Bourtange, Netherlands
Located in northeast Netherlands, near the German border, Fort Bourtange was built in 1593 as a military fortification to guard the only road connecting Germany and the city of Groningen. Converted into a village in 1851, it retains its iconic pentagonal shape and geometric street pattern. Today, the entire site serves as a museum, preserving its historical and architectural significance.

Palmanova, Italy
Palmanova, which lies in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy, is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Built by the Venetians to defend the Republic’s northeast border, it is a quintessential example of a Renaissance star fortress and is one of the largest and best preserved geometric towns. Palmanova’s radial design extends from a central hexagonal square, the ‘Piazza del Duomo’, with concentric rings crossed by straight avenues. This internal area is surrounded by a star-shaped double perimeter of fortifications.

Almeida, Portugal
Situated on a high plain in northeast Portugal, close to the Spanish border, lies the fortress of Almeida. It played a crucial role in defending Portugal’s border during its early years of independence. As seen in the image, its old town is surrounded by striking star-shaped ramparts.

Neuf-Brisach, France
Located in the Alsace region of France near the German border, Neuf-Brisach was built in 1697 on the French side of the Rhine, after the loss of Breisach on the opposite bank. The town’s name ‘Neuf’, meaning new in French, reflects its origins. Designed for both civilian and military use, Neuf-Brisach has a central octagonal layout with streets arranged in a square grid. It is part of the UNESCO listed network of fortifications created by Louis XIV’s famed engineer, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban.

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2024/12/Earth_from_Space_Star_cities

More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastion_fort

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago (9 children)

un "fort" is not a "city", neither a town. There are towns with forts as centers, but even they don't call these fortresses "towns"

[–] FlyingSquid 6 points 5 days ago (8 children)

They haven't been fortresses in centuries. They are currently towns or cities depending on your definitions of the words.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (7 children)

un "fort" is not a "city", neither a town. There are towns with ex-forts as centers, but even they don't call these ex-fortresses "towns"

better?

Communes vary widely in size and area, from large sprawling cities with millions of inhabitants like Paris, to small hamlets with only a handful of inhabitants. Communes typically are based on pre-existing villages and facilitate local governance. All communes have names, but not all named geographic areas or groups of people residing together are communes ("lieu dit" or "bourg"), the difference residing in the lack of administrative powers.

A town is a type of a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.

A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town

village sounds more appropriate for these settlements?

[–] TheTimeKnife 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Town is commonly used to refer to small cities, villages, hamlets or communities in American English.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 5 days ago

luckily, i'm on sh.itjust.works and not in u.s. :)

thanks for the info

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