Curated category
Capitals of former nations
- Austin, TexasOn the 27th of December 1839, the Texas Congress officially incorporated a settlement named Waterloo as the new capital of the Republic of Texas.
- Richmond, VirginiaIn early 1737, planter William Byrd II commissioned Major William Mayo to lay out the original town grid for a settlement that would become Richmond.
- GdańskArchaeological evidence from the Bronze Age, estimated between 2500 and 1700 BC, reveals the earliest human presence on the lands now known as Gdańsk.
- FlorenceFlorence began as a Roman garrison in 59 BC, established for veteran soldiers within an area previously occupied by an Etruscan settlement.
- MunichThe first record of Munich dates to 1158. A tiny monastic settlement named zu den Munchen sat on the river Isar north of the Alps.
- Córdoba, SpainThe first traces of human presence in the area date to 35,000 BC. Neanderthal remains found near the Guadalquivir river mark the earliest known activity in…
- YorkIn AD 71, the Ninth Legion conquered the Brigantes and constructed a wooden military fortress on flat ground above the River Ouse.
- RijekaRijeka sits on the narrow strip of land where the Dinaric Alps meet the Adriatic Sea. The city lies at the mouth of the river Rječina, which means "the big…
- TurinIn 218 BC, the Taurini people faced a three-day siege by Hannibal's forces near the upper valley of the River Po. The ancient Celto-Ligurian community…
- HoustonOn the 30th of August 1836, land investors Allen Chapman and John Kirby stood at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou.
- East BerlinThe Potsdam Conference in 1945 decided to divide Germany into three occupation zones. The Allied powers of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the…
- VeniceThe traditional founding of Venice is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto.
- KrakówThe name Kraków derives from a legendary ruler named Krakus, who supposedly built the city above a cave inhabited by a dragon called Smok Wawelski.
- DubrovnikIn the 7th century, a group of refugees from Epidaurum fled to a rocky island called Lausa. They founded a settlement that would become Dubrovnik.
- RavennaThe Umbri people settled the marshy islands of what is now Ravenna by the 5th century BC. These early inhabitants built houses on wooden piles within a…
- LiègeThe Meuse river meets the Ourthe river in a valley that cradles the city of Liège. This confluence shaped every aspect of life here for centuries.
- GenoaIn July 1097, twelve galleys and one ship carrying 1,200 soldiers set sail from Genoa to join the First Crusade. These Genoese troops, led by noblemen de…
- ValenciaIn 138 BC, Roman soldiers settled on the banks of the Turia River to establish a colony named Valentia Edetanorum. The Latin name meant strength or valour…
- RegensburgThe year 90 marked the construction of Castra Regina, a Roman military fort established at the confluence of the Danube, Naab, and Regen rivers.
- IstanbulGreek colonists from Megara established Byzantium on the Sarayburnu promontory around 657 BCE. These settlers built an acropolis adjacent to the Golden Horn…
- ConstantinopleOn the 11th of May 330, Emperor Constantine the Great stood before a crowd of tens of thousands to dedicate his new capital.