Valencia vs Opole

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Valencia (Spanish: [baˈlenθja]), officially València (Valencian: [baˈlensia] (locally) or [vaˈlensia]), is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona, surpassing 800,000 inhabitants in the municipality. The wider urban area also comprising the neighbouring municipalities has a population of around 1.6 million. Valencia is Spain's third-largest metropolitan area, with a population ranging from 1.7 to 2.5 million depending on how the metropolitan area is defined. The Port of Valencia is the 5th-busiest container port in Europe and the busiest container port on the Mediterranean Sea. The city is ranked as a Gamma-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.Valencia was founded as a Roman colony by the consul Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus in 138 BC and called Valentia Edetanorum. In 714, Moroccan and Arab Moors occupied the city, introducing their language, religion and customs; they implemented improved irrigation systems and the cultivation of new crops as well. Valencia was the capital of the Taifa of Valencia. In 1238 the Christian king James I of Aragon conquered the city and divided the land among the nobles who helped him conquer it, as witnessed in the Llibre del Repartiment.

He also created the new Kingdom of Valencia, which had its own laws (Furs), with Valencia as its main city and capital. In the 18th century Philip V of Spain abolished the privileges as punishment to the kingdom of Valencia for aligning with the Habsburg side in the War of the Spanish Succession. Valencia was the capital of Spain when Joseph Bonaparte moved the Court there in the summer of 1812. It also served as the capital between 1936 and 1937, during the Second Spanish Republic. The city is situated on the banks of the Turia, on the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula, fronting the Gulf of Valencia on the Mediterranean Sea. Its historic centre is one of the largest in Spain, with approximately 169 ha (420 acres). Due to its long history, Valencia has numerous celebrations and traditions, such as the Fallas, which were declared Fiestas of National Tourist Interest of Spain in 1965 and an Intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in November 2016. Joan Ribó from Compromís has been the mayor of the city since 2015.

Source: Wikipedia

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Opole (Polish: [ɔˈpɔlɛ] (listen); German: Oppeln [ˈʔɔpl̩n]; Silesian: Ôpole; see below) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 128,035 (December 2019), it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of Opole County. With its long history dating back to the 8th century, Opole is one of the oldest cities in Poland. It is also the smallest city in Poland to be the largest city in its province. The origins of the first settlement are connected with the town being granted Magdeburg Rights in 1217 by Casimir I of Opole, the great-grandson of Polish Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth. During the Medieval Period and the Renaissance the city was known as a centre of commerce due to its position on the intersection of several main trade routes, which helped to generate steady profits from transit trade. The rapid development of the town was also caused by the establishment of a seat of regency in Opole in 1816. The first railway connection between Oppeln, Brieg and Breslau was opened in 1843 and the first manufacturing plants were constructed in 1859, which greatly contributed to the city's regional significance.

The city's extensive heritage entails almost all cultures of Central Europe including years of Polish, Bohemian, Prussian and German rule. Opole formally became part of Poland again in 1945 under the Potsdam Agreement. Many German Upper Silesians and Poles of German ancestry still reside in the Opole region; in the city itself, however, ethnic Germans today make up less than 3% of the population following the 1945–6 expulsions. Today there are four higher education establishments in the city: The Opole University, Opole University of Technology, a Medical College and the private Higher College of Management and Administration. The National Festival of Polish Song has been held here annually since 1963 and each year new regular events, fairs, shows and competitions take place.Opole is sometimes referred to as "Polish Venice", because of its picturesque Old Town and several canals and bridges connecting parts of the city.

Source: Wikipedia