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

By Tim Lambert Dedicated to Agata Ulanowska Torun in The Middle Ages Torun is a historic city in Poland. It is famous for its many Medieval buildings. The town of Torun was founded by the Teutonic Knights (an order of German knights who ruled parts of the Baltic). On 28 December 1233, Torun was given… Continue reading A History of Torun Poland

By Tim Lambert The Foundation of Vancouver For 10,000 years, native people lived on the site of Vancouver. A Spaniard named Jose Maria Narvaez reached the area by sea in 1791. However, in 1792, George Vancouver claimed the land for Britain. In 1808, Simon Fraser reached the area after travelling overland. The Fraser River was… Continue reading A History of Vancouver

By Tim Lambert Early Venice According to tradition, Venice was founded in 421 AD. At that time a Celtic people called the Veneti lived along the coast of what is now Northeast Italy. Since 49 BC they had been Roman citizens. However, in 453 Attila the Hun invaded Italy. In terror, some Veneti fled to… Continue reading A History of Venice

By Tim Lambert Dedicated to Karina Smulska Early Warsaw Warsaw developed later than other Polish towns. By the 10th century, there was a small settlement on the River Wisla. However, it didn’t grow into a town until the 14th century. In 1413 Warsaw became the capital of the Duchy of Mazovia. Then in 1526, Mazovia… Continue reading A History of Warsaw

By Tim Lambert The Foundation of Washington DC Washington DC was founded to be the capital of the United States. The first European to explore the area was Englishman John Smith in 1608. Later in the 17th century settlers created tobacco plantations worked by black slaves. The town of Alexandria was founded in 1749 and… Continue reading A History of Washington DC

By Tim Lambert VIKING AND MEDIEVAL WATERFORD Waterford is one of Ireland’s oldest towns. The Vikings founded it. They founded several towns in Ireland of which Waterford was one. The exact year Waterford was founded is not known. However, according to tradition, it was around 853 but some people believe it was founded later in… Continue reading A History of Waterford

By Tim Lambert The town of Whitehorse was founded after gold was found in Yukon in 1896. In 1897 many people were camping in the area and soon the tents were replaced by permanent buildings. It’s believed the town takes its names from nearby rapids because they reminded people of the manes of white horses.… Continue reading A History of Whitehorse

By Tim Lambert Early Winnipeg Winnipeg stands at the confluence of two rivers. Its name comes from native words meaning murky waters. The French built a fur trading post on the site in 1738 called Fort Rouge. However, the fort was later abandoned. Then in 1810, the North West Company built a new fort called… Continue reading A History of Winnipeg

By Tim Lambert Early Wroclaw Wroclaw is one of Poland’s great cities. It began in the 10th century as a settlement on an island called Ostrow Tumski (Cathedral Island). In 990 Silesia and Wroclaw became part of Poland. In 1000 a bishopric (diocese of a bishop) was established there. In 1241 Wroclaw was devastated when… Continue reading A History of Wroclaw, Poland

By Tim Lambert Dedicated to Bea Mendyk Early Zakopane Zakopane is a flourishing winter sports center at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. It’s commonly called The winter capital of Poland. However, until the 19th century, Zakopane was only a tiny village. It does not appear in history until the 17th century. However during the… Continue reading A History of Zakopane