Category: Histories of countries and key towns and cities around the world

By Tim Lambert Viking Dublin Dublin was founded by the Vikings. They founded a new town on the south bank of the Liffey in 841. It was called Dubh Linn, which means black pool. The new town of Dublin was fortified with a ditch and an earth rampart with a wooden palisade on top. In… Continue reading A History of Dublin

By Tim Lambert The Foundation of Edmonton The great Canadian city of Edmonton began as a trading post called Fort Edmonton, built in 1795. It was named after Edmonton, England, which was then a town north of London. However, in the late 19th century the settlement began to spread outside the fort. Then in 1892,… Continue reading A History of Edmonton

By Tim Lambert Early Florence The great city of Florence was founded by the Romans in 59 BC. It was a colonia, a settlement for retired soldiers and it was called Florentia. The new town flourished and grew under Roman rule. However, in the 4th century, the Roman Empire split into two, East and West.… Continue reading A History of Florence Italy

By Tim Lambert Galway in the Middle Ages Galway was first recorded in 1124 when a fort was built there. However, the town was founded in the 13th century. In 1170-71 the English invaded eastern Ireland and in 1232 a baron named Richard de Burgh took this area and created a town. After 1270 walls… Continue reading A History of Galway

By Tim Lambert Early Gdansk The story of Gdansk begins in the 10th century. At first, it was a small trading settlement but it soon grew. In 1224 it was formally made a town when it was granted certain rights. Then in 1308 the Teutonic Knights (an order of German knights) took over Gdansk. They… Continue reading A History of Gdansk

By Tim Lambert Early Halifax Halifax was founded in Canada in 1749. Colonel Edward Cornwallis led a group of British settlers. They build houses and a stockade. St Paul’s Church was built in 1750. The same year, in 1750 other settlers founded Dartmouth. However, the native people of the area, the Mi’Kmaq objected and they… Continue reading A History of Halifax

By Tim Lambert Early Krakow According to legend Cracow was founded by a hero called Krak who killed a dragon by feeding it animal skins filled with sulfur. In reality, Krakow was a thriving settlement and a center of trade by the 10th century. Krakow was first mentioned in 965 by a Spanish merchant who… Continue reading A History of Krakow, Poland

By Tim Lambert Viking Limerick The Vikings founded Limerick in 922 AD. It was an obvious place to build a town because it was an island between the Shannon and the Abbey River and so was easily defended. Limerick soon became a thriving little town. However, the Vikings fought each other as well as the… Continue reading A History of Limerick

By Tim Lambert Dedicated to Terry and Rhonda Luff Early Melbourne The first Europeans visited the site of Melbourne in 1803. A group of settlers landed at Port Phillip Bay but within a year they moved on to Tasmania. The city of Melbourne in Australia was founded in 1835. In that year a group of… Continue reading A History of Melbourne

By Tim Lambert Early Montreal In 1635 the French explorer Jacques Cartier reached the island of Montreal. Then in 1642, a group of French settlers led by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve went to Montreal. The new settlement flourished on the fur trade. However, the early settlers met with hostility from the Iroquois until 1701… Continue reading A History of Montreal