Moncton | |
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Moncton (; French pronunciation: [mɔŋktœn]) is one of three major urban centres in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, along with Saint John and the capital city of Fredericton. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because of its central inland location in the region and its history as a railway and land transportation hub for the Maritimes.
The city proper has a population of 71,889 (2016) and a land area of 142 km2 (55 sq mi). Greater Moncton has a population of 144,810 (2016), making it the largest city and census metropolitan area (CMA) in New Brunswick, and the second-largest city and CMA in the Maritime Provinces. The CMA includes the neighbouring city of Dieppe and the town of Riverview, as well as adjacent suburban areas in Westmorland and Albert counties.Although the Moncton area was first settled in 1733, Moncton was officially founded in 1766 with the arrival of Pennsylvania Germans immigrants from Philadelphia. Initially an agricultural settlement, Moncton was not incorporated until 1855. The city was named for Lt. Col. Robert Monckton, the British officer who had captured nearby Fort Beauséjour a century earlier. A significant wooden shipbuilding industry had developed in the community by the mid-1840s, allowing for the civic incorporation in 1855.
Turku | |
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Population | 194016 |
Turku ( TOOR-koo; Finnish: [ˈturku] (listen); Swedish: Åbo [ˈǒːbʊ] (listen), Finland Swedish: [ˈoːbu] (listen); Latin: Aboa; Russian: Турку, formerly Або) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (Varsinais-Suomi) and the former Turku and Pori Province (Turun ja Porin lääni; 1634–1997). The region was originally called Suomi (Finland), which later became the name for the whole country. As of 30 September 2018, the population of Turku was 191,499 making it the sixth largest city in Finland after Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa and Oulu. There were 330,192 inhabitants living in the Turku sub-region, ranking it as the third largest urban area in Finland after the Greater Helsinki area and Tampere sub-region. The city is officially bilingual as 5.2 percent of its population identify Swedish as a mother-tongue.It is unknown when Turku gained city rights. The Pope first mentioned the town Aboa in his Bulla in 1229 and the year is now used as the foundation year of Turku. Turku is the oldest city in Finland, and served as the most important city of the eastern part of the Kingdom of Sweden (modern-day Finland). After the Finnish war, Finland became an autonomous grand duchy of the Russian Empire in 1809. Turku lost its status as capital of the Grand Duchy in 1812, when Tsar Alexander I of Russia decided to move the capital to Helsinki.