Caracas | |
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State | Distrito Capital |
Country | Venezuela |
Capital | |
Population | 3274000 |
Caracas (, Spanish: [kaˈɾakas]), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the centre of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located across the Guaire River at the northern portion of the country, within the Caracas Valley of the Venezuelan coastal mountain range (Cordillera de la Costa). The valley is near the Caribbean Sea, separated from the coast by a steep 2,200-metre-high (7,200 ft) mountain range, Cerro El Ávila; to the south there are more hills and mountains. The Metropolitan Region of Caracas has an estimated population of almost 5 million inhabitants.
The middle of the city remains Catedral, situated near Bolívar Square, although some consider the center to become Plaza Venezuela, located at the Los Caobos region.
Szczecin | |
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State | |
Country | |
Capital | |
Population | 408172 |
Szczecin (UK: SHCHETCH-in, US: -een, shchet-SEEN, Polish: [ˈʂt͡ʂɛt͡ɕin] (listen); German: Stettin [ʃtɛˈtiːn] (listen); Swedish: Stettin [stɛˈtiːn]; known also by other alternative names) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport and Poland's seventh-largest city. As of December 2019, the population was 401,907.Szczecin is located on the river Oder, south of the Szczecin Lagoon and the Bay of Pomerania. The city is situated along the southwestern shore of Dąbie Lake, on both sides of the Oder and on several large islands between the western and eastern branches of the river. Szczecin is adjacent to the town of Police and is the urban centre of the Szczecin agglomeration, an extended metropolitan area that includes communities in the German states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The city's recorded history began in the 8th century as a Lechitic Pomeranian stronghold, built at the site of the Ducal castle. In the 12th century, when Szczecin had become one of Pomerania's main urban centres, it lost its independence to Piast Poland, the Duchy of Saxony, the Holy Roman Empire and Denmark.