1. Paris: a city in north central France, the capital and the largest city of France, on the Seine River, about 370 km (about 230 mi) from its Atlantic Ocean outlet at Le Havre. Paris is situated in a low-lying basin; the city is mostly flat, although the elevation gradually increases from the river to the low hills that ring the city’s edge. The highest natural feature within the city proper is the Butte de Montmartre, at 129 m (423 ft) above sea level. With an estimated population approaching 10 million, the Paris metropolitan area contains nearly 20 percent of the nation’s inhabitants and dominates the economic, cultural, and political life of France to an extraordinary degree. The centralizing philosophy of successive governments has historically favored the city as the site for all decision making, thus exercising a powerful attraction on virtually all of the nation’s activities. Only since the 1960s have attempts been made to reduce the inordinate influence of Paris in French affairs and to strengthen the role of various regions and secondary cities. Please visit http://www.paris.org for more information about Paris.
2. Berlin: the capital and the largest city of the Federal Republic of Germany. Berlin also constitutes a state within the country of Germany. Berlin became the capital of Germany in 1871, when the numerous independent kingdoms and principalities of Germany united to form a single nation-state. The city quickly developed into one of Europe’s major industrial and cultural centers and became the single most important city in Germany. From 1945 until 1990 Berlin was a divided city. Following the defeat of the Nazi regime in World War II (1939-1945), the victorious Allied Powers, the United States, Britain, France, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), divided Germany into four zones, each occupied by one of the Allied Powers. They also divided up Berlin. In 1949 East Berlin, the Soviet-controlled sector of the city, became the capital of the German Democratic Republic (known as East Germany). West Berlin remained an urban island occupied by the Western powers and surrounded by Communist East Germany. The city became a focus of Cold War tensions between Communist countries led by the USSR and anti-Communist states led by the United States. In 1990, following the collapse of the USSR and East Germany, Berlin was reunited and became the capital of a united Germany. Please visit http://www.berlin2serv.com/gen_info/geninfo.htm for more information about Berlin.