Why is York a walled city?

The Romans started York around 71 AD. They built walls around their fort and then around the city that grew up on the other side of the River Ouse. Big bits of the walls of the Roman fort can still be seen and up to half of the rest are in the ramparts under the present walls.



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The York City Walls were originally established in 71 AD during Roman times, built to protect the 9th Legion from locals. Very little of the Roman walls remain, except from the Multiangular Tower, an imposing 3rd-century ten-sided stone tower located in the York Museum Gardens.

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York's city centre is surrounded by historic walls, which are free to access on foot throughout the year. No visit to York would be complete without a walk around the City Walls. At 3.4 kilometres long, the beautifully preserved walls are the longest medieval town walls in England.

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Uruk in ancient Sumer (Mesopotamia) is one of the world's oldest known walled cities. Before that, the proto-city of Jericho in the West Bank had a wall surrounding it as early as the 8th millennium BC. The earliest known town wall in Europe is of Solnitsata, built in the 6th or 5th millennium BC.

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Stretching 2.75 miles (including the gaps) the wall encircles an area of 263 acres, that's over 130 football pitches. Retaining all four bar (gates) into the City the York Walls are the most complete example of Medieval walls in England.

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The gateways through the defences in York are called 'bars'. The name 'bar' has its origins in the bars, or simple gates, which were used to block the gateways to keep people out. Originally the bars were made of simple stone. Over the years they became increasingly more elaborate and complex.

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One of the oldest cities in Canada—having celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2008—Quebec city has a distinct old-world character and charm. It is the only remaining walled city in North America north of Mexico and was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985.

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