Volgograd | |
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Population | 1016137 |
Volgograd (Russian: Волгогра́д), formerly Tsaritsyn (Цари́цын) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (Сталингра́д) (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of 859.4 square kilometres (331.8 square miles), with a population of over 1 million residents. Volgograd is the fifteenth-largest city in Russia, the second-largest city on the Southern Federal District, and the fourth-largest city on the Volga.
The city was founded as the fortress of Tsaritsyn in 1589. By the nineteenth century, Tsaritsyn became an important river-port and commercial centre, leading to its population expanding rapidly. During the Russian Civil War, Tsaritsyn came under Soviet control. On April 10, 1925, the city was renamed Stalingrad in honor of Joseph Stalin.
Kaunas | |
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Population | 315993 |
Kaunas (; Lithuanian: [ˈkɐʊˑnɐs] (listen); also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Trakai Palatinate since 1413. In the Russian Empire, it was the capital of the Kaunas Governorate from 1843 to 1915.
During the interwar period, it served as the temporary capital of Lithuania, when Vilnius was seized by Poland between 1920 and 1939. During that period Kaunas was celebrated for its rich cultural and academic life, fashion, construction of countless Art Deco and Lithuanian National Romanticism architectural-style buildings as well as popular furniture, the interior design of the time, and a widespread café culture. The city interwar architecture is regarded as among the finest examples of European Art Deco and has received the European Heritage Label.