Leeuwarden vs Governador Valadares

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Leeuwarden (US: , Dutch: [ˈleːʋɑrdə(n)] (listen); West Frisian: Ljouwert [ˈljɔːʋ(ə)t]/[ˈʎɔːw(ə)t] (listen); Town Frisian: Liwwadden; Leeuwarder dialect: Leewarden) is a city and municipality in Friesland in the Netherlands. It is the provincial capital and seat of the States of Friesland. The municipality has a population of 122,293. The region has been continuously inhabited since the 10th century. It came to be known as Leeuwarden in the early 9th century AD and was granted city privileges in 1435. It is the main economic hub of Friesland, situated in a green and water-rich environment. Leeuwarden is a former royal residence and has a historic city center, many historically relevant buildings, and a large shopping center with squares and restaurants.

Leeuwarden was awarded the title European Capital of Culture for 2018. The Elfstedentocht (Eleven Cities Tour), an ice skating tour passing the eleven cities of Friesland, started and finished in Leeuwarden. The following towns and villages within the municipality have populations in excess of 1,000 people: Leeuwarden, Stiens, Grou, Goutum, Wergea, Jirnsum, Reduzum, and Wirdum. The municipality is governed by the mayor Sybrand van Haersma Buma and a coalition of the Labour Party, Christian Democratic Appeal, and GreenLeft.

Source: Wikipedia

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Governador Valadares is a Brazilian municipality in the countryside of Minas Gerais. In 2018, its population was 278,685 inhabitants, thus being the ninth most populated city in the state. It is an economical axis of the middle valley of the Doce River (Rio Doce, lit. "Sweet river"), having a significant influence on the east and northeast portion of Minas Gerais and local authorities of the state of Espírito Santo. Governador Valadares sits on the bank of the Doce River (Rio Doce), 324 km from Belo Horizonte. Governador Valadares has an area of about 2 342 km², being only 58 km² of urban area. The discovery of the city started at the beginning of the XVI century, that explored the Doce River searching for precious metals. The settlement began between the XVIII and XIX centuries, constructing barracks destined to keep an eye at the Amerindians, who used to attack the settlers and merchants.

With the construction of the EFVM (Vitória-Minas Railway), in 1907, the settlements were consolidated. The growth of the population and commercial development was improved due to the location of the city, that was near to coffee farms and wood extraction fields. The municipality was emancipated from Peçanha in the 1930s. After the 40s, the extraction of precious metals brought a notable population growth, along with livestock and commerce. But with the decline of natural resources, the money could only be earned through the investment of immigrants, who would later go to other countries. Commerce is the most important source of income in the city, along with agribusiness and regional manufactured products.

Source: Wikipedia