Murcia vs Annecy

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Murcia (, US also , Spanish: [ˈmuɾθja] (listen)) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country, with a population of 447,182 inhabitants in 2018 (about one third of the total population of the Region). The population of the metropolitan area was 689,591 in 2010. It is located on the Segura River, in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula; it has a climate with hot summers, mild winters, and relatively low precipitation. Murcia was founded by the emir of Cordoba Abd ar-Rahman II in 825 with the name Mursiyah (Arabic: مرسية‎). It is now mainly a services city and a university town. Highlights for visitors include the Cathedral of Murcia and a number of baroque buildings, renowned local cuisine, Holy Week procession works of art by the famous Murcian sculptor Francisco Salzillo, and the Fiestas de Primavera (Spring Festival).

The city, as the capital of the comarca Huerta de Murcia is called Europe's orchard due to its long agricultural tradition and its fruit, vegetable, and flower production and exports. Murcia is located near the center of a low-lying fertile plain known as the huerta (orchard or vineyard) of Murcia. The Segura River and its right-hand tributary, the Guadalentín, run through the area. The city has an elevation of 43 metres (141 ft) above sea level and its municipality covers approximately 882 square kilometres (341 sq mi). The best known and most dominant aspect of the municipal area's landscape is the orchard. In addition to the orchard and urban zones, the great expanse of the municipal area is made up of different landscapes: badlands, groves of Carrasco pine trees in the precoastal mountain ranges and, towards the south, a semi-steppe region. A large natural park, the Parque Regional de Carrascoy y el Valle, lies just to the south of the city.

Source: Wikipedia

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Annecy (US: AN-ə-SEE, ahn-SEE, French: [ansi] (listen); Francoprovençal: Èneci or Ènneci) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nicknamed the "Pearl of French Alps" in Raoul Blanchard's monograph describing its location between lake and mountains, the city controls the northern entrance to the lake gorge. Due to a lack of available building land between the lake and the protected Semnoz mountain, its population has remained stagnant, around 50,000 inhabitants, since 1950. However, the 2017 merger with several ex-communes extended the city population to 126,924 inhabitants and 170,753 for its urban area, placing Annecy seventh in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Switching from the counts of Geneva's dwelling in the 13th century, to the counts of Savoy's in the 14th century, the city became Savoy's capital in 1434 during the Genevois-Nemours prerogative until 1659. Its role increased in 1536, during the Calvinist Reformation in Geneva, while the bishop took refuge in Annecy.

Saint Francis de Sales gave Annecy its advanced Catholic citadel role known as Counter-Reformation. The annexation of Savoy merged the city to France in 1860. Sometimes called "Venice of the Alps", this idyllic and touristic representation comes from the three canals and the Thiou river lying through the old city and whose initial role was to protect the city and to empower its handicrafts. The city experienced an industrial development in the 19th century with silk manufacturing. Some of its industrial legacy remains today with the headquarters of NTN-SNR bearings, Salomon, Entremont and Dassault Aviation. From the end of the 19th century, Annecy developed tourism around its lake summer facilities, winter resorts proximity and cultural attraction with its castle renovation and fine art museum opening in 1956 and the Animated Film Festival since 1960, hosted in Bonlieu's cultural centre. The municipal environmental policy managed to keep 40.3% of green spaces and the city and was awarded the "Golden Flower" in 2015, given to the nine most-flowered French cities. Its educational area is growing since the University of Savoy establishment in 1973.

Source: Wikipedia