Our homes are our safe haven and the walls make us feel protected from the outside world. But did you know that in the olden days, kings and queens used to build huge walls all around their city for the safety of their people.
Obviously things have changed and this is not common place anymore, but you can visit some of these cities if you’d like to see these famous walls for yourself.
So be it a vacation, a stag do or just a trip out of the blue, do not forget to add these wonderful walled cities to your list. To give you a head start, we have shortlisted 9 cities that are surrounded by large and impressive fortifications that are worth visiting.
1. Dubrovnik, Croatia
The city of Dubrovnik is the most famous among all the walled cities. It’s an old town city having colossal walls around its perimeter which defended the people within against attacks from both land and sea. Walking on its perimeter is quite a popular activity amongst tourists. If you happen to be there, then don’t forget to visit the famous bars which are located outside of the great wall and called buzas by the locals there.
2. Carcassonne, France
The Carcassonne is at the top of a hill since the Neolithic period. Restored in the 19th century, the citadel was originally built by Romans in the 4th century and now is a world heritage site under UNESCO.
3. Taroudant, Morocco
The only thing that makes the city different from the other places is that it still exists inside the walls. From residence to market, you will find that everything is surrounded by walls. The market town is called ‘Little Marrakech’.
4. York, UK
The city was originally established in the 1st century by Romans. Just after setting up the place, they built a wall around it for protection and started to live within. Many great emperors of the Roman empire like Constantine the great, Severus and Hadrian ruled over the city for several years.
5. Obidos, Portugal
Originally built by Portugal king Denis almost 700 years ago, the city has seen the prosperity and fall of many empires including the Romans, Moors and Visigoths. The place still has the remnants of Normans and Romans. Porta da Vila, Obidos castle and Caldas da Rainha are among the few popular attractions in the city.
6. Jerusalem, Israel
Jerusalem is a wonderful city in Israel and has holy places of worship for both Judaism and Islam. The early fortification of the wall was demolished several times during many conquers. Then the great structure was built in 16th century by the Ottoman sultan Suleiman during his reign.
7. Murten, Switzerland
Situated between the Germany and France, the city has a picturesque view of the lake Murten. It was built 800 years ago. The only wall of this beautiful walled city that is left undestroyed is the ‘Ring Wall’. Visitors can walk around the wall and enjoy the wonderful view of the lake from atop the tower of the structure.
8. Essaouira, Morocco
The city was originally built in the 16th century and named Mogador but was rebuilt in 1960 and renamed as Essaouira, that means ‘little rampart’. Both the Carthaginians and the barbers are considered essential to the location of the city that makes it a port city.
9. Visby, Sweden
The wall of the cost town of Visby was built by its residents in the 12th century. It was the time when building walled cities was in trend in all of Europe. The height of the wall is 18 feet (6 meters) and originally it did not have any towers. Later, in the 13th century, the citizens of Visby got inspired to add towers to the wall because of a war. And then they added 29 towers to it by continuing working on it continuously, out of which 27 towers still remain unharmed even today.
Now that you know that such interesting and amazing places from the past still exist, there’s so much history that you can still witness by merely visiting somewhere new. So, go get packing and brush up on your history to get the most out of your experience.