Re: Most peaceful European city?

sigvald@xxxxxxxx wrote:
VtSkier wrote:

Iceland cannot be considered anything but a European country, I cannot
imagine what other continent you could consign it to.
Islands are always problematical. I've heard Greenland referred
to as European, North American and a separate continent.

Greenland is always referred to as a North American country.

I think you are right, however, I have read what I said.

On third thought, I'll go with Reykjavik.
In a very odd coincidence this question popped into my head while
reading about Icelandic History today (specifically about the intact
medical records stretching back 800 years). My only concern is wether
it could be considered a "city" for all that time.
Reykjavík became the capital of Iceland upon independence in 1918 but
it could not be called a real city until much later.
Iceland does not have intact medical records going back more than a few
decades, I think you were referring to the extensive genealogical
records that stretch in many cases more than 1100 years back, I can
trace my ancestry to some of the settlers of Iceland and the leading
characters of the famous Icelandic sagas.

Good question, but then maybe that could be asked of other cities.
Certainly the only place that could be considered a city in
Iceland. Was it the seat of the parliament (the Althing) for
all that time? If so, then I'd say it was a city.
Reykjavík became the seat of the Icelandic parliament in 1840. The
parliament (Alþingi) met at Þingvellir from 930 to 1800 when the
parliament was suspended mainly due to a lack of suitable housing.
Did Reykjavik exist as something like a city for all that time?

No, Reykjavík had a population of ca 18 000 in 1920 so it could no be
called a city until the 1960´s or 70´s.

Hmmm. 18,000 isn't a bad size for a city. I lived a long while
in a Vermont city of only 20,000. It's still around that size.

Even without the seat of government, was it the principal town?

Not until the 17th century or so.

Was there in fact a "principal town"? It would seem like
a country with an agrarian and fishing economy wouldn't
really need a principal town especially considering its
population size.

What was Thingvellir (my computer isn't set up for 'thorn' and
other non-English characters) like? Government houses only? A
thriving town with commerce and trade?

No, Thingvellir was just a farm and there were no more than a few small
houses of the parliament members and the commercial activity was
limited to the summer months.

Part of these questions belong to the subject line. If Reykjavik
was not a city until 1918 or so, then it can't be a candidate for
what the original poster requested.

This might bring us back to Stockholm or Uppsala, or some other
Scandinavian city. Copenhagen anyone? WWII again may squash
this thought.

There has been more or less continous warfare between the Scandinavian
countries from 1000 to 1815 and Copenhagen is one of the most fought
over city in the world.
It may come as a surprise but there may have been more wars between
Sweden and Denmark than any other countries have engaged in.

Aha, so then there isn't really a European city that has been
peaceful for more than a few hundred years (if that long).

I would like to think there is somewhere on the Earth that
has been peaceful for a thousand years. Or maybe I'd settle
for 500 years. Should we expand this discussion to include
the rest of the world?
.

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