Bari vs Kruje

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Bari ( BAR-ee, Italian: [ˈbaːri] (listen); Barese: Bare [ˈbæːrə]; Latin: Barium; Ancient Greek: Βάριον, romanized: Bárion) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples (and the third after Palermo, if Insular Italy is included), a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas. The city itself has a population of 320,257 inhabitants, over 116 square kilometres (45 sq mi), while the urban area has 750,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area has 1.3 million inhabitants. Bari is made up of four different urban sections. To the north is the closely built old town on the peninsula between two modern harbours, with the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, the Cathedral of San Sabino (1035–1171) and the Hohenstaufen Castle built for Frederick II, which is now also a major nightlife district.

To the south is the Murat quarter (erected by Joachim Murat), the modern heart of the city, which is laid out on a rectangular grid-plan with a promenade on the sea and the major shopping district (the via Sparano and via Argiro). Modern residential zones surrounding the centre of Bari were built during the 1960s and 1970s replacing the old suburbs that had developed along roads splaying outwards from gates in the city walls. In addition, the outer suburbs developed rapidly during the 1990s. The city has a redeveloped airport, Karol Wojtyła Airport, with connections to several European cities.

Source: Wikipedia

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Krujë (definite Albanian form: Kruja; see also the etymology section) is a town and a municipality in north central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is only 20 km north from the capital of Albania, Tirana. Krujë was inhabited by the ancient Illyrian tribe of the Albani. In 1190 Krujë became the capital of the first Albanian state in the middle ages, the Principality of Arbër. Later it was the capital of the Kingdom of Albania, while in the early 15th century Krujë was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, but then recaptured in 1443 by Skanderbeg, leader of the League of Lezhë, who successfully defended it against three Ottoman sieges until his death in 1468. The Ottomans took control of the town after the fourth siege in 1478, and incorporated it in their territories.

A 1906 local revolt against the Ottoman Empire was followed by the 1912 Declaration of Independence of Albania. In the mid-1910s Krujë was one of the battlefields of the conflict between the short-lived Republic of Central Albania, founded by Essad Toptani, and the Principality of Albania. In 1914 Toptani managed to seize the town but during the same year it was reincorporated by Prênk Bibë Doda in the Principality of Albania. During World War II it was the centre of the activities of resistance leader Abaz Kupi. The museums of Krujë include the Skanderbeg Museum, located in the environs of the Krujë Castle, and the national ethnographic museum.

Source: Wikipedia