Altena

Altena ( pronunciation ) is a town in the district of Märkischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town's castle is the origin for the later Dukes of Berg. Altena is situated on the Lenne river valley, in the northern stretches of the Sauerland.

History

Altena Castle was built in the early 12th century, as a stronghold of the older Counts of Berg. A short time later a village was founded beneath the hill, with the castle alongside the river Lenne. After the distribution of the Berg family estates in 1161, Altena became the centre of the County of Altena. The first Count of Altena became Eberhard I, Count of Berg-Altena. In 1180, after the death of the first count, the county was divided between the two oldest sons: Arnold of Altena and Friedrich of Altena. The third son, Adolf of Altena, became Archbishop of Cologne. Arnold was provided with on half of the Castle and County of Altena, the Castle Hövel and some estates as fiefdoms of the Archbishops of Cologne and bailiwicks of the Abbey Essen. Near the Village and Castle of Hövel, he built the Castle and town of Nienbrügge (Novus Ponte) on the Lippe riverbanks. His family branch renamed themselves after selling their half of Altena to the Archbishop of Cologne as de Nienbrügge or de Novus Ponte, their new principle residence about forty kilometers to the north. The heir of Arnold was Friedrich de Novus Ponte (Nienbrügge) who changed his title to Isenberg after his new castle in Hattingen. He was sentenced to death as head of the conspiration to murder Engelbert I. Archbishop of Cologne, Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, Duke of Westphalia and Count of Berg - a close relative - in 1226. The Archbishop was ambushed and slain on his way from his City of Soest to City of Cologne by Friedrich and his men near Gevelsberg in a hollow way. Both had a dispute over the bailiwicks of Essen Abbey.

Altena (automobile)

The Altena was a Dutch motorcycle and automobile made by NV Haarlemsche Automobiel & Motorrijwielfabriek, based in Haarlem-Heemstede from 1900 to 1906.

The first car built was powered by a 3.5 hp De Dion single-cylinder powerplant. From 1905 models having 8, 10, and 12 hp engines were offered.

The company was declared bankrupt in 1906 but a few cars were advertised into 1907.

It is estimated that some 40 or 50 cars were made.

References

G. Marshall Naul, "Altena", in G.N. Georgano, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars 1885-1968 (New York: E.P. Dutton and Co., 1974), pp. 38.

Noir (anime)

Noir (Japanese: ノワール, Hepburn: Nowāru) is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series produced in 2001 by the Bee Train animation studio. Kōichi Mashimo directed Noir; it was written by Ryoe Tsukimura, and the soundtrack was composed by Yuki Kajiura. The DVD version was released by ADV Films in North America and the United Kingdom and by Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand.

The series follows the story of two young female assassins who embark together on a personal journey to seek answers about mysteries from their past. While they seem to be only vaguely related to each other at first, there are clues and hints given throughout the series that there is more than what meets their eyes. During the course of the series, they are lured into more and more traps by a secret organization named Les Soldats ("The Soldiers" in French).

Noir was followed by two spiritual successors, Madlax and El Cazador de la Bruja. Together, these series constitute a trilogy exploring the "girls-with-guns" genre.