walled cities

Rampart-enclosed urban centers

Walled cities are urban settlements enclosed by defensive fortifications—walls, gates, and sometimes moats.

Most major cities were walled before gunpowder made such defenses obsolete.

Today the term often refers to historic districts that preserve their original walls: the walled city of Dubrovnik, Jerusalem's Old City.

In Hong Kong, the Kowloon Walled City was a densely packed, ungoverned enclave that became legendary for its lawlessness before demolition in 1993.

Related

siege warfare · keep out · city gates · gated community · battlements · medieval town · ancient walls · Roman Empire · defensive structures · fortified city · city walls · castle walls · safe havens · Dubrovnik · Jericho · Ottoman Empire · defense · city limits

Categories
Opposites
fortification/enclosure

walled citiessprawling suburbs

defensive posture

walled citiesdemilitarized zones

Areas banning armed forces

free ports

settlement type/density

walled citiesrural villages

Small countryside settlements

farmsteads

Family

wall, cities, walled, citadel, city wall

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Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G