Kaliningrad vs Exeter

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Kaliningrad (Russian: Калининград, IPA: [kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat]), historically German: Königsberg, Polish: Królewiec and Old Prussian: Twangste), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, the westernmost Oblast of Russia. The city is situated on the Pregolya River, at the head of the Vistula Lagoon on the Baltic Sea, with a population of 489,359 residents, up to 800,000 residents in the urban agglomeration. Kaliningrad is the second-largest city in the Northwestern Federal District, after Saint Petersburg, the third-largest city in the Baltic region, and the seventh-largest city on the Baltic Sea. The settlement of modern-day Kaliningrad was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement Twangste by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named Königsberg in honor of Czech King Ottokar II of Bohemia. A Baltic port city, it successively became the capital of the State of the Teutonic Order, the Duchy of Prussia (1525–1701) and East Prussia. Königsberg remained the coronation city of the Prussian monarchy, though the capital was moved to Berlin in 1701. From 1454 to 1455 the city under the name of Królewiec belonged to the Kingdom of Poland, and from 1466 to 1657 it was a Polish fief.

Königsberg was the easternmost large city in Germany until World War II. The city was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in 1944 and during the Battle of Königsberg in 1945; it was then captured and annexed by the Soviet Union on 9 April 1945. The Potsdam Agreement of 1945 placed it provisionally under Soviet administration. Briefly Russified as Kyonigsberg, it was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946 in honor of Soviet leader Mikhail Kalinin. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it is governed as the administrative centre of Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland. As a major transport hub, with sea and river ports, the city is home to the headquarters of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy, and is one of the largest industrial centres in Russia. It was recognized as the best city in Russia in 2012, 2013 and 2014 according to Kommersant's magazine The Firm's Secret, the best city in Russia for business in 2013 according to Forbes, and was ranked fifth in the Urban Environment Quality Index published by Minstroy in 2019. Kaliningrad has been a major internal migration attraction in Russia over the past two decades, and was one of the host cities of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Source: Wikipedia

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Exeter ( (listen)) is a city in Devon, England, on the River Exe 36 miles (58 km) northeast of Plymouth and 65 miles (105 km) southwest of Bristol. It is the county town of Devon, and home to Devon County Council and the University of Exeter. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal command of Vespasian. Exeter became a religious centre in the Middle Ages. Exeter Cathedral, founded in the mid 11th century, became Anglican in the 16th-century English Reformation.

In the late 19th century, Exeter became an affluent centre for the wool trade, although by the First World War the city was in decline. After the Second World War, much of the city centre was rebuilt and is now a centre for business and tourism in Devon and Cornwall. The administrative area of Exeter has the status of a non-metropolitan district under the administration of the County Council; a plan to grant the city unitary authority status was scrapped by the 2010 coalition government.

Source: Wikipedia