CITYSCAPE PART FIVE

a)

13. Plovdiv (Bulgaria)

Street in Old Town Plovdiv, Bulgaria [ Photo by Jeroen Kransen / CC BY-SA 2.5 ]

Plovdiv (Bulgarian: Пловдив) is the second-largest city in Bulgaria with a population of 331,796. According to the latest census of 2011, Plovdiv Municipality occupies the second place after the municipality of Sofia. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC. A number of respectable sources name Plovdiv as Europe’s oldest continuously inhabited city. It is the administrative center of Plovdiv Province in southern Bulgaria and three municipalities (Plovdiv, Maritsa and Rodopi) and Bulgaria's Yuzhen tsentralen planning region (NUTS II), as well as the largest and most important city in Northern Thrace and the wider international historical region of Thrace. The city is an important economic, transport, cultural and educational center. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

14. Prague (Czech Republic)

view of Prague as viewed from Petřín Lookout Tower. [ Photo by DAVID ILIFF / CC BY-SA 3.0 ]

Prague) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million. The city has a temperate oceanic climate with warm summers and chilly winters. Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination, and the city receives more than 4.1 million international visitors annually, as of 2009[update]. Prague is classified as a global city. During the thousand years of its existence, the city grew from a settlement stretching from Prague Castle in the north to the fort of Vyšehrad in the south, becoming the multicultural capital of a modern European state, the Czech Republic, a member state of the European Union. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

15. London (England)

Tower Bridge as viewed from the North-East near St Katherine Dock. [ Photo by DAVID ILIFF / CC BY-SA 3.0 ]

London () is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures.[note 1] London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who called it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 17th century the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area,[note 2] governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The West End is London's main entertainment and shopping district, attracting tourists. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

16. Paris (France)

Place Vendôme, Paris. [ Photo by Dimitri Destugues / CC BY-SA 3.0 ]

Paris (; French:  ) is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region (or Paris Region, French: Région parisienne). The city of Paris, within its administrative limits largely unchanged since 1860, has an estimated population of 2,193,031 (January 2007), but the Paris metropolitan area has a population of 11,836,970 (January 2007), and is one of the most populated metropolitan areas in Europe. With about 42 million tourists per year (28 in city proper of which 17 million are foreign visitors), Paris is the most visited city in the world. The city and its region contain 3,800 historical monuments and four UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Paris' inhabitants are known in English as "Parisians" and in French as Parisiens ( ). (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

17. Rouen (France)

Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Normandie, France. City Hall and Church of St. Ouen. [ Photo by Tango7174 / CC BY-SA 3.0 ]

Rouenis the historic capital city of Normandy, in northern France on the River Seine, and currently the capital of the Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) region. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, Rouen was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages. It was one of the capitals of the Anglo-Norman dynasties, which ruled both England and large parts of modern France from the 11th to the 15th centuries. It was in Rouen where Joan of Arc was burnt in 1431. People from Rouen are called Rouennais. The population of the metropolitan area (in French: agglomération) at the 1999 census was 518,316 inhabitants and 532,559 inhabitants at the 2007 estimate. The city proper had an estimated population of 110,276 in 2007. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

18. Bonn (Germany)

Sunrise above the snow-covered city centre of Bonn, Germany. [ Photo by Matthias Zepper / CC BY-SA 3.0 ]

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999. Starting in 1998, many national government institutions were moved from Bonn to Berlin. Both houses of the German national parliament, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, were moved along with the Chancellery and the residence of the President of Germany. Bonn remains a centre of politics and administration, however. Roughly half of all government jobs were retained as many government departments remained in Bonn and numerous sub-ministerial level government agencies relocated to the former capital from Berlin and other parts of Germany. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

19. Frankfurt (Germany)

Reconstruction (1981–1984) of six houses at the east side of the Römerberg that were destroyed in World War II [ Photo by Mylius / CC BY-SA 3.0 ]

Frankfurt am Main, English: ), commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2009 population of 672,000. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,295,000 in 2010. The city is at the centre of the larger Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region which has a population of 5,600,000 and is Germany's second largest metropolitan area. The Frankfurter Messe (Frankfurt Trade Fair) was first mentioned in 1150. In 1240, Emperor Friedrich II granted an Imperial privilege to its visitors, meaning they would be protected by the Empire. The fair became particularly important when similar fairs in French Beaucaire lost attraction around 1380. Book trade fairs have been held in Frankfurt since 1478. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

20. Heidelberg (Germany)

View of Heidelberg with the Heidelberg Castle on hill and the Old Bridge over river Neckar [ Photo by Christian Bienia /CC BY-SA 3.0 ]

Heidelberg is a German city situated in the south-west of the country. The fifth largest city of the German State of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim, Karlsruhe and Freiburg im Breisgau, Heidelberg is part of a densely populated region known as the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region. As of 2009, over 145,000 people live within the city's area. Heidelberg lies on the River Neckar in a steep valley in the Odenwald. Heidelberg is also a popular tourist destination due to its romantic and picturesque cityscape's character, including the Heidelberg Castle and the baroque style Old Town. The US Army has had a military base in Heidelberg since 1951. Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, the "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. (based on a wikipediaarticle / cc by-sa)

21. Nuremberg (Germany)

Castle, St. Sebald, City Hall, Old Town, Nuremberg, Germany [ Photo by Johannes Kerstiens, Pirkheimer / CC BY-SA 3.0]

Nuremberg (German: Nürnberg, not to be confused with Nürburg) is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about 170 kilometres north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population (as of January 2006) is 500,132. The urban area of Nuremberg has 1.2 million inhabitants. In 1349 the members of the guilds unsuccessfully rebelled against the patricians in the Handwerkeraufstand (English: Craftsmen's Uprising), supported by merchants and some councillors, leading to a ban on any self-organisation of the artisans in the city, abolishing the guilds that were customary elsewhere in Europe; the unions were then dissolved, and the oligarchs remained in power while Nuremberg was a free city. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

22. Athens (Greece)

The porch of the Caryatids at the Erechtheum. [ Photo by Harrieta171 / CC BY-SA 3.0 ]

Athens (; Modern Greek: Αθήνα, Athína, IPA: , Katharevousa: Ἀθῆναι, Athine, Ancient Greek: Ἀθῆναι, Athēnai), is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica periphery and it is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state. A centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum, it is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy, largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC on the rest of the then known European continent. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

23. Delphi (Greece)

The theatre, seen from above [ Photo by Leonidtsvetkov / CC BY-SA 2.5 ]

In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god Apollo after he slew the Python, a deity who lived there and protected the navel of the Earth. Python (derived from the verb pythein, "to rot") is claimed by some to be the original name of the site in recognition of the Python that Apollo defeated. The Homeric Hymn to Delphic Apollo recalled that the ancient name of this site had been Krisa. Three of the Doric columns have been restored, making it the most popular site at Delphi for tourists to take photographs. The name Delphoi comes from the same root as δελφύς delphys, "womb" and may indicate archaic veneration of Gaia, Grandmother Earth, and the Earth Goddess at the site. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

24. Vatican City (Holy See)

Taken from the dome of St Peter's in Vatican City in Rome. [ Photo by DAVID ILIFF / CC BY-SA 3.0 ]

Vatican City, which translates as State of the Vatican City, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of just over 800. The Vatican City State budget includes the Vatican museums and post office and is supported financially by the sale of stamps, coins, medals and tourist mementos; by fees for admission to museums; and by publications sales. The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome. Other industries include printing, the production of mosaics, and the manufacture of staff uniforms. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)