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Meissen

(Encyclopedia)Meissen mīsˈən [key], city (1994 pop. 33,075), Saxony, E central Germany, on the Elbe River. A porcelain manufacturing center since 1710, Meissen is famous for its delicate figurines (often called ...

Alfonso V, king of Aragón and Sicily

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso V (Alfonso the Magnanimous), 1396–1458, king of Aragón and Sicily (1416–58) and of Naples (1443–58), count of Barcelona. He was the son of Ferdinand I, whom he succeeded in Aragón and ...

Henry IV, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Henry IV, 1425–74, Spanish king of Castile and León (1454–74), son and successor of John II. His weakness opened the way to civil strife and anarchy. The Castilian nobles refused to recognize Hen...

Radom

(Encyclopedia)Radom räˈdôm [key], city (1993 est. pop. 230,500), Mazowieckie prov., SE Poland. It is a railway junction and an industrial center. The main products are textiles, glassware, chemicals, and process...

Żagań

(Encyclopedia)Żagań zhäˈgänyə [key], Ger. Sagan, town (1991 est. pop. 27,800), Lubuskie prov., W Poland, on the Bóbr River. It has lignite mines, textile mills, and glassmaking industries. Founded in the 12t...

Będzin

(Encyclopedia)Będzin bĕnˈtsĭn [key], town, Śląskie prov., SE Poland, on the Czarna Przemsza River, a ...

Hohenzollern, German princely family

(Encyclopedia)Hohenzollern hōˌən-tsôlˈərn [key], German princely family that ruled Brandenburg (1415–1918), Prussia (1525–1918), and Germany (1871–1918). Originating in S Germany and traceable to the 11...

Kłodzko

(Encyclopedia)Kłodzko klôtsˈkô [key], Ger. Glatz, town (1994 est. pop. 30,600), Dolnośląskie prov., SW Poland. It is a commercial center with lumber and textile mills, metalworks, and sugar refineries. Founde...

Białowieża

(Encyclopedia)Białowieża byälôvyĕˈzhä [key], Belarusian Bielavieskaja pušča, Pol. Puszcza Białowieska, Rus. Belovezhskaya Pushcha, large forest, c.450 sq mi (1,170 sq km), E Poland and W Belarus. The last...

Magna Carta

(Encyclopedia)Magna Carta or Magna Charta [Lat., = great charter], the most famous document of British constitutional history, issued by King John at Runnymede under compulsion from the barons and the church in...