European AtlasMap 2

When cities were founded

Drag the slider back to 500 BC and only the Mediterranean rim is lit. By 100 AD the Roman frontier along the Rhine and Danube has appeared; the Baltic fills in after 1000; the Scandinavian and Russian capitals arrive last.

1800 AD
Hover or tap a city.

“Founded” is slippery. Many cities have a traditional date (Rome 753 BC, Venice 421), a first written mention (Berlin 1237, Moscow 1147), or archaeology showing people there much earlier (Athens, Lisbon, Edinburgh). The date used is the conventional one for continuous urban settlement; each city’s blurb notes the wrinkle.