Villefranche-de-Conflent is a 17th century fortified beautiful city that is home to many crafts men and it is well known for its beauty as well as its strategic positioning. This has made it to be among the most preferred tourist attractions in the country (Gilbert 2005, pp. 68). The Liberia fortress was particularly built with the aim of protecting the city from aerial bombardments. The city forms the railway terminus of the Perpignan trains (Alsford 2000, pp. 4-10). The city is just about 50Km on the western side of Perpignan. It dates back to the eleventh century and it is found at the meeting point between River Cady and River Tet at the base of a mountain (Chan 2009). The city is still surrounded by village fortifications which are characterized by attractive stone houses that are pink in color which dates as back as the 13th century. They were later strengthened by Vauban in the seventeenth century.
The walls have made the place confined hence preserving its attractiveness as well as authenticity. The tourists particularly prefer the yellow train which has open carriages that enable them to fully view the scene. It reaches Bolquere railway station. It crosses various bridges and tunnels as it passes across the hills and valleys showing the best scenic beauty. The city is at the center of the Pyrenees (Gross 1956, pp. 3-7).
When compared to the medieval towns in Ireland, there are several similarities as well as differences that exist. Most of the towns acted as harbors, trading centers or they were mainly characterized by iron working as well as craft production. Taking the example of Dublin city for instance, it is a medieval city that was known for being a ship fortress. The town was densely populated and its residents did not to necessarily rely on basic techniques of production techniques whether in Agriculture or other sectors (McMahon 2009, pp. 67). In the mid twentieth century, an embankment was raised surrounding the city and at the same time, a ditch was dug around Dublin. After all these, earthen defenses were reinforced using the post-and-wattle fence although the stave palisade came later to replace it. The city was later in 1100 protected and fortified using a stone wall around it. The wall did not last for long as it was destroyed during the Anglo-Norman inversion. The town also had suburbs in its environs at that time (Thomas 1990). Unlike Villefranche-de-Conflent, the town’s security was basically composed of wooden buildings as well as the post-and wattle fences. Just like the French town, Dublin was mainly home to crafts men as well as traders (Whitelaw 1980). It had extensive trade connections as it imported goods from as far as Byzantium and the Arab world. This raised the status of its dwellers as town people and most of them were referred to as burgesses (Nieukerken 2006).
Villefranche-de-Conflent has often been known as a city with very minimal development although it has remained a major tourist attraction cite due to its beauty. The wall around the city was basically aimed at protecting it from any external aggression (Rick 2011). The two cities Villefranche-de-Conflent and Dublin have numerous similarities as well as differences. Dublin is situated right at the base of River Liffey at the center of the Dublin Regions. The city realized very minimal development after 1801. Dublin is the historical significance for its country (Saint-Martin 2005). It is a very significant administrative center and a transport hub at the same time. The two cities their fore have several features in common and various differences as well.
References
Alsford S. 2000. Medieval English Urban History.
Chan W. 2009. A Leap into the Blue Ocean. Web.
Gilbert, J. 2005. A colonial constitution. Web.
Gross, G. 1956. Visit France. Web.
McMahon, N. 2009. Dublin City. Web.
Nieukerken, E. 2006. Zootaxa, The Nepticulidae and Opostigidae of mainland France. Web.
Rick, S. 2011. Europe: Travelers’ helpline-To the West. Web.
Saint-Martin, C. 2005. Pyrenees Orientales. Web.
Thomas J. 1990. Law and Usages of the City of Dublin. Web.
Whitelaw, J. 1980. History of Dublin. Web.