Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Saarland zärˈlänt [key], state (1994 pop. 1,080,000), 991 sq mi (2,567 sq km), SW Germany; formerly called the Saar or the Saar Territory. Saarbrücken is the capital; other cities include Völklin...

(Encyclopedia) Swiss literature. The literature of Switzerland is written in German, French, Italian, and Romansh, with German predominating. The extensive literature in Romansh dialect (see Rhaeto-Romanic) is littl...

(Encyclopedia) Gdańsk dănˈsĭg [key], city (1993 est. pop. 466,700), capital of Pomorskie prov., N Poland, on a branch of the Vistula and on the Gulf of Gdańsk. One of the chief Polish ports on the Baltic Sea, i...

(Encyclopedia) Bavaria bəvârˈēə [key], Ger. Bayern, state, 27,239 sq mi (70,549 sq km), S Germany. Muni...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Luxembourg lŭkˈsəmbûrg, Ger. lo͝okˈsəmbo͝orkh [key], officially Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, grand duchy (2015 est. pop. 567,000), 998 sq mi (2,586 sq km), W Europe. Roughly triangular, i...

(Encyclopedia) Pius XI, 1857–1939, pope (1922–39), an Italian named Achille Ratti, b. Desio, near Milan; successor of Benedict XV. Pius's pontificate was marked by great diplomatic activity and by many importa...

(Encyclopedia) Grass, Günter günˈtər gräs [key], 1927–2015, German novelist, lyricist, artist, and playwright, b. Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland). Writing from his experience in the Hitler Youth, the German army...

(Encyclopedia) Mann, Thomas tōˈmäs män [key], 1875–1955, German novelist and essayist, the outstanding German novelist of the 20th cent., b. Lübeck; brother of Heinrich Mann. A writer of great intellectual br...

(Encyclopedia) church and state, the relationship between the religion or religions of a nation and the civil government of that nation, especially the relationship between the Christian church and various civil gov...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Slovakia slôˈvĕnskô [key], republic (2015 est. pop. 5,439,000), 18,917 sq mi (48,995 sq km), central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic in the west, by Austria in the southwest, b...