Old town

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Old Town (disambiguation).

Stralsund in Germany, an Altstadt regarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO. European old towns are easily recognizable by their density, small alleys and buildings from different eras, often even going back to Gothic times.
The medieval timed old town of Porvoo in Finland, along the Porvoonjoki river in summer time.
Traditional houses with the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Cross in the background, walled city of Nicosia.
A typical street in the old town of Limassol.
Historical Centre of Verona in Italy.

In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are many places throughout the world referred to as the old town (and this is sometimes construed as a proper noun and capitalized). This is a list of some famous old towns:

Africa[]

Algeria[]

Egypt[]

Kenya[]

Morocco[]

  • Old Meknes in Morocco
  • old Essaouira, in Morocco
  • Old Fes, in Morocco
  • old Marrakech, in Morocco
  • Tétouan in Morocco
  • El Jadida in Morocco

Niger[]

Tanzania/Zanzibar[]

Tunisia[]

  • Old Kairouan, in Tunisia
  • Medina of Sousse in Tunisia
  • Medina of Tunis in Tunisia

Asia and the Pacific[]

Bangladesh[]

China[]

Fiji[]

  • Historical Port Town of Levuka

India[]

  • Old Town and monuments of Agra
  • Historical center of Alchi
  • Historical center of Amritsar
  • Old Town of Delhi
  • Old Goa
  • Historical center of Hyderabad
  • Historical ruined center of Mandu
  • Historical center of Mumbai
  • Old Town and palace of Udaipur
The Stadhuis is an old building in Jakarta Old Town.
Keraton Kanoman is one of the oldest buildings in the historic town of Cirebon.

Indonesia[]

  • Old Town of Jakarta, within and 4 Outlying Islands (Onrust, Kelor, Cipir dan Bidadari)
  • Old Town of Semarang
  • Historic City of Surabaya
  • Historic Town of Bandung
  • Historic Town of Medan
  • Historic Monuments of City of Ternate
  • Historic Monuments of Banda Neira
  • Historic Monuments of City Of Tidore
  • Historic Center of City of Yogyakarta
  • Old Mining Town Of Sawahlunto
  • Old Town of Padang
  • Old City of Bukittinggi
  • Historic District of Lasem
  • Historic Center of Solo (Surakarta)
  • Historic Town of Cirebon
  • Ancient City of Banten
  • Historic Center of Palembang
  • Historic City of Tegal
  • Historic Town of Bogor

Japan[]

Malaysia[]

  • Core heritage zone in George Town, a World Heritage Site
  • Old Town in Ipoh
  • Old Town in Petaling Jaya

Pakistan[]

Philippines[]

Philippines as the former colony of Spain has numerous heritage structures, most notably in:

  • Old Town remnants of Intramuros in Manila
  • Old Town of Vigan
  • Old Town of Malolos
  • Old Town of San Fernando
  • Old Town of Pila
  • Old Town of Taal
  • Old Town of Balayan
  • Old Town of Baclayon
  • Old Town of Iloilo
  • Old Town of Laoag
  • Old Town of Loboc
  • Old Town of Carcar
  • Old Town of Silay
  • Old Town of Baclayon
  • Old Town of Dapitan

South Korea[]

Old town (Bukchon Hanok Village) in Seoul

Syria[]

Thailand[]

Rank of Sino-Portuguese shophouses on both sides road in Phraeng Phuthon of Sam Phraeng within Rattanakosin Island

Uzbekistan[]

  • Tashkent
  • Samarkand
  • Bukhara
  • Khiva

Vietnam[]

Europe[]

Austria[]

Main article: Altstadt
Old Town Salzburg across the Salzach river
Old town of Innsbruck

UNESCO World Heritage old towns in Austria:

  • Graz (Styria)
  • Krems an der Donau (Lower Austria)
  • Salzburg (Salzburg), Altstadt Salzburg
  • Vienna (Vienna)

Other notable/famous old towns include:

Belgium[]

Bosnia and Herzegovina[]

Bulgaria[]

Croatia[]

  • Old Town of Dubrovnik, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Old Town of Split with Diocletian's Palace, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Old Town of Trogir, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Old Town of Varaždin
  • Gradec and Kaptol, twin old towns of Zagreb

Czech Republic[]

  • Staré Město in Prague, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Vnitřní město in Český Krumlov, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Vnitřní město in Kutná Hora, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Vnitřní město in Telč, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Cyprus[]

  • Walled city of Nicosia
  • Walled city of Famagusta
  • Old town of Limassol

Denmark[]

  • Den Gamle By in Aarhus

Estonia[]

  • Old Town (Vanalinn) of Narva
  • Old Town (Vanalinn) of Tallinn, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Old Town (Vanalinn) of Tartu

Finland[]

France[]

The Old Town of Albi, a UNESCO World Heritage site
The old city of Besançon and the meander of the Doubs River.

The equivalent of "Old Town" in French is vieille ville, although the more formal centre historique ("historical center") is usually written on road signs.

UNESCO World Heritage old towns in France:

  • Albi (Tarn)
  • Avignon (Vaucluse)
  • Bordeaux (Gironde)
  • Carcassonne (Aude)
  • Lyon (Rhône)
  • Provins (Seine-et-Marne)
  • Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin)

Other notable/famous old towns include:

  • Auxerre (Yonne)
  • Besançon (Doubs)
  • Lille (Nord)
  • Nice (Alpes-Maritimes)
  • Paris (Ile de France)
  • Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine)
  • Rouen (Seine-Maritime)
  • Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine)
  • Toulouse (Haute-Garonne)

Georgia[]

  • Old Tbilisi (Dzveli Tbilisi) in Tbilisi
  • Historical Center in Mtskheta, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Old Town in Kutaisi
  • Old Town in Batumi

Germany[]

Main article: Altstadt
Old town (Altstadt) of Regensburg in Bavaria, a World Heritage site
Hanseatic old town of Lübeck, aerial view
Old town of Quedlinburg
Wittenberg during Luthers Hochzeit festival
Old town of Würzburg
  • UNESCO World Heritage old towns in Germany:
    • Bamberg (Franconia)
    • Goslar (Lower Saxony)
    • Lübeck (Schleswig-Holstein)
    • Quedlinburg (Saxony-Anhalt)
    • Regensburg (Bavaria)
    • Stralsund (Western Pomerania)
    • Wismar (Mecklenburg)

Other notable/famous old towns include:

  • Northern Germany:
  • Eastern Germany:
    • Bautzen (Lusatia)
    • Erfurt (Thuringia)
    • Görlitz (Silesia)
    • Meissen (Saxony)
    • Pirna (Saxony)
    • Stolberg (Saxony-Anhalt)
    • Weimar (Thuringia)
    • Wernigerode (Saxony-Anhalt)
  • Southern Germany:
  • Western Germany:
    • Bacharach (Rhineland-Palatinate)
    • Beilstein (Rhineland)
    • Bernkastel-Kues (Rhineland)
    • Cochem (Rhineland-Palatinate)
    • Hattingen (North Rhine-Westphalia)
    • Landau (Palatinate)
    • Lemgo (Westphalia)
    • Limburg (Hesse)
    • Linz am Rhein (Rheinland)
    • Marburg (Hesse)
    • Monschau (Rhineland)
    • Montabaur (Rhineland-Palatinate)
    • Rüdesheim (Hesse)
    • Soest (North Rhine-Westphalia)
    • Trier (Rhineland-Palatinate)
    • Wetzlar(Hesse)
    • Xanten (Rhineland)

Greece[]

  • Old Town in Rhodes, UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Old Town of Corfu (city), UNESCO World Heritage Site

Ireland[]

Italy[]

Old town of Siena
Historic Centre of Rome
Venice as seen from the air
Old town of Urbino
Genoa
Vernazza, one of the towns of Cinque Terre in Liguria, Italy
Skyline of Assisi
  • UNESCO World Heritage old towns in Italy:
    • Assisi (Umbria)
    • Ferrara (Emilia-Romagna)
    • Florence (Tuscany)
    • Genoa (Liguria)
    • Mantua (Lombardy)
    • Modena (Emilia-Romagna)
    • Naples (Campania)
    • Pienza (Tuscany)
    • Pisa (Tuscany)
    • Ravenna (Emilia-Romagna)
    • Rome (Lazio)
    • San Gimignano (Tuscany)
    • Siena (Tuscany)
    • Siracusa (Sicily)
    • Urbino (Marche)
    • Venice (Veneto)
    • Verona (Veneto)
    • Vicenza (Veneto)

I Borghi più belli d'Italia is an association of small Italian towns of historical interest.

Other notable old towns include:

Latvia[]

  • Vecrīga in Riga, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Lithuania[]

Montenegro[]

Netherlands[]

The standard term for 'Old Town' in the Netherlands is "binnenstad", which translates as "innercity", i.e. in city on the inside of the city walls.

  • Oude Stad in Nijmegen

Norway[]

  • Old Town, Oslo

Poland[]

Poznań Old Town

Portugal[]

Romania[]

Serbia[]

  • Tešnjar, Valjevo - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • , Sremski Karlovci - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • , Grocka, Belgrade - Two quarters of Old City are a Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • , Novi Pazar - Cultural Heritage of Extraordinary importance
  • Stari Grad, a municipality in Belgrade
  • Stari Grad, a neighborhood in Novi Sad
  • Stari Grad, a municipality in Kragujevac
  • Stari Grad, the remains of a fort in Užice

Slovakia[]

Spain[]

Other notable/famous old towns include:

  • Andújar (Andalusia)
  • Bilbao (Basque Country)
  • Burgos (Castile and León)
  • Cádiz (Andalusia)
  • Girona (Catalonia)
  • Granada (Andalusia)
  • Ibiza (Balearic Islands)
  • Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands)
  • León (Castile and León)
  • Lorca (Murcia)
  • Lugo (Galicia)
  • Madrid (Madrid)
  • Oviedo (Asturias)
  • Palma de Mallorca (Balearic Islands)
  • Pamplona (Navarre)
  • Peniscola (Valencian Community)
  • San Sebastián (Basque Country)
  • San Roque (Andalusia)
  • Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Andalusia)
  • Seville (Andalusia)
  • Tarragona (Catalonia)
  • Teruel (Aragón)
  • Trujillo (Extremadura)
  • Vitoria-Gasteiz (Basque Country)
  • Zamora (Castile and León)

Sweden[]

Switzerland[]

Turkey[]

  • Istanbul, Historic Peninsula (Fatih district)
  • Ankara, Historic city center (Altındağ district)
  • Amasya, Historic city center

Ukraine[]

United Kingdom[]

England[]

Kingston upon Hull old town

Scotland[]

Overseas territories[]

  • Historic Town of St George, Bermuda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Middle East[]

Israel[]

  • Old City of Acre
  • Old City of Beersheba
  • Old City of Haifa
  • Old Jaffa
  • Old City of Nazareth
  • Old City of Ramle
  • Old City of Tiberias
  • Old City of Safed
  • Old City of Lydda

Palestine[]

  • Old City of Hebron
  • Old City of Nablus
  • Old City of Bethlehem

Lebanon[]

Palestine[]

Saudi Arabia[]

Syria[]

Yemen[]

North America[]

Canada[]

Cuba[]

Dominican Republic[]

  • Ciudad Colonial in Santo Domingo, oldest European city in America, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Mexico[]

  • Historic center of Mexico City, Mexico City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Guanajuato City, Guanajuato, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Morelia, Michoacán, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Zacatecas City, Zacatecas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Queretaro City, Querétaro
  • Campeche City, Campeche, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Puerto Rico[]

  • Old San Juan, UNESCO World Heritage Site, U.S. National Register of Historic Places

United States[]

See also: Old Town Historic District (disambiguation) and Oldtown (disambiguation)

California[]

See also: Old Town, California (disambiguation)

Florida[]

  • Old Town, Florida, a town in Dixie County, not to be confused with the one in Orlando
  • Old Town Fernandina, Fernandina Beach, Florida; the last town in the Western Hemisphere to be platted according to the Spanish "Law of the Indies" in 1811; named for King Ferdinand VII
  • Old Town, Key West, the historic section of the city of Key West, Florida
  • Old Town, an amusement park/shopping center in Kissimmee, Florida

North Carolina[]

Tennessee[]

Other US states[]

South America[]

Argentina[]

  • San Telmo and La Boca in Buenos Aires

Brazil[]

Northeast[]

Historic center of Salvador
  • Historic Center of Olinda
  • Historic Center of Salvador, also known as Pelourinho
  • Historic Center of São Luis

Center-West[]

Southeast[]

Pátio do Colégio (left) and surrounding historic buildings in São Paulo

South[]

Colombia[]

Ecuador[]

  • Quito´s Historic Center has one of the largest, least-altered and best-preserved historic centers in the Americas.[2] This center was, together with the historic centre of Kraków in Poland, the first to be declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 18 September 1978. The Historic Centre of Quito is located in the center south of the capital on an area of 320 hectares (790 acres), and is considered one of the most important historic areas in Latin America.There are about 130 monumental buildings (which hosts a variety of pictorial art and sculpture, mostly of religious inspired in a multi-faceted range of schools and styles) and 5,000 properties registered in the municipal inventory of heritage properties.

Uruguay[]

  • Ciudad Vieja in Montevideo, "Old City" is the name of the oldest part of the city

Other uses[]

  • The Girls of Old Town, a group of prostitutes in the comic series Sin City
  • Old Town (song), a song by Phil Lynott, later covered by the Corrs

See also[]

  • Altstadt
  • Eskişehir, "Old City" in Turkish
  • Old City (disambiguation)
  • Oldtown (disambiguation)
  • Stare Miasto (disambiguation), "Old Town" in Polish
  • Stari Grad (disambiguation), means "Old Town"

References[]

  1. ^ "Neighbourhood: Old Town". Tourism Toronto. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  2. ^ "City of Quito - UNESCO World Heritage". Whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 30 April 2010.

External links[]

  • Media related to Old towns at Wikimedia Commons
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