Main Page

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Welcome to Wikipedia,
2,361,499 articles in English
Overview · Editing · Questions · Help

Contents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z index

Today's featured article

Part of the Battle of Blenheim tapestry at Blenheim Palace
The Battle of Blenheim was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession fought on 13 August 1704. King Louis XIV sought to knock Emperor Leopold out of the war by seizing Vienna, the Habsburg capital, and gain a favourable peace settlement. Realising the danger, the Duke of Marlborough resolved to alleviate the peril to Vienna by marching his forces south from Bedburg and help maintain Emperor Leopold within the Grand Alliance. When Marshall Tallard arrived to bolster the Elector of Bavaria's army, and Prince Eugene arrived with reinforcements for the Allies, the two armies finally met on the banks of the Danube in and around the small village of Blindheim. Blenheim has gone down in history as one of the turning points of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied victory ensured the safety of Vienna from the Franco-Bavarian army, thus preventing the collapse of the Grand Alliance. Bavaria and Cologne were knocked out of the war, and King Louis' hopes for a quick victory came to an end. France suffered over 30,000 casualties including the commander-in-chief, Marshal Tallard, who was taken captive to England. Before the 1704 campaign ended, the Allies had taken Landau, and the towns of Trier (Trèves) and Trarbach on the Moselle in preparation for the following year's campaign into France itself. (more...)

Recently featured: El Señor PresidenteHuldrych ZwingliThe Third of May 1808

Did you know...

From Wikipedia's newest articles:

Church of the Deposition of the Robe

In the news

Cyclone Nargis

On this day...

May 6: St George's Day in Bulgaria; Đurđevdan in Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina; Yuri's Day in Russia

Hindenburg burning

More events: May 5May 6May 7

Today's featured picture

Saltbox

A classic saltbox house, outside of Concord, Massachusetts. Originating in New England, this is an example of American colonial architecture. A saltbox has one story in the back and two stories in the front. The flat front and central chimney are recognizable features, but the asymmetry of the unequal sides and the long, low rear roof line are the most distinctive features.

Photo credit: Eric Baetscher

Other areas of Wikipedia

  • Help desk — Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
  • Reference desk — Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
  • Village pump — For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.
  • Community portal — Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
  • Site news — Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Local embassy — For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.

Wikipedia's sister projects

Wikipedia is hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other projects:

Commons
Free media repository
Wikinews
Free-content news
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals
Wikisource
Free-content library
Wikispecies
Directory of species
Wikiversity
Free learning materials and activities
Meta-Wiki
Wikimedia project coordination

Wikipedia languages

This Wikipedia is written in English. Started in 2001, it currently contains 2,361,499 articles. Many other Wikipedias are available; the largest are listed below.

Complete list · Multilingual coordination

Personal tools