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Altstadt

German language word for "old town"

Altstadt () is the German language word for "old town", and generally refers to the historical town or city centre within the old town or city wall, in contrast to younger suburbs outside. Neustadt (new town), the logical opposite of Altstadt, mostly stands for a part of the "Altstadt" in modern sense, sometimes only a few years younger than the oldest part, e. g. a late medieval enlargement.

Germany

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

{{Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. 001633. Baden (AG, Gemeinde). Andreas Steigmeier
(21 April 2020). "Die Unesco klopft der Stadt Bern auf die Finger".
Dietrich, Rolf. (29 June 2017). "Freiburger Altstadt - Den Beizen fehlen die Gäste".
(15 May 2022). "Keine autofreie Altstadt für Frauenfeld – dafür wird saniert".
{{Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. 001321. St. Gallen (Gemeinde). (6 January 2012)
Bitter, Sabine. (24 June 2025). "«Kosmos Altstadt»: Schweizer Visionen für die Altstadt der Zukunft".

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