St. Michael's Cathedral is a Catholic church in Qingdao (formerly Tsingtao), Shandong Province, China; it is also the seat of the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Qingdao. It is located in the oldest part of Qingdao, in Shinan District. It is the largest example of Romanesque Revival architecture in the province. St. Michael's Cathedral is the product of a strong German presence in Shandong Province in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the mid-19th century the European powers forcibly opened China to foreign trade. The Divine Word Missionaries built a church in the Jiaozhou Bay concession in Shandong in 1902, and in 1934 erected the cathedral, which remained nominally under their administration until 1964. In 1942 it came under the control of the Japanese Army, returning to Chinese control when the Japanese left Qingdao in 1945. In the early 1950s, all foreign missionaries, including the Bishop of Qingdao, were either imprisoned or expelled from China, and during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) the cathedral was defaced and abandoned. In 1981, it was repaired and reopened for services, and in 1992 it was listed as a Provincial Historic Building by the government.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1543:

King Henry VIII of England married Catherine Parr , his sixth and last wife, at Hampton Court Palace. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Parr

1790:

The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was passed, a law that subordinated the Roman Catholic Church in France to the French government. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Constitution_of_the_Clergy

1862:

The Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government, was first authorized by the U.S. Congress. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal_of_Honor

1920:

The Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty was signed, with Soviet Russia agreeing to recognize an independent Lithuania. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Peace_Treaty

1943:

World War II: Nazi German and Soviet forces engaged each other at the Battle of Prokhorovka, one of the largest tank battles in military history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Prokhorovka

1975:

São Tomé and Príncipe declared independence from Portugal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Tom%C3%A9_and_Pr%C3%ADncipe

2006:

Hezbollah forces crossed the Israel–Lebanon border and attacked Israeli military positions while firing rockets and mortars at Israeli towns, sparking the July War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zar%27it-Shtula_incident

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

euphoria (n): An excited state of joy, a good feeling, a state of intense happiness http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/euphoria

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The philosophies of one age have become the absurdities of the next, and the foolishness of yesterday has become the wisdom of tomorrow. --William Osler http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Osler