May

Digenis Akritas: Epic poetry, notably the "acritic songs", flourished during Middle Ages. Vassilios Digenis Akritas is from the heroes of border songs and protagonist of narrating work of 11th-12th centuries which is known as “Digenis�. The epic ballad of Digenis Akritas is a romantic epic set on the Eastern borders of the Byzantine Empire. Although Byzantine Greek in nature, the poem shows many Oriental influences. The Akritans were border warriors who defended the Eastern frontier of the Empire from invading bands of Arabs, Persians, Saracens and Turks.

There are two forms of the poem, written and oral. The oral version has been sung by Pontic musicians for centuries. The time period of the poem is approximately the 10th century but some researchers have concluded that the hero was a real person who was killed in battle in the 8th century. The written version of the poem was lost for centuries and discovered only about 150 years ago at Trabzon. Shortly afterwards other versions were discovered. The various versions are mostly between 3000 and 4700 lines. There is also a prose version written by Meletios Vlastos of Chios in 1632.

The poem has had a major influence among Pontic Greeks and parts of it are still sung at dances today along with modern songs. The poem is available in several versions in English from a number of University presses.

EOKA (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston) was a Greek Cypriot organization that fought for the end of British colonial rule on the Island, for self-determination and for union with Greece in the mid to late 1950s.

Evagoras Pallikaridis was an EOKA fighter during the 1955 - 1959 struggle against the British in Cyprus. Pallikaridis was born in Tsada, Paphos province on February 27, 1938, one of five children of Miltiades and Aphrodite Pallikaridis.

He studied at the Greek High School of Paphos where, at age 15, he took part in his school's boycott of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953. When the EOKA struggle for Enosis broke out, Pallikaridis took part in several anti-British demonstrations. In one of these, in November 1955, he was arrested but he was set free due to his youthfulness. He was captured on December 18, 1956 with a gun in his possession - a capital offense under measures enacted by the British to combat EOKA. At his trial Pallikaridis did not deny possession of the weapon. He said he did what he had to do as a Greek seeking his freedom. Despite his youth - he was only 18 at the time - he was sentenced to die for gun possession and on on March 14, 1957. He was the youngest to be hanged by the British. He was buried at the Imprisoned Tombs of the Central Jail of Nicosia.

Makarios III, Michael Christodoulou Mouskos (August 13, 1913 – August 3, 1977), was the archbishop and primate of the autocephalous Cypriot Orthodox Church (1950–1977) and first President of the Republic of Cyprus

Sports John Fragoudis came from Limassol and took part in four of the five Olympic shooting events in the first modern Olympics, in Greece, in 1896. He ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. He graduated from the military academy in 1885 in Greece, he was a captain of artillery and adjutant of King George I.

Carolina Pelendritou (the princess of the pool) was born on August 25th in 1986 in Limassol. She is a special and rare case of an athlete for Cyprus, since she has won so many international distinctions and has accomplished high performances in an admirable way despite the young of her age.

Carolina possesses certain natural aptitudes and skills, which differentiate her. She has managed to break many Cyprus records and her numerous world distinctions prove that she is an example of courage and strength. At the age of 9 she begins her training in swimming as a sport to which she was devoted. At her early age her sight began to reduce. This unfortunate event forced her to learn how to live with the difficulties attached to the problem. As a result, her spiritual strength was enhanced. She began her swimming career at Limassol Nautical club and at the age of ten, she joint the Cyprus Swimming Federation while she was placed 1st at the Pancyprian Competition.

Her major achievements have been the following: She has been awarded by 2 Gold and 1 Bronze metals in Paralympic Games. More specifically, in September 2004, in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Carolina receives her first gold medal in Swimming 100m Breaststroke SB13 women. In the Paralympic Summer Games in Beijing wins the gold medal in the Swimming 100m, Breaststroke SB12 women and the bronze medal in 200m Medley SM12 women.

Kyriakos Ioannou (Limassol, 26 July 1984) is a Cypriot athlete in the high jump. The personal record in the sport, which is a national record of Cyprus, is 2.35 meters. The success at the 11th World Athletics Championships held in Osaka of Japan in 2007. In this way equaled the best performance in the world in 2007 and won the Bronze medal. With the distinction of this gave Cyprus its first medal in history at the World Athletics Championships.

The success was repeated in a closed arena in March 2008, at the World Championships in Valencia. John jumped 2.30 m. on March 8 and won the third position and the bronze medal.

Marcos Baghdadis (born June 17, 1985, Limassol) is a Cypriot professional. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships. As of 5 May 2008, he is ranked No. 15 on the APT rankings. Marcos Baghdatis is the son of a Christian Lebanese father, Christos, who migrated to Cyprus and a Greek Cypriot mother.

During his tennis career he became the ITF World Junior Tennis Champion in 2003. Marcos Baghdadis entered the Australia Open and he still continues his successful career.

Classical Music Cyprien Katsaris, the French-Cypriot pianist and composer, was born on May 5th 1951, in Marseilles. He first began to play the piano at the age of four, in Cameroon where he spent his childhood. His first teacher was Marie-Gabrielle Louwerse.

A graduate of the Paris Conservatoire where he studied piano with Aline van Barentzen and Monique de la Bruchollerie (piano First Prize, 1969), as well as chamber music with René Leroy and Jean Hubeau (First Prize, 1970), he won in many competitions. He gave his first public concert in Paris, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées on 8 May 1966. His major international career includes performances with the world’s greatest orchestras. In addition to his activities as a soloist he founded the “Katsaris Piano Quintet”. This has received a very enthusiastic response from both the press and audiences in America, Europe and Japan.

In August 2008, he was invited to give two concerts on the occasion of the Beijing Olympic Games at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. Two famous film directors, Claude Chabrol and Oscar-winner François Reichenbach, have made films of Mr. Katsaris in live concert performances. Mr. Katsaris’ work has been honoured and recognized by the following awards: “Knight of Merit of Cameroon” (1977), “Artist of Unesco for Peace” (1997), “Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters” (France, 2000). He also received the “Vermeil Medal of the City of Paris” (2001).

Music Composers Manos LoĂŻzos was considered to be one of the most important Greek music composers of the 20th century. He was born on October 22, 1937 in the small village of Ayious Vavatsinias, in the district of Larnaca, Cyprus. His family then moved to Alexandria, Egypt in search of a better life. He moved to Athens at the age of 17 for university studies in pharmacology but soon gave up to concentrate on his musical career. He was a self-taught musician, with no formal musical arts training. His first recordings started in 1963 but he started gaining widespread popularity in 1967. He died on September 17, 1982. He was well known for his leftist political ideology and was an outspoken critic of the Greek military junta. 2007 was declared as the Manos Loizos year in Greece.

He composed many well-known Greek songs and has co-operated with various important composers, singers and lyricists like Mikis Theodorakis, Haris Alexiou, George Dalaras, Vasilis Papakonstantinou, Christos Leontis, Manolis Rassoulis, Giannis Kalatzis, Nazim Hikmet and many others. His best known co-operation was with his very personal friend, lyricist Lefteris Papadopoulos who wrote the lyrics of many of Loizos' most successful hits.

Some of Manos Loizos' most famous songs are: - Ola se thymizoun Lyrics: Manolis Rassoulis - Jamaica Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos - S' Akoloutho Lyrics: himself - To Akordeon Lyrics: Yannis Negrepontis- O Dromos Lyrics: Kostaς Mitropoulos - Che (dedicated to Che Guevara) Lyrics: himself- Ah Helidoni mu Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos - De tha xanagapiso Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos - Paporaki tou Burnova Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos - O Koutalianos Lyrics: Lefteris Papadopoulos Evdokia (Instrumental Zeibekiko) In 1985, a big concert dedicated to his memory took place in the Athens Olympic Stadium, attended by more than 50,000 people. Manos Loizos' songs and music remain popular until today among all ages of the Greek and Cypriot society.

Marios Tokas was born on June 8 1954 and died on April 27 2008. He was a great composer of traditional music. In 1974 invasion, he fought as a soldier against the Turkish invaders.The Greek Cypriot music composer and close friend of Costas Montis, put to music some of Costas Montis' poems about the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.

One of them, Pentadachtylos, has become the national anthem of Kyrenia, one of the towns that is under Turkish occupation in Cyprus since the 1974 Turkish invasion. In 2004, Tokas and his six-member orchestra gave a concert in Vienna. The concert was co-organised by the Greek Society of Austria and the Athens Sports Association Pantaklis.

George Theophanous, born in 9 January 1968, is a leading Cypriot-Greek composer, having sold more than million records and written more than within the Greek music industry in the 1990s and 2000s. Successful recording artists for whom he has written and produced for include: Nana Mouskouri, George Dalaras, Yiannis Parios, Marinella, Haris Alexiou, Alkistis Protopsalti, Katy Garbi, Natassa Theodoridou, Antonis Remos, Evridiki, Peggy Zina and Sakis Rouvas. His work has received a total of nine Arion Awards.

He has been a judge on the first season of the Greek “X-FACTOR” where he has been assigned the vocal groups category.

Singers Anna Vissi, born December 20, 1957, is a Cypriot-Greek singer, famous mainly in Greece and her home country Cyprus; with notable international success within Europe, the United States and elsewhere. Ιn 2005, she also enjoyed success in the US, claiming the number one position on the Billboard Dance Charts with "Call Me".

She started her musical career at the early age of six, by attending the Cyprus Conservatoire. Anna started collaboration with Mikis Theodorakis. Later, she worked together with Giorgos Hatzinasios, Doros Georgiadis and Nicos Karvelas, who used to be her husband. Besides writing most of her songs, Karvelas penned Greece’s first ever rock opera, Demons, for Anna Vissi.

Michael Hadzigiannis was born in Nicosia, Cyprus on 5 November 1979. He is a graduate of the Cyprus Music Academy (Royal College of London) with a degree in piano, guitar and music theory.

When he was 15, he participated in a song contest in Cyprus, "Afetiries" where he won the first prize. In 1995, he participated in the Cypriot National Final for the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the song "Filise Me", although he did not win. He started his career in Cyprus with three records that all went platinum. In May 1998 he represented Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest. He performed the song "Γένεσις" (Yenesis Genesis), a composition of his own and took the 11th position.

Upon Michalis Hatzigiannis in Athens, Greece, he collaborated with the composer Giorgos Hatzinasios and with poet and lyricist Michalis Bourboulis to create the CD single "Angigma Psychis" (Touch of soul) which was released in December 1998

by BMG Greece. The album contained songs to the ANT1 TV series bearing the same title, including the hit singles "Angigma Psychis" and "To Soma pou Zitas" (The body you seek). The album was certified platinum.

George Michael (Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou) was born on 25 of June in 1963. He is best known as George Michael. He has been the most played artist on British radio over the past two decades. He began his career by forming a called The Executive with his best friends Andrew Ridgeley, Paul Ridgeley, Andrew Leaver, and David Mortimer.

Arts Painting Adamantios Diamantis, a Cypriot painter and teacher (1900–1997).

From 1921 to 1923 he studied painting at the Royal College of Art in London, and in 1926 he returned to Cyprus, where he combined his painting with extensive art teaching at numerous schools. In it he depicts the architecture and colour of Cyprus, as well as its people and their relationships. Diamantis had a major influence on succeeding generations of Cypriot artists.

Telemachos Kanthos is considered as one of the “fathers” of Cypriot art and the chief painter of Cypriot landscape and rural life.

A painting by Michael Kkashialos

Cyprus Modern Art by George Skotinos

A painting by Lefteris Economou (teacher and painter)

Cyprus Modern Art by Rhea Athanassiades Bailey

Cinema Direction Michael Cacoyannis (born June 11, 1922) is a prominent Greek Cypriot filmmaker best-known for his 1964 film Zorba the Greek .

Much of his work is rooted in classical texts, especially those of the Greek tragedian Euripides. Cacoyannis has been nominated for an Academy Award 5 times, a record for any Greek artist. He received Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film nominations for Zorba the Greek, and two nominations in the Foreign Language Film category for Electra and Iphigenia.

Literature Modern literary figures from Cyprus include the poet and writer Costas Montis, poet Kyriakos Charalambides and the poet Michalis Pasardis.

Dimitris Lipertis and Vasilis Michaelides are folk poets who wrote poems mainly in the Cypriot-Greek dialect. The majority of the play Othello by William Shakespeare is set on the island of Cyprus.

Othello and Desdemona in Shakespeare’s Play “Othello”

Costas Montis (1914-2004), Nobel Prize nominee and Member of the Academy of Athens, was born in Cyprus. Poet, novelist, and playwright, he is considered one of the greatest Greek writers of the 20th century, and his works have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Russian, and other languages. In 1980 he was awarded the title of Poet Laureate by the World Academy of Arts and Culture. His website, http://www.costasmontis.com, contains not only information about his life and work, but also video clips with Costas Montis reciting his poems and audio clips of songs with lyrics by Costas Montis. He was a very prolific writer. Some of his works include his famous Letters to Mother, Moments, Closed Doors, a novel-chronicle of the 1955-1959 struggle of Cyprus to get rid of the British occupation on the island, Afentis Batistas, a historicalautobiographical novel, which won the first prize for novel by the National Society of Greek Writers of Cyprus.

Vasilis Michaelides is considered by many and often referred to as the national poet of Cyprus. He was born in Lefkoniko, a village in the Famagusta District of Cyprus, in 1849. His first contact with the arts came in the form of hagiography, in the archbishopric in Nicosia where he trained as an artist. In 1875 he moved to Naples, Italy for further training.

Michaelides wrote several poems in Katharevousa, Dhimotiki and the Cypriot Dialect. His first poetry collection was published in 1882. Arguably, his most famous work is "The 9th of July 1821" a poem in the Cypriot dialect detailing the events leading to the execution of the Greek Cypriot leadership, including Archbishop Kyprianos, by the Ottoman rulers of the time. The latter part of his life was plagued by alcoholism. He died on the 18th of December 1917. In 1978, his portrait was depicted on one of a series of stamps themed on Cypriot poets.

Research Panayiotis Michael Zavos or Panos Zavos is a Greek Cypriot reproductive biologist born in 1944, in Tricomo, Cyprus. He is also an American citizen and lives in Lexington, Kentucky.

Dr. Zavos is recognized worldwide as a leading researcher and a strong authority in the areas of male reproductive medicine and he is also recognized as an international authority on smoking and its effects on human reproductive performance.

Cloning: Panayiotis Michael Zavos has made contributions to the areas of human cloning and stem cell research. His publications have appeared in many peer-reviewed journals.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz – ein Universalgenie des 17. Jahrhunderts Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz wurde am 1.Juli 1646 in Leipzig als Sohn eines Juraprofessors und einer Professorentochter geboren. Er ist der Namensgeber unserer Schule.

Neben seinem Studium der Philosophie und Rechtswissenschaft beschäftigte sich Leibniz intensiv mit Mathematik, Logik und Physik.

Er war einer der klügsten Menschen seiner Zeit. Leibniz war Experte in Diplomatie, Theologie, Politik, Geschichte und Philologie. Leibniz hat eine Vielzahl von Zeitschriftenaufsätzen und Briefen (es waren mehr als 1100 Briefpartner aus 16 Ländern) hinterlassen.

Leibniz starb in Hannover am 14.November 1716, zuletzt vereinsamt und von einer langjährigen Krankheit gezeichnet.

Albert Einstein – Physiker mit Sinn für Humor Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) war der bekannteste deutsche Physiker, dessen Beiträge zur theoretischen Physik maßgeblich das physikalische Weltbild veränderten.

Am 21.Februar 1901 wurde er Schweizer Staatsbürger. 1940 leistete Einstein den Eid auf die amerikanische Verfassung und wurde somit auch Amerikaner. Er blieb es bis zu seinem Tod am 18.April 1955.

Einsteins Hauptwerk ist die Relativitätstheorie, die das Verständnis von Raum und Zeit revolutionierte.

Für seine Erklärung des Photoelektrischen Effekts (1905) wurde ihm 1921 der Nobelpreis für Physik verliehen.

Martin Luther – Reformator des kirchlichen Glaubens Martin Luther wurde am 10.November 1483 in Eisleben geboren. 1514 ist Luther Theologieprofessor an der Wittenberger Universität und Prediger in der Wittenberger Stadtkirche.

Die Praxis des Ablasskaufs, die die Beichte ersetzte, missfiel Luther zusehends. Luther leistete mit seiner Bibelübersetzung einen wichtigen Beitrag zum Entstehen der deutschen Schriftsprache. Seine 1517 veröffentlichten 95 Thesen führten zu einer Reformation in der römischkatholischen Kirche. Diese brachte letztendlich die Entwicklung des Protestantismus hervor.

Er starb am 18.Februar 1546 in seinem Geburtsort Eisleben.

Brüder Jakob und Wilhelm Grimm – Sammler deutscher Märchen Die Brüder Jakob (1785 – 1863) und Wilhelm Grimm (1786 – 1859) sind die bekanntesten Märchensammler und Sprachwissenschaftler in Deutschland.

Jedes Kind kennt die von ihnen zusammengetragenen Volksmärchen.

Hier einige Beispiele: Rotkäppchen, Aschenputtel, Frau Holle, Dornröschen, Der Wolf und die sieben Geißlein, König Drosselbart, Schneewittchen, Hans im Glück, Rumpelstilzchen, Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten , Rapunzel, Der Froschkönig.

Johann Sebastian Bach – Musikgenie des 18.Jahrghunderts Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) war ein deutscher Komponist, Orgel- und Klavierspieler des Barock.

Bach erlernte das Instrumentenspiel schon im Kindesalter bei seinem Vater. Im Alter von 17 Jahren galt sein Spiel auf Tasteninstrumenten als virtuos.

Johann Sebastian Bach wirkte als Musiker in Arnstadt und Mühlhausen, als Hoforganist in Weimar, als Kapellmeister in Köthen und Musikdirektor in Leipzig. Er komponierte bis auf die Oper alle damals gebräuchlichen musikalischen Werke.

Dirk Nowitzki – ein Sportler auf großem Fuß Dirk Nowitzki wurde am 19.Juni 1987 in Würzburg geboren. Er begann erst mit 13 Jahren in der Mannschaft seiner Schule Basketball zu spielen.

Seit 1999 spielt er erfolgreich in der amerikanischen Basketball Profiliga NBA bei den Dallas Mavericks.

Die Dirk Nowitzki Stiftung fördert Projekte, Initiativen und Vereine, die es Kindern und Jugendlichen ermöglichen, Sport zu treiben. Wichtiges Kriterium ist, dass diese Projekte auf breiter Basis die Kinder und Jugendlichen erreichen, die bisher nicht die Möglichkeiten hatten, sportlich aktiv zu sein.

Bedeutende deutsche Wissenschaftler

Carl Friedrich Gauß

Konrad Zuse

Carl Friedrich Benz

(1777 – 1855)

(1910 – 1995)

(1844 – 1929)

Bedeutende deutsche Künstler

Albrecht Dürer (1471 – 1528)

Heinrich und Thomas Mann (1871 – 1950, 1875 – 1955)

Theodor Fontane (1819 – 1898)

Bedeutende deutsche Sportler

Kati Wilhelm (geb. 1976)

Michael Ballack (geb. 1976)

Michael Schumacher (geb. 1969)

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz – an all round educated person of the 17th century

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was born on the 1 July 1646 in Leipzig. He is the eponym of our school.

He was a German philosopher and mathematician who wrote primarily in Latin and French. Leibniz was one of the most intellectual people at that time. He was an expert in theology, law, diplomacy, politics, history and physics. Leibniz's philosophical thinking appears fragmented, because his philosophical writings consist mainly of a multitude of short pieces: journal articles, manuscripts published long after his death, and many letters to many correspondents.

Leibniz never married. He was charming, well-mannered, and not without humour and imagination. He had many friends and admirers all over Europe. He died in 1716 in Hannover.

Albert Einstein – a physicist with a sense of humour Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist.

He is best known for his theory of relativity and specifically mass– energy equivalence. Einstein received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.

He gained Swiss citizenship on 21 February 1901. Einstein became a citizen of the United States in 1940 and remained there the rest of his life, although he retained his Swiss citizenship.

In 1915 Einstein had published his general theory of relativity in the form that is still used today. This theory explains gravitation as distortion of the structure of space-time by matter, affecting the inertial motion of other matter.

Martin Luther – reformer of the church Martin Luther (1483 – 1546) initiated Protestantism, one of the major movements within Christianity. He was a German monk, theologian, university professor, priest, and church reformer whose ideas started the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western civilization.

His reformation began with his 95 Theses in 1517 against the claims of indulgence preachers that one could avoid God's punishment for sins by purchasing indulgences. His translation of the Bible into the language of the people (instead of Latin) made it more accessible, causing a tremendous impact on the church and on German culture.

Brothers Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm – collector of German myth The brothers Jakob (1785 – 1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786 – 1859) are the most famous German collectors of fairytales and philologists.

Almost every German knows their stories and reads them again and again.

Here are some examples: Cinderella, Little Red Cap, The wolf and the seven little goats, Rapunzel, Hansel and Grethel, Snow-white, Rumpelstiltskin, Mother Hulda, The seven ravens, The Bremen town musicians, The fisherman and his wife, The frog king or Iron Henry, Snow-White and Rose-Red, The Wishing-Table, the Gold-Ass, and the Cudgel in the Sack.

Johann Sebastian Bach – musical genius of the 18th century Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) was a German composer, organand piano player in the time of the baroque.

His father taught him to play an instrument as a child. When he was 17 years old he was a virtuosi on his piano.

Later Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a musician and organist in Arnstadt and in Mühlhausen, as a bandmaster in Köthen. In Leipzig he was a music director. He composed all music genres despite operas.

Dirk Nowitzki – a sportsman with large feet Dirk Nowitzki is a famous German basketball player. He was born on 19th June, 1987 and started to play basketball at the age of 13 for his school team.

Since 1999 he has been playing in the American professional league NBA for the Dallas Mavericks.

The Dirk Nowitzki Stiftung supports projects, initiatives and associations that enable children to participate in sports. It is not about becoming the best - it is important that the projects are open for children who have not yet had the opportunity to participate.

Famous German scientists

Carl Friedrich Gauß (1777 – 1855)

Konrad Zuse (1910 – 1995)

Carl Friedrich Benz (1844 – 1929)

Famous German artists

Albrecht Dürer (1471 – 1528)

Heinrich and Thomas Mann (1871 – 1950, 1875 – 1955)

Theodor Fontane (1819 – 1898)

Famous German sportsmen

Kati Wilhelm (born in 1976)

Michael Ballack (born in 1976)

Michael Schumacher (born in 1969)

Many are the famous Italian heroes, in particular from the past . We will talk about who we think are well known all over the world .

Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in 1265 and died in 1321. He was poet, writer and stateman. In Italy he is known as the Father of the Italian language and The Supreme Poet ( il Sommo Poeta).

His masterpiece is The Divine Comedy. It is considered the central epic poem of Italian literature and seen as one of the greatest works of world literature.

The Divine Comedy is composed of over 14000 lines, that are divided into three canticas : Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. It is written in the first person, and tells of Dante's journey through the three realms of the dead. The Roman poet Virgil guides him through Hell and Purgatory, Beatrice, Dante's ideal woman, guides him through Heaven. The Divine Comedy can be described simply as an allegory.

The poem's imaginative and allegorical vision of the Christian afterlife is a culmination of the mediavel world view as it had developed in the westen church.

In the picture below Dante showing a copy of the Divine comedy next to the entrance to Hell.

A plan of the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory . A statue of Dante at the Uffizi in Florence.

On the right profil portait of Dante by S. Botticelli and below by Giotto.

Leonardo Da Vinci He was born in Tuscany in 1452 . He was the son of a notary and a peasant woman. He was a man of talent of the Italian Renaissance, a scientist, mathematician, painter, sculptor, architect, inventor, botanist, engineer, anatomist, lettered, musician and writer . He is considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived. He is renowned primarily as a painter .Two of his works The Mona Lisa and the Last Supper are the most famous.

Michelangelo Buonarrotti We name only the title of some of his works : the painting of Il Giudizio Universale, the two sculptures La PietĂ and Il David

Now something different Fratello Metallo: The 62 years old Capuchin missionary has become an international star. A Capuchin monk that plays heavy metal is not the kind of thing you see every day in a convent or on stage of a famous rock festival.

Frate Cesare Bonizzi is the real name of Fratello Metallo, that up to 18 was a worker, than worked as a salesman. He discovered the vocation at 29 when he decided to enter the convent.

Soon after he moved to Ivory Coast where he operated as a missionary. Back to Italy, in 1983 he was ordained priest and began his pastoral work, in particular among the tram drivers in Milan.

Here, Friar Cesare discovered another vocation : the music one. He began playing, composing songs and producing the first Cds. Frate Cesare lives at the convent of Musocco, near Milan. He uses new technology, his songs and music as a way to communicate the content and values of the Catholic religion. He has always had the blessing of his direct superior. Frate Cesare collects a wide range of fans, but also arouses a reaction of some critics.

The famous Great singer LUCIANO PAVAROTTI and less famous Andrea Bocelli

To finish with only some more names of our past and present heroes: Garibaldi l'eroe dei due Mondi, Mazzini e Cavour , Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti, F.Fellini, Rossellini , Benigni,Versace , Armani, Sofia Loren , G: Marconi, A.Volta, Rita Montalcini, Grazia Deledda, Foscolo, A.Manzoni, Petrarca, Bocaccio, A.Tomba, M.Frangili, G.Agnelli (Fiat) , Raffaello , Caravaggio, Botticelli, Le Tre Grazie di Raffaello e La Madonna col Bambino Garibaldi.

Valentino Rossi Valentino Rossi, was born in Urbino on 16 February 1979, he is considered one of the greatest motorcycle riders of all time, winning eight titles in the world competitions (one in Class 500 and four in MotoGp).

He is the only pilot in history to have won the world title in 4 different classes: 125 (1), 250 (1), 500 (1) and MotoGP (5), the class that since 2002 has replaced the 500 ( Rossi was the only winner to win all four World Cups since its inception), and to get the title for two consecutive years with two different teams (Honda and Yamaha) .

In 1995 he became Italian champion in Class 125, the following year debuted in World Championship and got his first victory in the Grand Prix of Czech Republic in Brno, after gaining his first pole position. In 1997 got his first world title, running with the Aprilia.

The following year he went to class 250. After an initial year of adaptation, in 1999, he obtained his first championship cup in this class .

The 2000 is the year of the transition to the first class, the 500. He signed a contract with Honda. In the new class, in which all drivers are "beginners",there were no problems for Valentino, who managed to establish himself since the first edition (2002) repeating the iridescent title the following year (2003).

Rossi has changed team several times but he has always won.

He is the youngest pilot to have ever won the Worldcup in all classes, and he is the first driver in history to have won the premier class title (before the 500 cc MotoGP now) with different builders in the first year.

Luca Di Tomaso 3E1

2009 metais sukaks tūkstantis metų, kai pirmą kartą buvo paminėtas Lietuvos vardas. Žmonijos praeitis skirstoma į priešistorinius ir istorinius laikus. Priešistoriniai laikai - tai ilgas raidos laikotarpis, apie kurį nėra jokių rašytinių žinių. Apie priešistorę sužinoma tik archeologinių tyrinėjimų, antropologijos, etnografijos bei kitų mokslų pagalba. Žinios apie istorinius laikus jau remiasi rašytiniais šaltiniais, kurių svarbiausi - metraščiai, analai, kronikos. Miestų ir kunigaikštysčių metraščiuose pasakojant apie vietinius įvykius dažnai buvo paminimi ir kaimynai.

Tokiu būdu, Kvedlinburgo (Quedlinburg) - Harco kalnų papėdėje esančio Vokietijos miesto metraščiuose (Annales Quedlinburgenses) pirmą kartą buvo paminėtas Lietuvos vardas.

Kiekvienos tautos istorija yra jos gyvavimo ir kūrybos, jos įsitvirtinimo, savęs supratimo ir realizavimo pasaulio raidoje istorija. Čia tauta reiškiasi kaip civilizacijos subjektas, o valstybingumas yra viena šios raiškos sąlygų. Pasaulio istorijos procesas Lietuvai nebuvo palankus. Atitolusi nuo Europos civilizacijos centrų, ji vėliau už savo kaimynus pasireiškė ryškėjančiame geopolitiniame Vidurio Europos regione.

Skirtingai nei kitos Baltijos šalys Latvija ir Estija, Lietuva viduramžiais buvo sukūrusi savo valstybę - Lietuvos Didžiąją Kunigaikštystę (Magnus Ducatus Lithuaniae). Manoma, kad Lietuvos valstybė pasaulio žemėlapyje atsirado 1253 m. liepos 6 dieną karūnavus suvienytos Lietuvos valdovą Mindaugą. Popiežiaus bule Lietuvos valstybei buvo suteiktas aukščiausias – karalystės – titulas. Tai reiškė, kad visa Vakarų Europa pripažino Lietuvą ir priėmė ją į savo šeimą kaip lygiateisę Vakarų Europos politinės sistemos narę.

LDK išsiplėtė toli į rytus, driekėsi nuo Baltijos iki Juodosios jūros, nuo XIV a. vidurio apėmė beveik visą dabartinę Lietuvą ir visą dabartinę Baltarusiją, nuo XIV a. II pusės dar ir didžiąją dabartinę Ukrainos dalį ir tapo reikšminga politine jėga Rytų ir Vidurio Europoje. Nors anais senais laikais visi kitataučiai buvo laikomi potencialiais priešais, LDK plėtros sėkmės priežastis buvo būtent tolerancija kitų tautų religijoms, vietos papročiams.

Kunigaikštis Gediminas susapnavo ant kalbo staugiantį vilką. Žynys sapną išaiškino – kunigaikštis turi pastatyti miestą. Gediminas pastatė Vilniaus miestą, kuris tapo Lietuvos sostine.

Pirmoji rašytinė konstitucija Europoje Lietuvos Statutai, sudarę senosios valstybės santvarkos teisinį pagrindą, liudija, kad Lietuva dar XVI a. tapo integralia Vidurio Europos dalimi. Dar aukščiau teisinė mintis pakilo XVIII a. pabaigoje, 1791 m. priėmus Gegužės 3-iosios konstituciją, kuri tapo antrąja pasaulyje (JAV 1787 m. konstitucija – pirmoji pasaulyje) ir pirmąja Europoje, aplenkusi Prancūzijos konstituciją. Su pastarąja ji tiesiogiai susijusi - pirmieji konstitucijos apmatai parašyti pagal 1789 m. priimtą Žmogaus ir piliečio teisių deklaraciją.

1918-1940-ieji - klestėjimo metai 1918 m. Lietuvos tarybai, laikinajai tautos atstovybei, pakako drąsos ir ryžto, ji pasirašė Lietuvos nepriklausomybės aktą, paskelbė „atstatanti nepriklausomą, demokratiniais pamatais sutvarkytą Lietuvos valstybę, su sostine Vilniuje ir tą valstybę atskirianti nuo visų valstybių ryšių, kurie yra buvę su kitomis tautomis“. Nepriklausomybę apgynusi kovose su lenkais ir bolševikais, Lietuva 1920 m. Steigiamajame Seime įtvirtino demokratinę parlamentinę santvarką. Pakilimo simboliu tapo lietuvių lakūnų Stepono Dariaus ir Stasio Girėno žygdarbis - 1933 m. jie vieni pirmųjų pasaulyje iš JAV perskrido Atlantą. Lietuvos Respublikos laikais įtvirtinta pilietinė visuomenė, kultūrinės vertybės ir ūkininkavimo principai Lietuvai padėjo ištverti Sovietų okupaciją, tapo Nepriklausomybės atkūrimo idėjiniu pagrindu.

1940 m. SSRS okupacija ir aneksija SSRS, pasinaudojusi palankiomis tarptautinėmis aplinkybėmis bei vykdydama užsienio politiką, nukreiptą prieš Lietuvos valstybingumą, 1940 m. okupavo Lietuvą.

Dainuojanti revoliucija Lietuvos nepriklausomybės siekis ir taikus antikomunistinis judėjimas sugriovė komunistinę SSRS. 1985 m. M. Gorbačiovo pradėta „perestrojka“ padarė didžiulę įtaką ir įvykiams Lietuvoje. 1988 m. vasarą Baltijos šalyse prasidėjo Atgimimas, vėliau pavadintas „dainuojančia revoliucija". 1988 m. birželio 3 d. susikūręs Lietuvos persitvarkymo sąjūdis pakvietė į šimtatūkstantinius mitingus, kurie nulėmė šių dienų Lietuvos istoriją. Siekdamas parodyti Maskvai antikomunistinio judėjimo masiškumą, 1989 m. rugpjūčio 23 d., Molotovo-Ribentropo pakto 50-ųjų metinių proga, Sąjūdis kartu su Estijos ir Latvijos liaudies frontais suorganizavo grandiozinę protesto akciją Baltijos kelias. 1990 m. vasario 24 d. Sąjūdis didele persvara laimėjo rinkimus į Lietuvos SSR Aukščiausiąją Tarybą. Vėliau pavadinta Atkuriamuoju Seimu, 1990 m. kovo 11-ąją ji paskelbė atkurianti Lietuvos Nepriklausomybę. Taip trečią kartą istorijoje Lietuva pradėjo savarankiško gyvenimo epochą.

Narystė ES ir NATO 2004 m. Lietuva prisijungusi prie NATO ir įstojusi į Europos sąjungą, grįžo į Europos šalių bendriją. Tapusi ES nare, Lietuva formaliai tapo šalimi - donore ir teikia pagalbą Baltarusijai, Ukrainai, Moldovai, Pietų Kaukazo valstybėms, Afganistanui, Irakui, o ES formatu vykdo ir daugiašalės pagalbos įsipareigojimus.

Europa atranda Lietuvą per kultūrą – lietuvių menininkai pelno vis didesnį pripažinimą užsienyje. Nors ne visuomet afišose, skelbiančiose apie užburiančio balso soprano, dieviškai grojančio violončelininko ar išskirtinio grakštumo balerinos koncertą yra minima Lietuva, vis tik tikimybė, kad Jūs apsilankėte atlikėjo iš Lietuvos koncerte, yra didelė ir būnant Niujorke, ir Londone, ir Berlyne, ir Vilniuje.

Dailininkas ir kompozitorius M.K.Čiurlionis

Čiurlionio vardas Lietuvoje ir Pasaulyje 1913 m. ekspedicijos po Arkties vandenyną dalyvis dailininkas N.Pineginas vieną plynaukštę Prano Juozapo Žemės salyne pavadino Čiurlionio kalnais, nes jų vaizdas iš jūros primena Čiurlionio paveikslą "Ramybė".

1925 m. gruodžio 13 d. Pauliaus Galaunės pastangomis Kaune buvo atidaryta Čiurlionio galerija. Be meno joje buvo ir etnografijos, istorijos bei priešistorės skyriai. 1936 m. galerija buvo perkelta į Kauno istorijos ir Čiurlionio dailės muziejų rūmus.

1936 m. lapkričio 1 d. Čiurlionio galerija buvo perkelta į Kauno istorijos ir Čiurlionio dailės muziejų rūmus.

Iki 1940 m. ji buvo vadinama Vytauto Didžiojo kultūros muziejumi, o dabar - Kauno valstybiniu M.K.Čiurlionio dailės muziejumi. Tik 1947 m. rugpjūčio 31 d. muziejus buvo atidarytas lankymui. Dabar jame saugoma ir populiarinama ne tik didžiausia Čiurlionio kūrybos kolekcija, bet ir lietuvių bei kitų tautų profesionalioji ir liaudies dailė.

1940-44 m. Vilniuje veikė Čiurlionio meno ansamblis, kurį sudarė apie 170 meno mėgėjų: choristų, kanklininkų, tautinių šokių šokėjų, liaudies dainų dainininkų, ir net literatų. Koncertuodamas Lietuvoje, ansamblis atliko lietuvių kompozitorių kūrinių ir liaudies šokių.

1945 m. buvo įkurta Vilniaus dešimtmetė muzikos mokykla. Atsiradus choreografijos ir dailės skyriams, ji buvo pervadinta (jau trečią kartą) į Čiurlionio meno mokyklą (dab. Čiurlionio menų gimnazija).

Mokyklos auklėtiniai dalyvauja tarptautinėse parodose ir konkursuose, vyksta į koncertines keliones.

1957 m. Čikagos lietuviai įkūrė Čiurlionio dailės galeriją, kurioje rengiamos lietuvių dailininkų parodos, kaupiami išeivijos dailininkų kūriniai.

1963 m. Druskininkuose, name, kuriame gyveno ir kūrė M.K.Čiurlionis, buvo atidarytas Čiurlionio memorialinis muziejus.

1964 m. Lietuvos alpinistai, vadovaujami Romualdo Augūno, pirmieji įkopė į 5794 m. aukščio Pamyro viršukalnę (Tadžikijos teritorijoje), dabar vadinamą Čiurlionio viršūne.

1965 m. buvo surengtas pirmasis jaunųjų muzikos atlikėjų Čiurlionio konkursas. Nuo tada jis rengiamas kas keletą metų. Konkurse dalyvauja jaunieji pianistai iš Lietuvos ir kaimyninių šalių. Atliekami Čiurlionio, muzikos klasikų ir kitų kompozitorių kūriniai.

1968 m. keturi LTSR konservatorijos studentai suformavo styginių kvartetą (du smuikai, altas ir violončelė), kuris 1977 m. buvo pavadintas Čiurlionio kvartetu. Jo repertuarą sudaro lietuvių ir užsienio kompozitorių kūriniai. Atlikdamas daugiau nei 3000 koncertų, kvartetas išvažinėjo Europą nuo Bulgarijos iki Islandijos, koncertavo net Kanadoje. 1990 m. pelnė Lietuvos nacionalinę premiją.

1975 m. Krymo astrofizikas Nikolajus Černychas atrado naują 8 km skersmens asteroidą, kurį pavadino Čiurlionio asteroidu. Šis vidutiniškai nutolęs nuo Saulės 384 mln. km ir apskrieja ją maždaug per keturis metus.

1975-76 m. Perlojoje (Varėnos raj.) stovyklavę 26 liaudies meistrai Čiurlionio šimtųjų gimimo metinių proga palei Varėnos-Druskininkų kelią pastatė 22 skulptūras ir stulpus, pavadintus "Čiurlionio keliu". Skulptūros ir stulpai papuošti Zodiako ženklais, etnografiniais motyvais, bokštais, varpais ir kitokia simbolika.

Pirmoji švietimo ministerija Europoje XVI a., Renesanso epochoje, Lietuvoje buvo sukurta visa švietimo sistema: pradinė mokykla (I pakopa), aukštesnioji mokykla (II pakopa), universitetas.

1773 m. sudaryta bendra Lietuvos ir Lenkijos valstybinė švietimo institucija - Edukacinė komisija - pirmoji švietimo ministerija Europoje. Ji sukūrė naują švietimo valdymo sistemą.

Lietuvos mokykloms vadovavo Vilniaus universitetas (nuo 1781 m. Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės vyriausioji mokykla).

Vilniaus Universitetas Krepšinis Arvydas Sabonis „Krepšinio karštinė“ Lietuvoje prasidėjo kai 1937 m. ir 1939 m. Lietuvos vyrų rinktinė laimėjo Europos vyrų krepšinio čempionatus. Ši sporto šaka išpopuliarėjo ir tarp moterų - 1938 m. Lietuvos moterų krepšinio rinktinė iškovojo Europos čempionato sidabro medalius.

Sovietiniais laikais krepšinis buvo vienas iš tautinės tapatybės kertinių akmenų. Kauno „Žalgirio“ kovos su Maskvos CASK krepšinio aikštelėse dėl SSRS čempionų titulo visada buvo daugiau nei krepšinis, nes komandų kova aikštelėje virsdavo Lietuvos kova prieš Sovietų Sąjungą. SSRS čempionų aukso medalius, įveikęs CASK, „Žalgiris“ iškovojo penkis kartus. Net septyni Lietuvos krepšininkai, atstovaudami SSRS rinktinei, yra tapę olimpiniais čempionais – Modestas Paulauskas, Angelė Rupšienė (dukart olimpinė čempionė), Vida Beselienė, Šarūnas Marčiulionis, Arvydas Sabonis, Valdemaras Chomičius, Rimas Kurtinaitis. Dar šeši lietuviai iškovojo olimpinius sidabro medalius, trys - bronzos.

Prieškario Lietuvos krepšinio pergalių tradicijos tęsiamos šiandien. Trejas olimpines žaidynes iš eilės – 1992 m., 1996 m. ir 2000 m. - Lietuvos vyrų krepšinio rinktinė džiugino sirgalius olimpiniais bronzos medaliais, o 2004 m. tik per žingsnį liko šalia garbės pakylos – ketvirta... 2003 m. mūsų krepšininkai po 64 metų pertraukos ir vėl tapo Europos čempionais, o 2007 m. Europos čempionate iškovojo bronzos medalius. Lietuvos moterų krepšinio rinktinė 1997 m. tapo Europos čempione.

Lietuvos krepšinio klubai Kauno „Žalgiris“ ir Vilniaus „Lietuvos rytas“ kaip lygūs su lygiais kovoja su stipriausiomis Europos krepšinio komandomis: 1999 m. Kauno „Žalgiris“ tapo Eurolygos čempionu, o Vilniaus „Lietuvos rytas“ 2005 m. iškovojo ULEB taurę.

2006 metų vasarą Lietuvoje vyko NBA krepšinio stovykla „Krepšinis be sienų. Europa‘2006“ („Basketball without borders“. Europe‘2006). Perspektyviausiems Europos valstybių vaikams, žaidžiantiems krepšinį, treniruotes Lietuvoje rengė NBA žaidėjai ir treneriai. Iš Europos valstybių Lietuva buvo pasirinkta neatsitiktinai – mūsų šalyje krepšinis – populiariausia sporto šaka – per 24 tūkst. sportuojančiųjų, iš kurių daugiau nei 10 tūkst. – mokiniai. Garsiausi Lietuvos krepšininkai, tokie kaip Arvydas Sabonis ar Šarūnas Marčiulionis, taip pat yra įsteigę savo vardo krepšinio mokyklas, kuriose noriai dalinasi savo meistriškumo paslaptimis ir žiniomis Dainų šventė

Savo dvasia prilygsta senosioms Graikijos olimpinėms žaidynėms Nenuginčijama tradicija tapusios Lietuvos dainų šventės išaukština žmogaus kūrybinę saviraišką, tautinės kultūros gyvybingumą, Tėvynės meilę ir solidarumą. Jos suburia skirtingas kartas, padeda ugdyti visuomenės grožio pradus ir moralines vertybes ir pratęsia vis atsinaujinantį kultūros vyksmą. Ši tradicija telkia meninei veiklai, buria į didžiulius šventinius renginius įvairių sričių mėgėjų meno kolektyvus, profesinės kultūros atstovus. Tai sukelia didžiulį visuomenės rezonansą. Lietuvos Dainų šventė yra nacionalinis visuotinio pobūdžio kultūros reiškinys ir nuolatinis kryptingas kūrybos procesas, savo dvasia prilygstantis senosioms Graikijos olimpinėms žaidynėms.

Dainų šventės tradicijos ištakos siekia XIX a.

Dainų ir šokių šventės tradicijos ištakos – XIX a. vidurio Vakarų Europoje. Čia nuo savaiminių liaudies švenčių su karnavalais, vaidinimais ir poetų turnyrais ilgainiui buvo pereita prie organizuoto pasirengimo šventėms. Kaip šventės pagrindas iškeliamas jungtinio choro, kuriam pritaria pučiamųjų orkestras, pasirodymas. Šveicarijoje ir Vokietijoje atsirado dainininkų šventės, kuriose dainuodavo aukšto meistriškumo choristai.

Pirmoji Europos dainų šventė buvo surengta 1843 m. birželio 15 d. Ciuricho miesto aikštėje. Joje dalyvavo 80 chorų. Po poros metų toks pat renginys įvyko Vokietijoje, Viurcburgo mieste. Chorai būrėsi į draugijas ir sąjungas, masiškai buvo muzikuojama ir mokyklose. Tačiau pamažu dainų šventimo tradicija šiuose kraštuose išblėso. Dainavimo judėjimas, per Baltijos vokiečius atkeliavęs į Baltijos šalis, pirmiausia į Estiją ir Latviją, šiuose kraštuose prigijo ir įsitvirtino ilgam, iki pat šių dienų. Kad dainų ir šokių šventė Baltijos šalyse nebuvo trumpalaikė mada, o tapo nuolatine ir vietinėms tautoms labai reikšminga tradicija, lėmė keletas palankių ir šiame regione nekintančių aplinkybių: nacionalinio romantizmo nuostatų gajumas ir iš to išplaukiantis etninės kultūros sureikšminimas, politinės Baltijos tautų nepriklausomybės trapumas. Žmonijos žodinio ir nematerialaus kultūros paveldo šedevras 2003 m. lapkričio 7 d. UNESCO pripažino Estijos, Latvijos ir Lietuvos dainų ir šokių švenčių tradiciją ir simboliką Žmonijos žodinio ir nematerialaus kultūros paveldo šedevru.

Dainų ir šokių šventės tradicija Lietuvoje gyvuoja 86 metus, skaičiuojant nuo 1924 metų, kai buvo surengta pirmoji Dainų diena. Nuo pirmosios Dainų dienos iki šių metų yra surengta 17 dainų švenčių. Laikui bėgant dainų ir šokių šventės tradicija Lietuvos kultūroje labai įsitvirtino ir išsiplėtojo: nuo vienos dienos renginio, kuriame dainavo tik chorai, iki šešių dienų šventimo, per kurias yra surengiama daugiau kaip dešimt įvairių koncertų ir kitų renginių. Dainų ir šokių šventės tradicijos plėtimosi į naujas meno sritis tendencija ypač pasidarė akivaizdi Lietuvai atkūrus nepriklausomybę 1990 metais, kai tapo įmanoma natūrali ir spontaniška Lietuvos kultūros sklaida.

Atkūrus Lietuvos nepriklausomybę 1990 metais, Dainų ir šokių šventės renginiai rengiami kas ketveri metai liepos mėnesio pradžioje ir vyksta 6 dienas. 2003 m. Dainų šventė tapo reikšmingu akcentu Lietuvos valstybės karaliaus Mindaugo karūnavimo 850-mečio jubiliejuje, o 2009-aisiais Tūkstantmečio Dainų šventė – amžių sutartinė yra svarbiausias Lietuvos vardo tūkstantmečio paminėjimo renginys

Žinoma dainų atlikėja Ilona Balsytė Ši aktorė baigė mūsų „Juventos“ mokyklą (1971-1982) Ilona Balsytė yra viena iš „Keistuolių“ teatro įkūrėja ir ilgametė dalyvė.

Vaikai labai mėgsta spektaklį „Geltonų plytų kelias“, kuriame vaidina Ilona Balsytė.

Mokinukai net nupiešė spektaklio epizodus.

Pre-history of Lithuania The first settlers of Lithuania arrived in aproximatelly10, 000 B.C. (Paleolithic period), when the climate warmed up and glaciers started receding from the territory of Lithuania to Scandinavia. This period marks the beginning of Lithuania’s history which counts twelve thousand years now. Peaceful life on the eastern Baltic coast came to an end about 2, 500 B.C., when newcomers from the south began to migrate to the territories inhabited by hunters and fishermen. It took several centuries for the Baltic tribes to emerge in approximately 2, 000 B.C. It was some time between the fifth and the sixth centuries that the major Baltic tribes recognizable today took shape: Curronians, Sellonians, Samogitians (lowlanders), Lithuanians, Aukštaičiai (highlanders) and Semigalians.

Gediminas fell asleep on the hill and saw a dream about an iron wolf which roared loudly.

Oracle Lizdeika explained this dream and presaged that Vilnius city will be built in this place.

Gediminas built two castles. That’s the origin of Vilnius - the capital of Lithuania.

Monarchy and tolerance In the Middle Ages, Lithuania, unlike other Baltic countries (Latvia and Estonia), had already had its state: the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Magnus Ducatus Lithuaniae). It is generally accepted that the state of Lithuania found its way into the world maps, following the coronation of Mindaugas, ruler of the consolidated Lithuania, on 6 July 1253. The Papal Bull granted the State with the highest title of the monarchy, which meant that Lithuania was recognized by and accepted into the family of the Western Europe as an equal member of the political system.

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania stretched from the Baltic to the Black seas, covering nearly all the territory of current Lithuania and entire Belarus as of the mid-14th century, and a better part of the Ukraine as of the second-half of the 14th century, thus emerging as an important politicalpower in Eastern and Central Europe.The success of the expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was essentially based on ethnic and religious tolerance towards those who were traditionally considered potential enemies.

First written Constitution The Lithuanian Statutes having served as the legal framework testify to the fact that it was as early as the 16th century that Lithuania became an integral part of the Western Europe. The legal thought reached further heights at the end of the 18th century when a Constitution was adopted on 3 May 1791. It was the first constitution in Europe (preceding the French Constitution), and the second in the world after the US Constitution adopted in 1787. The Commonwealth Constitution was directly inspired by the Declaration des droits de I'homnte et du citoyen, adopted in 1789.

1918-1940: period of prosperity In 1918, the Council of Lithuania (an interim authority) had enough stamina and determination to sign the Act of independence of Lithuania “re-establishing an independent state based on democratic principles, with Vilnius as its capital city, severing all previous links with other states.” Having withstood the fight for independence against Bolsheviks and Polish invaders, Lithuania sealed its parliamentary democracy in the Constituent Assembly (Steigiamasis Seimas) in 1920. The historical tragic flight by Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas, who were among the first in the world to fly a propeller plane over the Atlantic) in 1933, became a national symbol of patriotism.

The principles of the civic society, cultural values and farming foundations rooted in during this period helped Lithuania to survive the Soviet occupation and subsequently served as ideological basis for the restoration of the independence.

Soviet occupation and annexation of Lithuania in 1940 Having taken advantage of favourable international developments, and driven by its foreign policy aims directed against Lithuanian statehood, the USSR occupied Lithuania in 1940.

Singing revolution Lithuania’s steadfast strife for freedom and a peaceful anticommunist movement undermined and brought about the final collapse of the communist empire. The Gorbachiov’s perestroika launched in 1985 had an enormous impact on the developments in Lithuania. The summer of 1988 saw emerging national revival movement (called “singing revolution”) across the Baltic states. The Reform Movement of Lithuania (Sąjūdis) established on 3 June 1988 convened massive gatherings which turned the history of Lithuania.

To demonstrate the scale of anti-communist movement, the Reform Movement of Lithuania in cooperation with the Estonian and Latvian counterparts arranged a grand-scale protest campaign called Baltic Roadon 23 August 1989 marking the 50th anniversary of Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. The Supreme Council elections held on 24 February 1990 brought a landslide victory for the Reform Movement of Lithuania. The Supreme Council (later renamed Reconstituent Seimas) proclaimed the re-establishment of Lithuania’s independence on 11 March 1990. This was the third time in history that Lithuania started an epoch of autonomous life.

EU and NATO membership Following its EU and NATO membership in 2004, Lithuania again reunited with the European family. Once an EU member, Lithuania has become an official donor country and has been giving aid to Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, South Caucasus, Afghanistan and Iraq; it has also been fulfilling multilateral obligations within the EU framework.

Europe is discovering Lithuania through its culture. Lithuanian art is not only flourishing in Lithuania but is also gaining recognition internationally. Though not every poster tells that a nightingale soprano, a graceful ballerina, or a divine cello player comes from Lithuania, the probability that you have just enjoyed a concert of a Lithuanian artist is great, whether it be New York, London, Berlin, or Vilnius Dailininkas ir kompozitorius M.K.Čiurlionis

Ciurlionis' Name in Lithuania and the World 1913 on an expedition through the Arctic ocean a painter N.Pinegin turned his attention to a plateau in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, which resembled M.K.Ciurlionis' painting "Stillness". So he called it the Ciurlionis Mountains.

1925, december 13 the Ciurlionis Gallery was opened in Kaunas by Paulius Galaune efforts. There was also an Ethnography, a History and a Prehistory section.

1936, november 1 the Ciurlionis Gallery was transfered to the Kaunas Historical and Ciurlionis Art Museum.

Now it is called the Kaunas Museum of M.K.Ciurlionis Art and only in 1947 (august 31) it was opened for public visitation. Now you can find not only the largest collection of Ciurlionis' paintings there but also folk and professional art of the Lithuanians and other nations.

1940 a Ciurlionis Art Ensemble was founded in Vilnius, formed by about 170 art lovers: choristers, players on the kankles (a Lithuanian string instrument), folk singers and dancers, even writers. The Ensemble gave concerts in Lithuania. Closed in 1944.

1945 the Vilnius ten-year secondary music school was opened. After several renamings it was finally called the Ciurlionis School of Arts. The pupils of this secondary school participate in international concerts, exhibitions and competitions.

1957 the Lithuanians' community in Chicago established and opened the Ciurlionis Art Gallery, where exhibitions of the creation of Lithuanian painters are held and the works of Lithuanian emigrants are collected.

1963 the Ciurlionis Memorial Museum was opened in Druskininkai, in the house where M.K.Ciurlionis and his family lived.

1964 Lithuanian mountaineers, leaded by Romualdas Augunas, were the first to climb one of the peaks of Pamir (5794 m height) in Tadzhikistan, which is now called Ciurlionis mountain.

1965 the first Ciurlionis Competition (only for the young music players) was held.

Since then it is organized every several years. Young pianists from Lithuania and neighbouring countries play Ciurlionis' and other composers' compositions.

1968 the students of LSSR Conservatoire formed a string quartet (two violins, a viola and a violoncello), which was named the Ciurlionis quartet in 1977. They played in variuos European countries from Bulgaria to Iceland, and also Canada. In 1990 the quartet was awarded the Lithuanian National Premium.

1975 the Crimean astrophysicist Nikolaj Cernych discovered a new 8 km diameter asteroid and called it the Ciurlionis asteroid. It orbits round the Sun in approximately four years (average distance from the Sun: 384 mln. km).

1975-76 m. on occasion of M.K.Ciurlionis' 100-year birth anniversary, 26 masters of folk art built a range of 22 sculptures and engraved poles in Perloja along the VarenaDruskininkai road. The range was called the "Ciurlionis Road". These sculptures and poles were decorated with Zodiac signs, ethnographical elements, towers, bells and other symbols.

Basketball Arvydas Sabonis First European Ministry of Education A complete system of formal education in Lithuania was created back at the end of the 16th century: the primary education (stage 1), the pre-higher education (stage 2) and higher/university education. The year 1773 saw the establishment of the Education Commission – the first education institution of the Lithuanian-Polish state, which served as the very first European Ministry of Education. It created a new education management system. The school network was headed by Vilnius University (major school of the Grand Duchy as of 1781).

Basketball craze hit the country in 1937 when the Lithuanian men’s national team won the European basketball championship. Lithuania repeated their success by capturing the title again in 1939. The Lithuanian women’s team won the silver medal in 1938 and nearly 60 years later won the European basketball championship in 1997.

During the Soviet period basketball became one of the cornerstones of national identity. The Lithuanian basketball team Žalgiris won the Soviet Union’s championship five times and every final, usually played against CSKA (Central Sports Club of Armed Forces), turned into a game that pitted Lithuania against the Soviet Union. Even seven Lithuanian basketball players, who represented the USSR in international competitions, became Olympic champions: Modestas Paulauskas, Angelė Rupšienė (twice), Vida Beselienė, Šarūnas Marčiulionis, Arvydas Sabonis, Valdemaras Chomičius, Rimas Kurtinaitis. Other six Lithuanians won three Olympic silver medals, and three were awarded bronze medals.

The pre-war traditions were kept alive with Lithuania’s three successive bronze medals at the Olympics in 1992, 1996 and 2000, and the gold medal at the 2003 European championship (after the break of long 64 years). However, the 2004 Olympics in Athens was a disappointing setback – the Lithuanian national team finished fourth, one step away from the podium. The Lithuanian team redeemed the loss three years later: it won a bronze medal in the 2007 European championship.

Lithuanian basketball clubs – Kauno “Žalgiris” and Vilniaus “Lietuvos rytas” – also have proved equal to the challenge of the strongest European basketball clubs: in 1999 “Žalgiris” became Euroleague champion, and “Lietuvos rytas” won the 2005 ULEB Cup. The basketball is the most popular sport in Lithuanian, with more than 24 000 people playing basketball, including 10 000 schoolchildren. All this made Lithuania a natural choice as venue for the NBA basketball summer camp “Basketball without borders. Europe 2006”. The most promising young basketball players from European countries were offered basketball classes by NBA players and coaches. Some legendary players, like Arvydas Sabonis or Šarūnas Marčiulionis, have also established their own schools and willingly share their experience with children.

Millennium Song Festival Match for Greek Olympic Games in its spirit Indisputable tradition as it is, the Lithuanian Song Festival brings forward human creativity, national cultural vitality, patriotism and solidarity. Different generations come together for a relay of traditions, moral values, artistic expression and merger of different outlooks. Naturally, it has a positive wave effect across the country.

The Lithuanian Song Festival is a large-scale national cultural phenomenon encouraging the process of creation, and as such, equals the ancient Greek Olympic Games in its spirit.

The traditions of the Song Festival go back to the 19th century The traditions of the Song and Dance Festival go back as far as the 19th century, when spontaneous folk celebrations with carnivals, performances and poetry tournaments have gradually developed into organized events in the course of time in Europe. The precursor of the festival might have been the emergence of a combined choir accompanied by the brass band. Switzerland and Germany witnessed the workers’ festivals with the performances of highly skilled choir singers.

The first known world song festival was hosted on 15 June 1843 when 80 united choirs performed in the main square of Zurich. A couple years later, this type of combined singing came to Würzburg (Germany). Choral societies and unions grew numerous in the 19th century, playing music become increasingly popular in schools. The song festival tradition in those countries, however, faded away. The choir singing movement, transmitted to the Baltic countries via Baltic Germans, first to Estonia, then to Latvia, took root and got firmly established there, up till now. Several stable factors have primarily contributed to the fact that the song and dance festival in the Baltic countries was not a passing fashion, but a permanent feature and a very meaningful tradition for local nations: vitality of the principles of national romanticism and hence a heavy focus on ethnic culture, and the fragility of political independence of the Baltic States.

Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity On 7 November 2003 UNESCO proclaimed the traditions and symbols of the Song and Dance Festivals of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

The tradition of the Song and Dance Festival has been preserved for 79 years in Lithuania; it goes back to 1924, when the first Day of Songs was organised. Since the first Day of Songs until the present year, 15 Song Festivals have been held. Over time, the tradition of the Song and Dance Festival has developed and has been anchored in the Lithuanian culture: having started with a one-day event, with only choirs singing, now it is a six-day celebration with more than ten different concerts and other events. The cross disciplinary trends became obvious following the restoration of Lithuania’s independence in 1990, when freedom of natural and spontaneous dissemination of Lithuanian culture was gained.

The Song and Dance Festival events take 6 days in Vilnius. Following the restoration of Lithuania’s independence in 1990, the Festival is held every four years at the beginning of July. In 2003, the Song and Dance Festival played a special part during the celebrations of the 850th anniversary marking the coronation of King Mindaugas; and in 2009 the Festival is going to be the key event to commemorate the millennium of Lithuania’s name.

Ilona Balsyte is a famous Lithuanian artist She performs as an actress, a directorial, an author of songs and a performer.

It's interesting that she studied in our "Juventa" school (1971 - 1982).

Ilona Balsyte performs in a famous "Keistuoliu" theatre. The most memorable children's performance where she plays is "The way of the yellow bricks" ("Geltonu plytu kelias").

We all watched this performance and drew some pictures.

Dom Afonso Henriques - Primeiro Rei de Portugal. Conseguiu a independência do Condado Portucalense do reino de Leão, para além de ter duplicado o seu território.

Vasco da Gama - Navegador português que descobriu o Caminho Marítimo para a Índia.

Fernão de Magalhães - Completou a primeira viagem de circum-navegação. Foi o primeiro Europeu a atravessar o Estreito de Magalhães, ao qual deu o nome, para além de ter alcançado o que é hoje conhecido como o arquipélago das Filipinas, território até então desconhecido do mundo Ocidental.

Luís Vaz de Camões - É considerado um dos maiores poetas portugueses e a sua obra já foi comparada à de grandes mestres como Dante, Virgílio, Homero e Shakespeare. Os Lusíadas são a sua grande obra de referência.

Fernando Pessoa - Escritor português, considerado um dos melhores escritores Modernistas. A sua originalidade consiste essencialmente em ter escrito sob diversos nomes, ou heterónimos, aos quais correspondiam personalidades distintas.

José de Sousa Saramago - Prémio Nobel da Literatura em 1988.

Mariza - Artista de renome internacional, esta cantora de fado já actuou em sítios tão diversos como Nova Iorque, Moscovo, Toronto ou Sydney.

Foi nomeada, já por duas vezes, para os Grammys Latinos e venceu o título de “Melhor artista da Europa”, na área da World Music, pela BBC Radio, em 2005 e 2006.

Álvaro Siza Vieira - Arquitecto português, uma das grandes referências da arquitectura contemporânea. Recebeu, em 1992, o prémio Pritzer pela renovação do Chiado em Lisboa, para além de outras distinções.

José Mourinho - Considerado um dos melhores treinadores do mundo pelos seus sucessos no FCPorto, no Chelsea FC e, actualmente, no InterMilan.

Rosa Mota e Carlos Lopes - Antigos maratonistas portugueses. Medalhas de ouro Olímpicas em Seul 1988 e Los Angeles 1984, respectivamente. Considerados entre os melhores corredores de maratona do século XX.

Vanessa Fernandes - É, actualmente, a campeã europeia e mundial do Triatlo. Medalha de Prata nos Jogos Olímpicos de Pequim em 2008.

Nelson Évora - Atleta de origem cabo-verdiana, é o campeão mundial e Olímpico do triplo salto.

Cristiano Ronaldo - Jogador do Manchester United e da Selecção Nacional. Recebeu o prémio FIFPro e da FIFA de Melhor Jogador do Ano, para além do título "Bola de Ouro" em 2008.

Dom Afonso Henriques. Born in 1109, in Coimbra. He was the first king of Portugal, achieving its independence from Le처n (Spain) and doubling its area with the Reconquista.

Vasco da Gama, (Born in Sines or Vidigueira, Alentejo, Portugal, ca. either 1460 or 1469) was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the European Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India.

Fern찾o de Magalh찾es. He was born in 1480. He performed the first successful attempt to circumnavigate the Earth. Magellan was the first European to enter the Pacific from the eponymous Strait of Magellan, which he discovered. He was also the first European to reach the archipelago of what is now known as the Philippines, which was unknown to the western world before his landing.

Luís Vaz de Camões (c. 1524–June 10, 1580) is considered Portugal's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of Shakespeare, Homer, Virgil, and Dante. He wrote a considerable amount of lyrical poetry (in Portuguese and in Spanish) and drama but is best remembered for his epic work Os Lusíadas Fernando Pessoa (b. June 13, 1888 in Lisbon, Portugal — d.

November 30, 1935 in the same city) was a Portuguese poet and writer. He ranks with the most important Modernist poets of the 20th century. His celebrity is partly due to the way in which he wrote his work, using different names, or 'heteronyms', corresponding to various personalities which he invented.

José de Sousa Saramago (born November 16, 1922) is a Nobellaureate Portuguese novelist, playwright and journalist. His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the human factor rather than the officially sanctioned story. Saramago was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1998. He founded the National Front for the Defense of Culture (Lisbon, 1992). He currently lives on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, Spain.

Mariza is the stage name of a popular Fado (Portugal’s typical music) singer. She was born on 16 December 1973 in Lourenço Marques, in the Portuguese Overseas Province of Mozambique. She has performed in venues such as New York's Carnegie Hall and Central Park, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Barbican, Hollywood Bowl, London's Royal Albert Hall, Union Chapel, Royal Festival Hall, Lisbon's Centro Cultural de Belém, Frankfurt's Alte Oper, Paris' Théâtre de La Ville, Madrid's Teatro Albeniz, Barcelona's Teatro Grec, X Cairo International Song Festival 2004, Centro Cultural de Macau, Moscow International House of Music, Toronto's Massey Hall and Sydney Opera House. Mariza, who lives in the upmarket Alcântara dockside area of Lisbon, has received many awards from countries such as Denmark, Australia, Canada, Germany, UK, Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea. Her album Concerto em Lisboa received in 2007 a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album. In 2008 she released the album Terra; it contains basic fado influenced by Jazz, Flamenco, Latin and African sounds. Terraalso received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album (2008).

Álvaro Siza Vieira, (born 25 June 1933 in Matosinhos) is a contemporary Portuguese architect. Along with Fernando Távora, he is one of the references of the Porto School of Architecture where both were teachers. In 1992, he was awarded the Pritzker Prize for the renovation project that he coordinated in the Chiado area of Lisbon. Other prizes include: The Golden Medal of The Superior Council of Architecture of the College of Architects of Madrid in 1988, Mies van der Rohe Award for European Architecture 1988, the Alvar Aalto Medal in 1988, the Prince of Wales Prize from Harvard University in 1998, Portugal's National Prize of Architecture 1993, the Wolf Prize in Arts in 2001, the Urbanism Special Grand Prize of France 2005. More recently he was announced as RIBA's 2009 Royal Gold Medallist.

José Mourinho. Born on 26th January 1963, in Setúbal, Portugal. He is considered one of the best football coaches in the world. As head coach for FC Porto, he won the Portuguese Liga, the Portuguese Cup and the UEFA Cup in 2003. Greater success followed in 2004 as Mourinho guided the team to the top of the league for a second time and won the highest honour in European club football, the UEFA Champions League. Mourinho moved to Chelsea the following year and won two consecutive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, among other domestic honours. He often courted controversy for his outspokenness but his victories at Chelsea and Porto established him as one of the top football managers.

Rosa Mota, born June 29, 1958 is a former Portuguese marathon runner. She is considered to have been one of the best marathon runners of the 20th century.

She was awarded the bronze medal in the first Women's Olympic Marathon in Los Angeles Olympic Games. Her personal best time was 2:23:29 in the 1985 Chicago Marathon.European Champion in 1986, and World Champion in Rome 1987, she kept on winning with the Olympic Gold Medal in Seoul 1988, where with 2 km left in the race, she attacked, winning by 13 seconds from Silver medalist Lisa Martin.

Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes, (born February 18, 1947) is a former Portuguese long-distance athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 1984 Summer Olympics, in Los Angeles. He brought home Portugal's first ever Olympic gold medal along with a new Olympic record - 2:09.21 Vanessa Fernandes. Born on September 14, 1985. She the current triathlon European and World champion. Vanessa has won the European Triathlon Championships five consecutive years (5 elite and 3 under-23 titles) since 2004, and on September 1, 2007, she became World champion for the first time, in Hamburg, Germany. In August 2008, she finished second in the Beijing Olympic Games, winning the first Olympic medal in her career.

Nelson Évora (born April 20, 1984) is a Portuguese athlete who specializes in the triple jump and long jump. He is the current triple jump Olympic and world champion.

Cristiano Ronaldo, born 5 February 1985. He plays as a winger for English Premier League club Manchester United and the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and he signed the 18-year-old for ÂŁ12.24 million in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup, and reached the UEFA Euro 2004 final with Portugal, in which he scored his first international goal. In 2008, Ronaldo won his first UEFA Champions League title, and was named the final's man of the match. He was named the FIFPro World Player of the Year and the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to becoming Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or winner in 40 years.

Christy Ring Nicholas Christopher Michael Ring was born in Cloyne, Co. Cork on the 12th of October 1920 and he died on the second of March 1979. He won eight senior All / Ireland medals playing for Cork and eighteen Railway Cup medals with Munster .

Rugadh é i chontae Chorcaí sa bhlian 1920 agus fuair sé bás sa bhlian 1979. Bhuaigh sé ocht bonn All Ireland nuair a bhí sé ag imirt.

Mary Robinson Mary Robinson was born on May 21st 1944. She served as the seventh and the first female President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997.

Rugadh Maire sa bhlian 1944. Ba í an chéad bean in Aras an Uachtarán.

Bernard Dunne Bernard Dunne is a professional boxer and the current WBA Ordinary Super Bantamweight World Champion.

Dunne defeated Ricardo Cordoba in the 11th round to become the WBA Super Bantamweight World Champion.

Is maith leis an fear seo an dornálaíocht agus bhuaigh sé craobh dornálaíochta an domhain le déanaí.

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane was born in Mayfield , Cork on August 10th 1971. He was captain of both the Irish and Manchester United soccer teams.

Bhí Roy ag imirt le foireann Manchester United agus an foireann Náisiúnta sna nochaidí. Imreoir den chéad scoth ab a é.

Bono Bono is the lead singer of the famous Irish Rock group U2.

Tá Bono fós sa ghrupa rock U2

Douglas Hyde Douglas Hyde was inaugurated as the first president of the Irish Free State in 1938. He was born in 1860 in Co. Roscommon.

Rugadh Douglas de HÍde í Contae Roscomáin sa bhlian 1860.

Ba é an chéad Uachtarán a bhí riamh in Éirinn.

Paul O’Connell Paul O’Connell is the captain of the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa in May 2009. He also plays for the Irish national team and the local Munster team.

Beidh Pól O’Chonaill ina chaptaen don foireann Lions sa samhraidh 2009. Imríonn sé leis an foireann Náisiunta agus an foireann Mumhnach.

Padraig Harrington Padraig Harrington is a three times major golf champion. He won the British Open twice (2007, 2008) and the U.S. PGA (2008). He is a native of Co. Dublin.

Rugadh Padraig í chontae Baile Átha Cliath. Bhuaigh sé an British Open (2007, 2008) agus an U.S. PGA (2008).

Sonia O’Sullivan Born in the island town of Cobh, in County Cork, Ireland, Sonia O’Sullivan was one of the best runners in Ireland. She was cross country champion and she came second in the World Championships.

Rugadh í í chontae Chorcaí. Lúthcleasa den chéad scoth ab a í.

George Best George Best was a Manchester United player and he played for his country Northern Ireland. He is probably the best player of his generation.

Rugadh George í mBéal Feirste í chontae Aontroma. D’imir sé le Manchester United. Fuair sé bás sa bhlian 2005.

Eroi si personalitati nationale Romania se poate lauda atat cu locurile frumoase si inedite ce se afla in interiorul granitelor sale cat si cu personalitati si eroii ce au marcat existenta si evolutia acestui popor est-european.Voi incerca sa prezint pe scurt cativa dintre acestia…incepand bineinteles cu istoria.

Vlad Tepes(1431-1476) a fost un conducator de seama a uneia dintre cele trei provincii in care era impartita Romania in secolele trecute,Tara Romaneasca.Vlad Tepes a devenit foarte cunoscut datorita tehnicilor sale de pedepsire brutale. Foarte des poruncea ca nelegiuitii sa fie supusi diferitelor moduri dure de pedepsire.Dar dintre toate, metoda sa favorita era trasul in teapa. De aici i-a ramas si numele Tepes.

Alexandru Ioan Cuza(1820-1873) a fost primul domnitor al Principatelor Unite şi al statului naţional România. După realizarea unirii, domnitorul Alexandru Ioan Cuza şi colaboratorul său cel mai apropiat, Mihail Kogălniceanu (ministru, apoi prim-ministru al României), iniţiază importante reforme interne: secularizarea averilor mânăstireşti (1863), reforma agrară (1864), reforma învăţământului (1864) ş.a., care au fixat un cadru modern de dezvoltare al ţării.

Nicolae Ceauşescu (n. 26 ianuarie 1918 - d. 25 decembrie 1989, Târgovişte) a fost un politician comunist român, membru al Partidului Comunist din România din ilegalitate, din anul 1932, conducătorul Republicii Socialiste România din 1965 şi până la căderea regimului comunist în această ţară, survenită în 22 decembrie 1989.

In domeniul picturi si sculpturii,dintre cele mai reprezentative personalitati putem enumera: Nicolae Grigorescu (1838-1907) este primul dintre fondatorii picturii române moderne, urmat de Ion Andreescu şi Ştefan Luchian, devenit un simbol pentru tinerele generaţii de artişti care, în primele decenii ale secolului al XX-lea, căutau să identifice şi să aducă la lumină valorile spiritualităţii româneşti.Opere reprezentative:”Car cu boi”,”Tanara tiganca”,”Atacul de la Smardan”,”Taranca voioasa”,”Pescarita la Grandville”. Ştefan Luchian - (1868-1916), pictor român, denumit poetul plastic al florilor.dintre operele sale reprezentative se pot enumera:”Anemone”,”Un zugrav(autoportret)”,”Maci”,”Garoafe” . Către sfârşitul vieţii,datorita bolii grave de care suferea nu mai putea ţine penelul cu degetele paralizate.

Punea pe cineva să i-l lege de încheietura mâinii. Astfel sfârşea, în flacăra unei inepuizabile pasiuni pentru arta sa, viaţa unui pictor.

Constantin Brâncuşi (n. 19 februarie 1876, Hobiţa, Gorj — d. 16 martie 1957, Paris) a fost un sculptor român cu contribuţii covârşitoare la înnoirea limbajului şi viziunii plastice în sculptura contemporană.

Constantin Brâncuşi a fost ales postum membru al Academiei Române.

Francezii îi pronunţă numele Brancusi.

Si in domeniul muzicii romanii au reprezentanti de seama ale caror nume au rezonante internationale: George Enescu (1881-1955) a fost un compozitor, violonist, pedagog, pianist şi dirijor. Este considerat cel mai important muzician român. Din primii ani ai secolului XX datează compoziţiile sale mai cunoscute, cum sunt cele două Rapsodii Române (1901-1902), Sonata pentru vioară "cu caracter popular românesc", Suita orchestrală Nr. 3 „sătească”.

Celebritatea internaţională a lui George Enescu - de care era el însuşi intrigat - se datorează în special Rapsodiei Române Nr. 1, popularizată mai ales de Leopold Stokowski la pupitrul Orchestrei Filarmonice din Philadelphia. Prin Festivalurile Internaţionale „George Enescu”, care au loc cu regularitate în Bucureşti cu participarea unor muzicieni de faimă mondială, opera muzicală enesciană este pusă în valoare.

Ciprian Porumbescu (1853-1883) a fost un compozitor român si unul dintre cei mai faimoşi pe vremea sa. Printre cele mai populare lucrări sunt: "Balada pentru vioară si orchestră" op.29, opereta "Crai nou" pusă în scenă pentru prima data în sala festiva a Gimaziului Românesc din Braşov (astazi Colegiul Naţional „Andrei Şaguna”), unde pentru scurtă vreme a fost profesor de muzică (1881-1883).În plus, a compus muzica pentru celebrul cântec patriotic, „Pe-al nostru steag e scris Unire”, muzică ce este folosită astăzi şi de către Albania, pentru imnul naţional „Hymni i Flamurit.

Maria Tănase (1913 - 1963) a fost o mare cântăreaţă română de muzică populară. A devenit celebră abia în anul 1938, când a înregistrat primele cântece pentru Societatea Româna de Radio, care însă au fost distruse în 1940 de Garda de Fier, sub pretextul că distorsionau folclorul românesc autentic Maria Tănase a reprezentat România, ca şi alţi artişti (Constantin Brâncuşi), la Expoziţia Mondială de la Paris din anul 1938. În anul 1955, a primit "Premiul de Stat" iar în anul 1957 a primit titlul de "Artist emerit".

Phoenix, cunoscută în occident ca Transsylvania-Phoenix, este cea mai titrată formaţie românească de muzică rock, înfiinţată în 1962, la Timişoara.

Phoenix a fost deschizătoare de drumuri în muzica adresată publicului larg în România celei de a doua jumătăţi a secolului XX. Membrii formaţiei au abordat numeroase subgenuri ale rock-ului,ajungand in final la etno-rock.

Membri actuali:Nicolae Covaci - chitară, voce (1962-prezent) ,Ovidiu Lipan „Ţăndărică” - baterie, percuţie (1975-1978, 1980-1981, 1988-1998, 2001prezent) ,Ionuţ Contraş - manager (1998-prezent), backing vocals, percuţie (2005-prezent) ,Cristi Gram - chitară, backing vocals (2004-prezent) ,Bogdan Bradu - voce (2003-2004, 2007-prezent) .Dintre cele mai semnificative discografii ale trupei sunt:”In umbra marelui urs”,”Baba Novak”,”Vremuri”.De astfel Phoenix este si cea mai longeviva trupa de muzica din Romania,anul acesta implininduse 47 de ani de existenta a formatiei.

Voi continua cu personalitati din domeniul sportului,dintre cei mai reprezentativi putem enumera: Gheorghe Hagi (n. 5 februarie 1965, Săcele, Constanţa, jud. Constanţa) este un fost fotbalist român, de naţionalitate aromân, supranumit Regele fotbalului românesc şi Maradona din Carpaţi. Ca jucător, Hagi a fost un purtător clasic de număr 10 (conducător de joc) care se remarca în teren prin claritatea paselor trimise către atacanţi şi şuturile nimicitoare la poartă, atunci când se afla el însuşi în poziţie de finalizare. Câteva din golurile sale au intrat în istoria fotbalului. În anul 2000, Hagi a fost desemnat de presă "Cel mai bun jucător român de fotbal al tuturor timpurilor".De asemenea sia incercat norocul si in calitate de antrenor la diverse echipe autohtone dar si straine precum Galatasaray.

Nadia Elena Comăneci (n. 12 noiembrie 1961, Oneşti, judeţul Bacău) este o gimnastă română, prima gimnastă din lume care a primit nota zece într-un concurs olimpic de gimnastică. Este câştigătoare a cinci medalii olimpice de aur. Este considerată a fi una dintre cele mai bune sportive ale secolului XX şi una dintre cele mai bune gimnaste ale lumii, din toate timpurile. Nadia este în prezent ocupată cu gimnastică şi muncă de caritate în întreaga lume.

Ilie Năstase (n. 19 iulie 1946, Bucureşti) este un fost jucător profesionist de tenis de câmp şi unul dintre cei mai importanţi jucători de tenis ai anilor 1970, fiind numărul unu mondial de două ori, în 1972 şi 1973.Printre cele 57 de titluri la simplu, pe care Ilie Năstase le-a câştigat dea lungul carierei sale, se numără şi US Open în 1972, respectiv French Open în 1973. La dublu a câştigat turneele de la Wimbledon în 1973, French Open în 1970 şi US Open în 1975. A fost desemnat de patru ori „Cel mai bun sportiv român al anului” (în 1969, 1972, 1973 şi 1974).

Leonard Dorin Doroftei (n. 10 aprilie 1970) este cel mai mare pugilist român, campion mondial WBA la categoria semi-uşoară (61,9 kg) între 5 ianuarie 2002 şi 24 octombrie 2003. A fost campion mondial în 1995 şi campion european în 1996 şi 1997. Pe 5 ianuarie 2002 a cucerit titlul de campion mondial profesionist la categoria semi-uşoară a versiunii WBA,aparandu-si titlul mai tarziu in mai la Bucuresti.

Elisabeta Lipă (născută Elisabeta Oleniuc) (n. 26 octombrie 1964, oraşul Siret, judeţul Suceava) este o canotoare româncă.A debutat la vârsta de 19 ani la Jocurile Olimpice de vară de la Los Angeles, California. A obţinut 5 medalii de aur, 2 de argint şi una de bronz la şase Olimpiade, a fost de 25 ori campioană a României. În anul 2000, a fost declarată cea mai bună canotoare a secolului de către Federaţia Internaţională de Canotaj.

De asemenea in domeniul filmului avem reprezentanti de seama si personalitati rematcabile precum: Sergiu Florin Nicolaescu (n. 13 aprilie 1930, oraşul Târgu Jiu) este un regizor, actor şi politician român după 1989. A devenit cunoscut prin filme ca „Dacii” (1966), „Mihai Viteazul” (1970),”Orient Expres”(2004),”Supravietuitorul”(2008),”Nea Marin miliardarul”(1978).

Florin Piersic (n. 27 ianuarie 1936, Cluj) este un actor român de teatru şi film. A jucat dramă, comedie, tragedie, figuri istorice, haiduci.Dintre cele mai reprezent ative filme in care a jucat se pot enumera: Săptămîna nebunilor (1971) Zestrea Domniţei Ralu (1971), Haiducii lui Şaptecai (1970), Pintea (1976) - Pintea Haiducul, Drumul oaselor (1980) -Mărgelatu' Trandafirul galben (1982) - Mărgelatu' .

Marcel Iureş (n. 2 august 1951, Băileşti) este un actor român de compoziţie. Marcel Iureş a primit de două ori titlul de cel mai bun actor de teatru din România. Activitatea sa artistică este legată în principal de teatru.

Cariera internaţională a lui Marcel Iureş este legată de câteva roluri in filme, dintre care cele mai cunoscute:Amen, Războiul lui Tom Hart, Misiune: Imposibilă, Interviu cu un vampir: Cronicile Vampirului şi Pacificatorul.

Nici in domeniul literaturii personalitatile remarcabile nu lipsesc,acestea avand recunostinta internationala pentru activitatea desfasurata,dintre care putem enumera: Mihai Eminescu (născut ca Mihail Eminovici) (n. 15 ianuarie 1850, Botoşani sau Ipoteşti - d. 15 iunie 1889, Bucureşti) a fost un poet, prozator şi jurnalist român, socotit de cititorii români şi de critica literară drept cel mai important scriitor romantic din literatura română, fiind supranumit şi „luceafărul poeziei româneşti”. Eminescu a fost activ în societatea literară Junimea, şi a lucrat ca redactor la Timpul, ziarul oficial al Partidului Conservator.[2] A publicat primul său poem la vârsta de 16 ani, iar la 19 ani a plecat să studieze la Viena.

Mircea Eliade (n.1907 - d. 22 aprilie 1986, Chicago), a fost un gânditor şi scriitor român. Filozof şi istoric al religiilor,Eliade a fost profesor la Universitatea din Chicago din 1957, titular al catedrei Sewell L. Avery din 1962, naturalizat cetăţean american în 1966, onorat cu titlul de Distinguished Service Professor. Autor a 30 de volume ştiinţifice, opere literare şi eseuri filozofice traduse în 18 limbi şi a circa 1200 de articole şi recenzii cu o tematică extrem de variată, foarte bine documentate. Opera completă a lui Mircea Eliade ar ocupa peste 80 de volume, fără a lua în calcul jurnalele sale intime şi manuscrisele inedite.

Emil Cioran (n. 8 aprilie 1911; d. 20 iunie 1995, Paris) a fost un filozof şi scriitor român stabilit în Franţa. Câteva teme mari străbat opera lui Emil Cioran: contingenţa fiinţei umane, păcatul originar, sensul tragic al istoriei, sfârşitul civilizaţiei, ameninţarea Răului, refuzul consolidării prin credinţă, obsesia absolutului, viaţa ca expresie a exilului metafizic al omului etc,Cioran fiind de asemenea un gânditor pasionat de istorie. ocupă vreme de un an (1936) postul de profesor de filozofie la Liceul "Andrei Şaguna" din Braşov.Dintre cele mai consacrate opere ale asale putem aminti: Cartea amăgirilor (1935), Schimbarea la faţă a României (1936), Lacrimi şi Sfinţi (1937).

Dintre personalitatile ce au renume national si international din alte domenii putem reaminti Dumitru Prunariu,primul roman in spatiu,inventatori romani precum Aurel Vlaicu,Henri Coanda,Tudor Vianu si multi altii ce ofera faima acestei tari.

Romania is a country that in time had important personalities.

Sports personalities in big country with which it boasts are: Gheorghe Hagi ( born February 5, 1965 in Săcele), is a Romanian former football player. He was famous for his passing, close control, long shots and was regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s.

Nadia Elena Comăneci (born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian gymnast, winner of five Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event.

Ilie Năstase (born July 19, 1946, in Bucharest, Romania) is a former Romanian professional tennis player, one of the world's top players of the 1970s. Năstase was the World No. 1 in 1973 according to the Association of Tennis Professionals ranking system, which placed him first from August 23, 1973 to June 2, 1974. He is one of the five players in the world to win more than 100 pro titles in singles (57) and doubles (51).

MUSIC George Enescu (pronunciation in Romanian: ( known in France as Georges Enesco) (August 19, 1881, Liveni – May 4, 1955, Paris) was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher.

Ciprian Porumbescu (born Cyprian Gołęmbiowski on October 14, 1853 – July 6, 1883) was a Romanian composer born in Şipotele Sucevei in the former Austrian province of Bukovina. He was among the most celebrated Romanian composers of his time; his popular works include Crai nou, Trei culori, Song for the 1st of May, Ballad for violin and piano, and Serenada.

FILM Sergiu Florin Nicolaescu (born 13 April 1930) is a Romanian film director, actor and politician. He is best known for his historical movies, such as Mihai Viteazul (1970, released in English both under the equivalent title Michael the Brave and also as The Last Crusade), Dacii (1966, Les Guerriers), Razboiul Independenţei (1977, War of Independence), as well as for his series of thrillers that take place in the interwar Kingdom of Romania, such as Un comisar acuză (1973, A Police Inspector Calls).

Marcel Iureş (born August 2, 1951) is a Romanian stage and screen actor.He was born in Băileşti and has appeared in a several American films, the most noted being Amen, Hart's War, Mission: Impossible, Interview with the Vampire, The Peacemaker, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

LITERATURE Mircea Eliade (March 13 [O.S. February 28] 1907 – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day.

Mihai Eminescu (pronunciation in Romanian: /mi'haj e.mi'nes.ku/) (January 15, 1850 – June 15, 1889), was a late Romantic poet, novelist and journalist, often regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Famous works include Luceafărul ("Evening Star"), Odă în metru antic (Ode in ancient meter), and the five Letters (Epistles/Satires). In his poems he frequently used metaphysical, mythological and historical subjects.

Emil Cioran (April 8, 1911 – June 20, 1995) was a Romanian philosopher and essayist.

SCULPTURE Constantin Brâncuşi (February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was an internationally renowned Romanian sculptor whose sculptures, which blend simplicity and sophistication, led the way for modernist sculptors.

PAINTING Ştefan Luchian (1 February 1868–28 June 1917) was a Romanian painter, famous for his landscapes and still life works.

Nicolae Grigorescu (May 15, 1838—July 21, 1907) was one of the founders of modern Romanian painting.

HISTORY Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, more commonly known as Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Ţepeş in Romanian), also known as Vlad Dracul, or simply Dracula (1431 – December 1476), was a Wallachian (presentday southern Romania) voivode. His three reigns were in 1448, 1456– 1462, and 1476. Vlad the Impaler is known for the exceedingly cruel punishments he imposed as ruler of Wallachia.[1] Impalement was Ţepeş's preferred method of torture and execution.

Carol I of Romania, original name Prince Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, later simply of Hohenzollern (20 April 1839 - 10 October [O.S. 27 September] 1914), German prince, was elected Domnitor (Prince) of Romania on 20 April 1866 following the overthrow of Alexander John Cuza by a palace coup; following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War he was proclaimed King of Romania with the consent of both the Turkish Sultan and the major European powers on 26 March 1881.

Nicolae Ceauşescu (January 26, 1918 – December 25, 1989) was the Secretary General of the Romanian Workers' Party, later the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 until 1989, President of the Council of State from 1967 and President of Romania from 1974 until 1989.

Pretekli in sedanji »heroji« – Slovenija Pretekli heroji Primož Trubar je bil slovenski protestantski reformator, ustanovitelj protestantske cerkve v slovenskih deželah, oblikovalec slovenskega jezika in avtor prve slovenske tiskane knjige.

Trubar je bil rojen v vasi Raščica. V letih 1520 - 1521 se je udeležil šole na Reki, v 1522-1524 je nadaljeval šolanje v Salzburgu. Medtem, ko je bil protestantski pridigar v Nemčiji, je napisal prvi knjigi v slovenskem jeziku, Katekizem in Abecednik, ki sta bili izdani leta 1550 v Nemčiji.

V naslednjih letih, je napisal okoli 25 drugih knjig v slovenskem jeziku; najpomembnejša od njih je prevod dokončanega Novega Testamenta. Trubar je bil upodobljen na slovenskem kovancu za 1 evro leta 2007.

Trubar je umrl v Derendingenu v Nemčiji leta 1586.

France Prešeren je bil Slovenski nacionalni pesnik.

Rodil se je leta 1800 v vasi Vrba. Že kot otrok je pokazal kot talent, zato sta mu starša omogočila dobro izobrazbo. Pri osmih letih je bil poslan v osnovno šolo v Grosuplje in Ribnici.

Leta 1812 se je preselil v glavno mesto Ljubljana, kjer je hodil v gimnazijo. Spoprijateljil se je s kasnejšim filologom Matijem Čopom, ki je imel pomemben vpliv na razvoj Prešernovega pesništva. Spomladi leta 1833 je spoznal Julijo Primic, hčerko bogatega moža, ki je postala ljubezen njegovega življenja. Okoli leta 1836 je Prešeren končno spoznal, da njegova ljubezen nikoli ne bo postala obojestranska. Podlegel je skrajnemu problemu pitja in si hotel vzeti življenje vsaj dvakrat. Motiv 'sovražne sreče' je pogost v njegovih delih. Njegova pesem Zdravljica, napisana leta 1844, je uporabljena kot besedilo državne himne. Umrl je leta 1849.

Ivana Kobilica je bila najpomembnejša slovenska slikarka. Je ena slovenskih realistov, ki so ustvarili njihove najpomembnejše slike v osemdesetih 19. stoletja. Živela, delala in študirala je v različnih Evropskih mestih.

Rojena je bila leta 1861. Njen največji poklon slovenski umetnosti je bil narejen v času, ko je živela v tujih deželah. Njen največji vpliv je bilo čutiti na figuralno slikanje, še posebno portrete in slike tipičnih človeških življenj: težko in urbano. Osnovni barvi sta temna, rjavkasta, le pasteli so svetli in rožnati. Njeni najbolj znani sta Kofetarica (1888); Citarica (1889). Njen portret je bil na bankovcu za 5000 Slovenskih tolarjev. Umrla je 4. decembra, leta 1926.

Sedanji heroji Primož Kozmus je bil rojen 1979 v Novem Mestu. Dobil je zlato medaljo na poletnih Olimpijskih igrah leta 2008. To je bila prva olimpijska zlata medalja za Slovenijo v atletiki.

Njegov najboljši osebni met in slovenski rekord pa je 82.30 metrov.

Aljaž Pegan je bil rojen leta 1974. Je eden najboljših slovenskih gimnastičarjev, tekmuje na drogu, kjer je evropski prvak. Tekmuje od leta 1988, ampak se do sedaj še ni uvrstil na olimpijske igre.

Petra Veternik in Naja Kepeš, 8. razred

Past and Present Heroes – Slovenia Past Heroes Primož Trubar was a Slovene Protestant reformer, the founder of the Protestant Church of the Slovene Lands, a consolidator of the Slovene language and the author of the first Slovene printed book.

Trubar was born in the village of Raščica. In the years 1520-1521 he attended school in Rijeka, in 1522-1524 he continued his education in Salzburg. While a Protestant preacher in Germany, he wrote first two books in Slovene, Catechismus and Abecedarium, which were published in 1550 in Germany. In the following years, he authored around 25 more books in Slovenian; the most important of them is the translation of the complete New Testament.

Trubar was commemorated on the Slovenian 1 euro coin in 2007.

He died in Derendingen, Germany, in 1586.

France Prešeren was a Slovene national poet.

He was born on 3 December 1800 in the village of Vrba. Already as a child, he showed talent, so his parents decided to provide him with a good education. At the age of eight, he was sent to elementary schools in Grosuplje and Ribnica. In 1812, he moved to the provincial capital of Ljubljana, where he attended the State Gymnasium. As a high school student, he became friends with the future philologist Matija Čop, who would have an important influence on the development of Prešeren's poetry. In the spring of 1833, he met Julija Primic, the daughter of a rich man, who would become the love of his life. Around 1836, Prešeren finally realized that his love for Julija would never become mutual. He fell victim to severe drinking problems and tried to take his life on at least two occasions. The motive of "the hostile fortune" is a frequent one in his works. The seventh stanza of his poem A Toast, written in 1844, is a text of the Slovene national anthem. He died in 1849.

Ivana Kobilica is the most important Slovenian female painter. She is one of Slovenian realists, who created their most important paintings in the 80s of the 19th century. She lived, worked and studied in various European cities.

She was born in 1861. Ivana Kobilca Kobilica's greatest tribute to Slovenian art was made in time, when she lived abroad. Her greatest impact was on figural painting, especially portraits and paintings of typical people's lives; rustical and urban. The main colors are dark, brownish, only the pastels are light and rosy. Her best known paintings are Kofetarica (Coffeemadam), 1888; Citrarica (The Zitherist), Likarice (Women Ironers), 1891, Holandsko dekle (A Dutch Girl), Portret sestre Fani (Portrait of Sister Fani), 1889; and Poletje (Summer), 1889. Her portrait was on the 5,000 Slovenian tolar banknote.

She died in 1926.

Present Heroes Primož Kozmus was born on September 30 1979 in Novo Mesto. He won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. This is the first Olympic gold medal in athletics for Slovenia.

His personal best throw and Slovenian record is 82.30 metres.

Aljaž Pegan was born on June 2 in 1974. He is one of the best Slovenian gymnasts. He competes on Horizontal Bar, where he is a European champion. He has been competing internationally since 1988, but has not qualified for any Olympic Games yet.

Petra Veternik in Naja Kepeš, 8th grade

Primož Trubar

France Prešeren

Ivana Kobilica

Aljaž Pegan Primož Kozmus

Rafael Nadal Parera es un tenista español. Nació el 3 de junio de 1986 en Manacor (Mallorca). Es el n°1 del mundo. Ha ganado 359 partidos y ha perdido 81 partidos individuales. El ha ganado 73 partidos dobles y ha perdido 45.

Mide 1,85 m y pesa 83kg. Ha ganado 34 titulos. Algunos titulos son : El abierto de Australia, Roland Garros, Winbledon, US Open. Sus aficiones son el golf y la pesca. Su mayor y eterno rival es Roger Federer de Suiza.

Penélope Cruz Sánchez nació en Alcobendas el 28 de abril de 1974.Para abreviar su nombre se la llama “Pe”. Es una actriz española a la que le han concedido Premios Goya, un Premio BAFTA británico, el Premio David de Donatello italiano y el Óscar.

La primera película de Penélope Cruz fue El laberinto griego en 1990 y la última Los abrazos rotos en 2009. La mayoría de películas las ha hecho junto con Almodóvar, un famoso director de cine.

Fernando José Torres Sanz (nacido el 20 de marzo de 1984, en Fuenlabrada, en Madrid, en España), apodado como "El Niño" en España y "The Kid" en Inglaterra. Es un futbolista de la FA Premier League español, que juega en la posición de delantero. Tras pasar gran parte de su carrera deportiva en el Atlético de Madrid, juega desde la temporada 2007/2008 en el Liverpool FC.

Amaral.Comenzaron como Eva y Juan. Con un disco ya en la calle, Eva y Juan decidieron reunir una banda de músicos y potenciar el grupo. Sus conciertos cautivaron a público y crítica, y el nombre de Amaral empezó a ser popular. En poco tiempo, el grupo pasó a ser una de las formaciones con más exito en España. Su página Web es www.amaral.yaia.com Desde aquí os animo a que escucheis su música. No os defraudará!!

Amancio Ortega Gaona.Nació el 28 de marzo de 1936 en Busdango de Arbas, León. Es el creador de una de las más famosas cadenas de moda en España llamada Zara. En 1975 abrió su primera tienda en la Coruña. Añon más tarde sobre 1988 se expandió por Europa, América, Asia, Oriente medio y el Norte de África. Es el 4º millonario de España y el 10º de Europa.

Amancio Ortega Gaona.Nació el 28 de marzo de 1936 en Busdango de Arbas, León. Es el creador de una de las más famosas cadenas de moda en España llamada Zara. En 1975 abrió su primera tienda en la Coruña. Añon más tarde sobre 1988 se expandió por Europa, América, Asia, Oriente medio y el Norte de África. Es el 4º millonario de España y el 10º de Europa.

Rafael Nadal Parera is a Spanish tennis player. He was born on 3rd June 1986 in Manacor (Mallorca). He is the number one in the world. He has won 359 single matches and he has lost 81.He has won 73 double matches and he has lost 45.

He is 1,85 m tall and he weighs 83kg. He has won 34 titles. For example: the Open of Australia, Roland Garros, Winblendon, US Open. He likes golf and fishing. His biggest and eternal rival is Roger Federer, from Switzerland.

Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born in Alcobendas the 28th April 1974. Her nickname is “Pe”.

She is a Spanish actress and has wan many awards during her career, for example: a Goya , a BAFTA (British award), the David of Donatello (Italian award) and the Oscar. The first film in which Penélope Cruz acted was “El laberinto griego” in 1990 and the last “Los abrazos rotos” in 2009. She has acted in most of Almodovar (famous Spanish film director) in which she has been outstanding.

Fernando José Torres Sanz ( was born the 20th, May of 1984, in Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain), his nickname is Spain is “El niño” and in the U.K is “The Kid”. He is a FA Premier League Spanish football player, he plays as foreward. After spending much of his career at Atletico Madrid he left Spain to play at Liverpool FC since the 2007/2008 season until now.

Amaral. This is a Spanish group of music. It is formed by two members and they started with the name of “Eva and Juan”. After their first album Eva and Juan decided to gather a band of musicians to enhance the group. Their concerts captivated the audience and the group became very popular. Soon Amaral was one of the most successful formations of Spain. Their website is www.amaral.yaia.com . Visit it and you’ll find a cool group that you’ll never forget.

Amancio Ortega Gaona. He was born the 28th March 1936 in Busdango de Arbas, Leon. He is the creator of one of the most famous fashion shops in Spain called Zara. In 1975 the first shop was opened in La Coruùa, in 1988 the company expanded to Europa, America, Asia, Middle East and the North of Africa. He’s the 4th richest man in Spain and the 10th in Europe.