Galle | |
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Population | 100000 |
Galle (Sinhala: ගාල්ල, romanized: Gālla; Tamil: காலி, romanized: Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District.
Galle was known as Gimhathiththa(although Ibn Batuta a Moroccan Arab Muslim traveler in the 14th century refers to it as Qali) before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, when it was the main port on the island. Galle reached the height of its development in the 18th century, during the Dutch colonial period. Galle is the best example of a fortified city built by the Portuguese in South and Southeast Asia, showing the interaction between Portuguese architectural styles and native traditions. The city was extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century from 1649 onwards. The Galle fort is a world heritage site and is the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers.
Other prominent landmarks in Galle include the city's natural harbour, the National Maritime Museum, St.
Oslo | |
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Population | 0 |
Oslo ( OZ-loh, also US: OSS-loh, Norwegian: [ˈʊ̂ʂlʊ] (listen), rarely [ˈʊ̂slʊ, ˈʊ̀ʂlʊ]) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. As of 27 February 2020, the municipality of Oslo had a population of 693,491, while the population of the city's urban area was 1,019,513, as of 4 November 2019. The metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1.71 million.During the Viking Age the area was part of Viken. Oslo was founded as a city at the end of the Viking Age in the year 1040 under the name Ánslo, and established as a kaupstad or trading place in 1048 by Harald Hardrada. The city was elevated to a bishopric in 1070 and a capital under Haakon V of Norway around 1300. Personal unions with Denmark from 1397 to 1523 and again from 1536 to 1814 reduced its influence. After being destroyed by a fire in 1624, during the reign of King Christian IV, a new city was built closer to Akershus Fortress and named Christiania in the king's honour. It was established as a municipality (formannskapsdistrikt) on 1 January 1838. The city functioned as the capital of Norway during the 1814–1905 union between Sweden and Norway. From 1877, the city's name was spelled Kristiania in government usage, a spelling that was adopted by the municipal authorities only in 1897. In 1925 the city, after incorporating the village retaining its former name, was renamed Oslo. In 1948 Oslo merged with Aker, a municipality which surrounded the capital and which was 27 times larger, thus creating the modern, vastly enlarged Oslo municipality.
Oslo is the economic and governmental centre of Norway.