Altstadt

Most German towns have an Altstadt, even though the ravages of war have destroyed many of them, especially during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). Another notable example was during the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), where Mélac's aggressive tactics devastated many cities and large parts of southwestern Germany, like the Heidelberg Castle. Allied strategic bombing during World War II destroyed nearly all large cities, with the exception of Regensburg and Heidelberg. Many smaller towns remained intact, for example Bamberg, Konstanz, Passau, Tübingen, Dinkelsbühl, Quedlinburg and Wismar. Some Altstadt parts in Freiburg, Erfurt, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Weimar and others have been restored. But most destroyed bigger German old towns were not reconstructed. Important old towns like those of Hildesheim, Braunschweig, Frankfurt, Kassel and Pforzheim were largely lost and only a limited smaller part, such as a church or an area around a town square reconstructed. Recent efforts of Altstadt reconstructions can be found in Dresden (Neumarkt area), Potsdam (the old market and city palace) and Frankfurt (Römerberg around the Cathedral). ==Examples of Altstadt districts in cities and towns==

Austria • Baden bei Wien • Gmünd, Carinthia • Gmünd, Lower Austria • Graz • Judenburg • Salzburg • Schärding • Steyr • Zell am See Germany • Aachen • Amberg • Baden-Baden • Bamberg (a World Heritage Site) • Bayreuth • Bernkastel-Kues • Bietigheim-Bissingen • Büdingen • Celle • Cologne (Altstadt Nord & Süd) • Dinkelsbühl • Dresden (Dresden old town) • Düsseldorf (Altstadt (Düsseldorf)) • Erfurt • Freiburg (:de:Altstadt (Freiburg im Breisgau)) • Gernsbach • Görlitz (:de:Görlitzer Altstadt) • Goslar (a World Heritage Site) • Güstrow • Hamburg (Altstadt) • Heidelberg (:de:Heidelberger Altstadt) • Konstanz • Landshut • Limburg an der Lahn • Lindau • Lübeck (a World Heritage Site) • Lüneburg • Marbach am Neckar • Marburg • Mosbach • Munich (Altstadt (Munich)) • Neustrelitz • Nuremberg • Nördlingen • Putbus • Quedlinburg (a World Heritage Site) • Ravensburg • Regensburg (a World Heritage Site) • Rostock • Rothenburg ob der Tauber • Rüdesheim • Schwerin • Stade • Stralsund (a World Heritage Site) • Tangermünde • Trier • Tübingen • Überlingen • Waren (Müritz) • Weingarten (Baden) • Weinheim • Wernigerode • Wetzlar (:de:Historische Altstadt Wetzlar) • Wismar (a World Heritage Site) Switzerland • Baden (AG) • Bellinzona • Bern (UNESCO) • Biel/Bienne • Bremgarten (AG) • Brugg • Bulle • Delémont • Eglisau (ZH) • Fribourg • Frauenfeld • Greifensee (ZH) • Gruyères • Kyburg (ZH) • Lausanne • Lavaux • Luzern • Müstair • Rapperswil (SG) • Regensberg (ZH) • Romont • Murten • Rheinau • Schaffhausen • Solothurn • St. Gallen • Stein am Rhein • Vevey • Wil (SG) • Winterthur • Zürich Other towns Notable Altstadt districts in cities that used to be inhabited also by a German-speaking population: • Altstadt Königsberg (Kaliningrad) • Old Town, Prague • Old Town, Tallinn ==Gallery==

File:Germany Tübingen Altstadt.jpg|Altstadt of Tübingen, Germany File:Stralsund, Altstadt (2011-05-21) 4.JPG|Stralsund, Germany, a UNESCO World Heritage site File:Ploenlein Rothenburg 1900.jpg|Altstadt of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany, in 1900... File:Rothenburg BW 4.JPG|... and in 2008 File:Castelli.JPG|Castles of Bellinzona, Switzerland File:Greifensee ZH - IMG 2423.JPG|Greifensee and its castle, Switzerland, as seen from the Gallus chapel File:Lausanne Kathedrale.JPG|Lausanne, Switzerland and its cathedral File:Schaffhausen IMG 2704.JPG|Altstadt of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, as seen from Munot File:Zürich - Schipfe IMG 1103.JPG|Altstadt (parts of: Schipfe) and Lindenhof hill in Zürich, Switzerland == References ==