Bergen vs Canberra

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Bergen (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈbæ̀ɾɡn̩] (listen)), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. At the end of 2019, the municipality's population was 283,929. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers 465 square kilometres (180 sq mi) and is on the peninsula of Bergenshalvøyen. The city centre and northern neighbourhoods are on Byfjorden, 'the city fjord', and the city is surrounded by mountains; Bergen is known as the "city of seven mountains". Many of the extra-municipal suburbs are on islands. Bergen is the administrative centre of Vestland county. The city consists of eight boroughs: Arna, Bergenhus, Fana, Fyllingsdalen, Laksevåg, Ytrebygda, Årstad, and Åsane. Trading in Bergen may have started as early as the 1020s. According to tradition, the city was founded in 1070 by king Olav Kyrre and was named Bjørgvin, 'the green meadow among the mountains'. It served as Norway's capital in the 13th century, and from the end of the 13th century became a bureau city of the Hanseatic League. Until 1789, Bergen enjoyed exclusive rights to mediate trade between Northern Norway and abroad and it was the largest city in Norway until the 1830s when it was overtaken by the capital, Christiania (now known as Oslo). What remains of the quays, Bryggen, is a World Heritage Site. The city was hit by numerous fires over the years. The Bergen School of Meteorology was developed at the Geophysical Institute starting in 1917, the Norwegian School of Economics was founded in 1936, and the University of Bergen in 1946.

From 1831 to 1972, Bergen was its own county. In 1972 the municipality absorbed four surrounding municipalities and became a part of Hordaland county. The city is an international center for aquaculture, shipping, the offshore petroleum industry and subsea technology, and a national centre for higher education, media, tourism and finance. Bergen Port is Norway's busiest in terms of both freight and passengers, with over 300 cruise ship calls a year bringing nearly a half a million passengers to Bergen, a number that has doubled in 10 years. Almost half of the passengers are German or British. The city's main football team is SK Brann and a unique tradition of the city is the buekorps. Natives speak a distinct dialect, known as Bergensk. The city features Bergen Airport, Flesland and Bergen Light Rail, and is the terminus of the Bergen Line. Four large bridges connect Bergen to its suburban municipalities. Bergen has a mild winter climate, though with a lot of precipitation. From December to March, Bergen can be, in rare cases, up to 20 °C warmer than Oslo, even though both cities are at about 60° North. The Gulf Stream keeps the sea relatively warm, considering the latitude, and the mountains protect the city from cold winds from the north, north-east and east.

Source: Wikipedia

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Canberra ( (listen) KAN-bə-rə)

is the capital city of Australia. Founded after the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest town overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory; 280 km (170 mi) south-west of Sydney and 660 km (410 mi) north-east of Melbourne. On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies of Australia has been attained. Section 125 of the new Australian Constitution provided that property, situated in New South Wales and at least 100 miles (160 km) from Sydney, would be ceded to the new national government. Following discussion and exploration of various areas within New South Wales, the Seat of Government Act 1908 was passed in 1908 that given a capital in the Yass-Canberra area. The land has been transferred to the Commonwealth by New South Wales in 1911, producing the Australian Capital Territory, two years prior to the capital city being founded and formally named as Canberra in 1913. It is unusual among Australian cities, being an entirely planned city beyond any state, like Washington, D.C. in america or Brasília in Brazil. Following an international contest for the city's layout, a blueprint by American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected and building began in 1913. The Griffins' plan featured geometric themes such as circles, hexagons and triangles, and has been centred on axes aligned with significant topographical landmarks in the Australian Capital Territory. The town's design was influenced by the garden city movement and incorporates significant areas of natural vegetation. Since the chair of the government of Australia, Canberra is home to many important institutions of the national government, national monuments and museums. This includes Parliament House, the official residence of the monarch's representative that the Governor-General, the High Court and numerous government departments and agencies.



It is also the location of many social and cultural institutions of national significance like the Australian War Memorial, the Australian National University, the Royal Australian Mint, the Australian Institute of Sport, the National Gallery, the National Museum and the National Library. The town is also home to many important institutions of the Australian Defence Force including the Royal Military College Duntroon and the Australian Defence Force Academy. Additionally, it hosts the majority of foreign embassies in Australia as well as regional headquarters of numerous international organisations, non-profit groups, lobbying groups and professional associations. Canberra doesn't have a local council or town government like other Australian cities. The Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly performs the roles of both a town council for the town and a territory government for the rest of the Australian Capital Territory. The huge majority of the populace of the Territory reside in Canberra though and the town is therefore the primary focus of the ACT Government. However, the federal government maintains jurisdiction over the Territory and may overturn local laws. It still maintains control over the area known as the Parliamentary Triangle through the National Capital Authority. As at June 2019 the population of Canberra was 426,704, having increased by 1.5% over the previous 12 months. Since the city has a high percentage of public servants, the Commonwealth Government contributes the largest proportion of gross territory product and is the biggest single employer in Canberra, but not the majority employer. In comparison to the national averages, the unemployment rate is lower and the average income greater; tertiary education levels are higher, while the population is younger.

Source: Wikipedia