Rennes vs Cluj-Napoca

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Rennes (French pronunciation: [ʁɛn] (listen); Breton: Roazhon [ˈrwɑːzən]; Gallo: Resnn; Latin: Condate Redonum) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department. In 2015, the city was the tenth largest in France, with a metropolitan area of about 720,000 inhabitants. The inhabitants of Rennes are called Rennais(e)(es) in French Rennes's history goes back more than 2,000 years, at a time when it was a small Gallic village named Condate. Together with Vannes and Nantes, it was one of the major cities of the ancient Duchy of Brittany. From the early sixteenth century until the French Revolution, Rennes was a parliamentary, administrative and garrison city of the historic province of Brittany of the Kingdom of France as evidenced by its 17th century Parliament's Palace. Rennes played an important role in the Stamped Paper Revolt in 1675. After the destructive fire of 1720, the medieval wooden center of the city was partially rebuilt in stone.

Remaining mostly rural until the Second World War, Rennes really developed in the twentieth century. Since the 1950s, Rennes has grown in importance through rural flight and its modern industrial development, partly automotive. The city developed extensive building plans to accommodate upwards of 200,000 inhabitants. During the 1980s, Rennes became one of the main centres in telecommunication and high technology industry. It is now a significant digital innovation centre in France. In 2002, Rennes became the smallest city in the world to have a Metro line. Labeled a city of art and history, it has preserved an important medieval and classical heritage within its historic center with over 90 buildings protected as historic monuments. With more than 66,000 students in 2016, it is also the eighth-largest university campus of France. . In 2018, L'Express named Rennes as "the most liveable city in France".

Source: Wikipedia

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Cluj-Napoca (Romanian: [ˈkluʒ naˈpoka] (listen); German: Klausenburg; Hungarian: Kolozsvár [ˈkoloʒvaːr] (listen)), commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (324 kilometres (201 miles)), Budapest (351 km (218 mi)) and Belgrade (322 km (200 mi)). Located in the Someșul Mic river valley, the city is considered the unofficial capital to the historical province of Transylvania. From 1790 to 1848 and from 1861 to 1867, it was the official capital of the Grand Principality of Transylvania. As of 2011, 324,576 inhabitants lived within the city limits (making it the country's second most populous at the time, after the national capital Bucharest), marking a slight increase from the figure recorded at the 2002 census. The Cluj-Napoca metropolitan area has a population of 411,379 people, while the population of the peri-urban area (Romanian: zona periurbană) exceeds 420,000 residents. The new metropolitan government of Cluj-Napoca became operational in December 2008.

According to a 2007 estimate provided by the County Population Register Service, the city hosts a visible population of students and other non-residents—an average of over 20,000 people each year during 2004–2007. The city spreads out from St. Michael's Church in Unirii Square, built in the 14th century and named after the Archangel Michael, the patron saint of Cluj-Napoca. The boundaries of the municipality contain an area of 179.52 square kilometres (69.31 sq mi). Cluj-Napoca experienced a decade of decline during the 1990s, its international reputation suffering from the policies of its mayor at the time, Gheorghe Funar. Today, the city is one of the most important academic, cultural, industrial and business centres in Romania. Among other institutions, it hosts the country's largest university, Babeș-Bolyai University, with its botanical garden; nationally renowned cultural institutions; as well as the largest Romanian-owned commercial bank. Cluj-Napoca held the titles of European Youth Capital in 2015 and European City of Sport in 2018.

Source: Wikipedia