Soria vs Helsingborg

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Soria (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsoɾja]) is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 (INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial population. The municipality has a surface area of 271,77 km2, with a density of 144.97 inhabitants/km2. Situated at about 1065 metres above sea level, Soria is the second highest provincial capital in Spain. Although there are remains of settlements from the Iron Age and Celtiberian times, Soria itself enters history with its repopulation between 1109 and 1114, by the Aragonese king Alfonso I the Battler. A strategic enclave due to the struggles for territory between the kingdoms of Castile, Navarre and Aragon, Soria became part of Castile definitively in 1134, during the reign of Alfonso VII. In Soria was born Alfonso VIII, and Alfonso X had his court established when he received the offer to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. In Soria, the deposed king James IV of Mallorca died, and John I of Castile married.

Booming during the Late Middle Ages thanks to its border location and its control over the bovine industry, Soria went into a slow decline over the next few centuries. It was seriously damaged during the Peninsular War. The city preserves an important architectural heritage (extensive medieval walls, Renaissance palaces and architecturally distinctive Romanesque churches) and is home to the Numantine Museum (with pieces from the nearby Celtiberian city of Numantia). Today, its population of 38,881 makes Soria the least populated provincial capital of Castile and León and the second least populated in Spain (after Teruel). Particularly important in its economy is the agri-food industry, while an increasing number of tourists are attracted by its cultural heritage. Soria was mentioned by UNESCO as a good example when including the Mediterranean diet in its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Source: Wikipedia

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Helsingborg (, US also , Swedish: [hɛlsɪŋˈbɔrj] (listen), Danish: [helse̝ŋˈpɒˀ]; spelled Hälsingborg between 1912 and 1970) is a town and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania, Sweden. It had 112,496 inhabitants in 2019. Helsingborg is the centre of the northern part of western Scania and Sweden's closest point to Denmark: the Danish city Helsingør is clearly visible about 4 km (2 mi) to the west on the other side of the Øresund. The HH Ferry route across the sound has more than 70 car ferry departures from each harbour every day.Following the Swedish orthography reform of 1906 the spelling of many place names in Sweden was modernized. In 1912 it was decided to use the form Hälsingborg.

In preparation for the local government reform in 1971, Hälsingborg city council proposed that the new, enlarged municipality should be spelled Helsingborg; this form was adopted by the government of Sweden from 1 January 1971. Historic Helsingborg, with its many old buildings, is a scenic coastal city. The buildings are a blend of old-style stone-built churches and a 600-year-old medieval fortress (Kärnan) in the city centre, and more modern commercial buildings. The streets vary from wide avenues to small alley-ways. Kullagatan, the main pedestrian shopping street in the city, was the first pedestrian shopping street in Sweden.

Source: Wikipedia