Bergen vs Luxembourg

Informations

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

Informations

Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuerg, French: Luxembourg, German: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City (Luxembourgish: Stad Lëtzebuerg or d'Stad, French: Ville de Luxembourg, German: Stadt Luxemburg, Luxemburg-Stadt), is the capital city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the country's most populous commune.

Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxembourg, the city lies in the center of Western Europe, located 213 km (132 mi) by road from Brussels, 372 kilometers (231 mi) from Paris, and 209 km (130 mi) from Cologne. The town comprises Luxembourg Castle, established by the Franks in the Early Middle Ages, around which a settlement developed. As of 31 December 2019, Luxembourg City has a population of 122,273 inhabitants, which is more than three times the population of the country's second most populous commune (Esch-sur-Alzette). The city's population includes 160 nationalities.



Foreigners represent 70% of the city's population, while Luxembourgers represent 30 percent of the population, and the amount of foreign-born residents in town rises steadily each year.In 2011, Luxembourg was rated as having the second-highest per capita GDP in the world at $80,119 (PPP), with the city having grown into a banking and administrative center. In the 2011 Mercer worldwide survey of 221 cities, Luxembourg was set first for personal security, while it was ranked 19th for quality of living.Luxembourg is one of the de facto capitals of the European Union (alongside Brussels, Frankfurt, and Strasbourg), as it is the seat of several institutions, agencies, and bodies of the European Union, such as the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Auditors, the Secretariat of the European Parliament, the European Investment Bank, the European Investment Fund, the European Stability Mechanism, and Eurostat.

Source: Wikipedia