List of divided cities
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A divided city is one which, as a consequence of political changes or border shifts, currently constitutes (or once constituted) two separate entities, or an urban area with a border running through it. Listed below are the localities and the state they belonged to at the time of division.
Divided cities include:
United cities that were divided
- Akçakale, divided along the Baghdad Railway under the Treaty of Ankara in 1921
- Arappınar, divided along the Baghdad Railway under the Treaty of Ankara in 1921
- Baarle, divided since 1194, modern NL–BE division since 1831
- Baarle-Nassau, Netherlands
- Baarle-Hertog, Belgium
- Bad Muskau, Germany
- Bad Muskau, Germany
- Łęknica, Poland
- Bad Radkersburg, Austria-Hungary
- Bad Radkersburg, Austria
- Gornja Radgona, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (now Slovenia)
- Beirut (since reunited) in Lebanon, during the Lebanese civil war
- Berlin (since reunited) in Germany
- West Berlin, closely associated with West Germany
- East Berlin, East Germany
- Bratislava, Czechoslovakia
- Bratislava, Slovakia
- Engerau (Petržalka), Germany (reunited after World War II)
- Bristol, USA
- Carmen de Patagones, Argentina
- Deryneia, Cyprus (De facto divided since 1974)
- Deryneia, Cyprus
- Kato Deryneia, North Cyprus
- Dibba, Portuguese fort
- Dibba Al-Fujairah (دبا الفجيرة), ruled by the Emirate of Fujairah, UAE
- Dibba Al-Hisn (دبا الحصن), ruled by the Emirate of Sharjah, UAE
- Dibba Al-Baya (دبا البيعة), ruled by the Governorate of Musandam, Oman
- El Paso del Norte, Mexico (divided in 1848 after the Mexican–American War)
- El Paso, Texas, United States
- Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
- Frankfurt (Oder), Germany
- Frankfurt (Oder), East Germany, now Germany
- Słubice, Poland
- Forst (Lausitz), Germany
- Forst (Lausitz), Germany
- Zasieki, Poland
- Galkayo, Somalia
- Ghajar divided between Israel and Lebanon
- Gmünd, Austria-Hungary
- Gmünd, Austria
- České Velenice, Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic
- Gorizia, Italy
- Gorizia, Italy
- Nova Gorica, Yugoslavia, now Slovenia
- Görlitz, Germany
- Görlitz, East Germany, now Germany 60,000
- Zgorzelec, Poland 38,000
- Guben, Germany
- Guben, East Germany, now Germany 22,000
- Gubin, Poland 19,000
- Herzogenrath, divided since 1815 at the Congress of Vienna (before that, department of Meuse-Inférieure)
- Herzogenrath, Germany (47,187)
- Kerkrade, Netherlands (47,681)
- Hili, India, divided since 1947 after partition of India
- Hili, India
- Hili, East Pakistan, now Bangladesh (1971–)
- Jerusalem (de facto reunited in 1967)
- West Jerusalem, Israel
- East Jerusalem (al-Quds), under Jordanian control 1948–1967, under Israeli control since 1967, claimed by Jordan 1967-1988; claimed by Palestine 1988-present[a]
- Komárom, Austria-Hungary
- Komárom, Hungary
- Komárno, Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia
- Kosovska Mitrovica, Kosovo[b]
- ethnic-Albanian south (Republic of Kosovo-controlled)
- ethnic-Serb north (North Kosovo)
- Küstrin, Germany
- Kostrzyn nad Odrą, Poland
- Küstrin-Kietz, Germany
- Laredo, New Spain/Mexico (note: Mexican city was founded when the border was established, by people moving over the border from what had just become the American city)
- Laufenburg divided between Switzerland and Germany
- Lloydminster, Canada, divided between Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1905–1930
- The community was founded in 1903 in what was then the Northwest Territories, and located on the Fourth Meridian of the Dominion Land Survey, which became the boundary between the newly created provinces two years later. In 1930, the community was reunited as a single town under the shared jurisdiction of both provinces, and reincorporated as a single city in 1958.
- Lo Wu (the romanization used in Hong Kong) / Luohu (the romanization used in mainland China)
- 1898–1911: divided between the Qing Empire and British Hong Kong
- 1912–1939: divided between Kwangtung Province, Republic of China and British Hong Kong
- 1939–1941: divided between Japanese occupation zone (pronounced Rakō) and British Hong Kong
- 1941–1945: both under Japanese occupation.
- 1945–1949: divided between Kwangtung Province, Republic of China and British Hong Kong
- 1949–1997: divided between Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China and British Hong Kong
- 1997–present: the People's Republic of China possesses the sovereignty of the entire town since Hong Kong was handed over to the People's Republic of China by the United Kingdom in 1997; the part that was previously possessed by British Hong Kong is now administered by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the rest of the town is still administered by Guangdong Province.
- Mödlareuth, Germany (now without boundary wall)
- Mödlareuth, Gefell, Thuringia, East Germany
- Mödlareuth, Töpen, Bavaria, West Germany
- Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- The Dayton Agreement that ended the Bosnian War in 1995 divided many cities that once were united in former Yugoslav Bosnia—for details, see the Inter-Entity Boundary Line article.
- Moyale, divided between Kenya and Ethiopia
- Narva, Estonia
- Nicosia, capital of Cyprus, divided since 1974 after the Turkish invasion on the island and still divided (North Nicosia).
- Padang Besar, Malay Peninsula, divided between Malaysia and Thailand. (Note: as the history of the area is somewhat hazy, it is not clear whether the town constituted a single settlement divided by an international border, or is instead an example of a geographical twin city. However, both towns' names, and the majority of their inhabitants, are of Malay origin.)
- Pello
- Rafah divided between the Palestine and Egypt
- Resülayn, divided along the Baghdad Railway under the Treaty of Ankara in 1921
- Rheinfelden divided between Switzerland and Germany
- Rijeka, Croatia
- Fiume, Italy (1924–1944)
- Sušak, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
- Rome, Papal States
- Rome, Italy
- Vatican City
- Sha Tau Kok (the romanization used in Hong Kong) / Shatoujiao (the romanization used in mainland China)
- 1898–1911: divided between the Qing Empire and British Hong Kong
- 1912–1939: divided between Kwangtung Province, Republic of China and British Hong Kong
- 1939–1941: divided between Japanese occupation zone ( pronounced Satōgaku) and British Hong Kong
- 1941–1945: both under Japanese occupation.
- 1945–1949: divided between Kwangtung Province, Republic of China and British Hong Kong
- 1949–1997: divided between Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China and British Hong Kong
- 1997–present: the People's Republic of China possesses the sovereignty of the entire town since Hong Kong was handed over to the People's Republic of China by the United Kingdom in 1997; the part that was previously possessed by British Hong Kong is now administered by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the rest of the town is still administered by Guangdong Province.
- Teschen, Austrian Silesia
- Texarkana, United States
- Torneå, Kingdom of Sweden
- Walk, Livonia
- Veľké Slemence
- divided between Slovakia and Ukraine (connected with an exclusive border just for the village, the only one in the Schengen area)
- Zvornik, earlier all within Yugoslavia, after the dismemberement of the country it remains divided between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
- Zvornik, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Mali Zvornik, Serbia
Cities that arose next to each other across a boundary line
- Astara
- Brazzaville/Kinshasa
- Blagoveshchensk/Heihe
- Blagoveshchensk, Russia
- Heihe, China
- Derby Line/Stanstead
- Detroit–Windsor
- San Diego-Tijuana
- Jaigaon/Phuntsholing
- Johor Bahru/Singapore
- Monaco and its French suburbs
- In Monaco: Monte-Carlo, Monaco-Ville, Fontvielle, Larvotto
- In France: Beausoleil, Alpes-Maritimes, Les Moneghetti, Saint-Antoine, Figuiera, Les Salines
- Niagara Falls, USA/Canada
- Philadelphia/Camden, United States
- New York City and its neighbors (Jersey City, West New York, Hoboken, etc.) across the Hudson River
- Sault Ste. Marie
- Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States
- Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
- Texhoma
- Texhoma, Oklahoma, United States
- Texhoma, Texas, United States
- Union City, United States
- Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal grew to territory of Vila do Conde since the 18th century. Although it is not clear that the territory actually was in Vila do Conde limits. Ideas to merge the towns arose in the 19th century.
- Giurgiu/Ruse
Cities that arose next to each other across two border lines
Historically, the Polish Tricity, Gdynia (a city built to become a port of the Second Polish Republic) and its neighbours Gdańsk and Sopot, overlapped two borders:
- In Free City of Gdańsk: Gdańsk and suburbs
- In Yugoslavia: Brod in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slavonski Brod in Croatia.
Cases that involve formerly united cities being divided and cities growing up across borders from one another
- Nicosia, capital of Cyprus, divided since 1974 due to the Turkish invasion.
- Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after the Dayton Accords which politically define country's political structure, have most of the city within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while some suburbs are within the boundaries of the other entity, Republika Srpska.
- Washington, DC, USA, and suburbs
- Washington, DC
- Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)—originally in Maryland, moved to the District of Columbia
- Alexandria, Virginia—originally in Virginia, moved to District of Columbia, moved back to Virginia
- The suburbs that sprang up in Maryland: Bethesda, Brookmont, Capitol Heights, Chevy Chase, Chevy Chase Village, Chillum, Colmar Manor, Coral Hills, Cottage City, Fairmount Heights, Glassmanor, Hillcrest Heights, Mount Rainier, Seat Pleasant, Silver Hill, Silver Spring, Suitland, and Takoma Park
- The suburbs that arose in Virginia: Arlington and McLean
See also
- Border town
- Cross-border town naming
- List of divided islands
- Transborder agglomeration
- United cities
Notes and references
Notes:
| a. | ^ There was international controversy on the status of Jerusalem in 1948 which has been further complicated since 1967. See positions on Jerusalem for further information. |
| b. | ^ Template:Kosovo-note |
References: