, built between 1704 and 1738.
RenaissanceThe Renaissance (UKrᵻˈneɪsəns , USˈrɛnəsɑːns ) is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas and achievements of classical antiquity. It occurred after the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages and was associated with great social change. In addition to the standard periodization, proponents of a "long Renaissance" may put its beginning in the 14th century and its end in the 17th century.
Nuremberg ralliesThe Nuremberg rallies (officially , meaning Reich Party Congress) refer to a series of celebratory events coordinated by the Nazi Party in Germany. The first Nazi Nuremberg rally took place in 1923. This rally was not particularly large or impactful; however, as the party grew in size, the rallies became more elaborate and featured larger crowds. They played a seminal role in Nazi propaganda events, conveying a unified and strong Germany under Nazi control.
FürthFürth (fʏʁt; East Franconian: Färdd; Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (Regierungsbezirk) of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only apart. Fürth is one of 23 "major centres" in Bavaria. Fürth, Nuremberg, Erlangen and some smaller towns form the "Middle Franconian Conurbation", which is one of the 11 German metropolitan regions. Fürth celebrated its thousand year anniversary in 2007, its first mention being on 1 November 1007.
BavariaBavaria (bəˈvɛəriə ; Bayern ˈbaɪɐn), officially the Free State of Bavaria (Freistaat Bayern ˈfʁaɪʃtaːt ˈbaɪɐn; Freistoot Bayern), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total land area of Germany. With over 13 million inhabitants, it is the second largest German state in terms of population only to North Rhine-Westphalia, but due to its large size its population density is below the German average.
Christmas marketA Christmas market, also known as Christkindlmarkt (literally: Christ Child Market, but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlimarkt, and Weihnachtsmarkt, is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. These markets originated in Germany, but are now held in many countries. Some in the U.S. have adapted the name to the quasi-German Christkindlmarket, substituting market for German Markt.