# Old World Countries where the biggest city isn't the capital **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 9, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-world-countries-where-the-biggest-city-isnt-the-capital/637161 "2012-10-09T01:53:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-world-countries-where-the-biggest-city-isnt-the-capital/637161/61 "2012-10-14T22:13:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Columbus is still smaller than Cleveland, in every way except officially. It ate all of its suburbs, but the historical boundaries before that happened leave it smaller than the city limits of Cleveland, and the Cleveland metropolitan area is likewise larger. Ohio is peculiar in many ways, one being that it has three “largest cities”. The largest incorporated city is the capital, the City of Columbus (where I lived for about 12 years). The largest metropolitan area within the state boundaries is Cleveland, but the largest metropolitan area with its centre in Ohio is Cincinnati, where the metropolitan area spreads a long way into northern Kentucky. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-world-countries-where-the-biggest-city-isnt-the-capital/637161/62 "2012-10-14T22:53:15Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > Ohio is peculiar in many ways, one being that it has three “largest cities”. The largest incorporated city is the capital, the City of Columbus (where I lived for about 12 years). The largest metropolitan area within the state boundaries is Cleveland, but the largest metropolitan area with its centre in Ohio is Cincinnati, where the metropolitan area spreads a long way into northern Kentucky. And don’t get me started on the flag! ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-world-countries-where-the-biggest-city-isnt-the-capital/637161/63 "2012-10-14T23:40:44Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Toronto & Montreal both wanted to be the capital of the _Province_ of Canada, for awhile the legistlature alternated between both cities, and finally Queen Victoria said enought and stuck her hatpin halfway between both cities on a map. Okay that’s not quite what happened, Her Majesty acted on the advice of her ministers, who took several factors (including geography, military defencibily, & several factors including geography, military defencibily & population size into account. My understanding was that the compromise capitol was Kingston, but that they moved it inland to Ottawa due to the War of 1812 – Kingston is right across the river from the States. At least, that is what they told us when my son was looking at Queen’s College in Kingston. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-world-countries-where-the-biggest-city-isnt-the-capital/637161/64 "2012-10-14T23:49:29Z")
The Hague is the only one I can identify with any confidence. Bern is a possibility. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-world-countries-where-the-biggest-city-isnt-the-capital/637161/65 "2012-10-14T23:51:25Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > There are some anomalies, such as the Netherlands, where the largest city (Amsterdam) is the official capital, but all the organs of government are in the Hague… Hm. Too bad for me I said the Hague was the cap. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-world-countries-where-the-biggest-city-isnt-the-capital/637161/66 "2012-10-15T06:27:15Z")
Sometimes, not all branches of the government are concentrated in the capital: Germany’s highest court isn’t located in Berlin, but in Karlsruhe. The seat of the central bank is Frankfurt. Germany’s equivalent of the FBI is located in Wiesbaden, the foreign intelligence service in Munich, the internal intelligence service in Cologne. Other less well-known government agencies on the Federal level are scattered all over the country. Several German ministries still have their official seat in the old capital Bonn. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-world-countries-where-the-biggest-city-isnt-the-capital/637161/67 "2012-10-15T07:04:25Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > They’re still comparable in size, though. Edmonton is not “US-style capital.” Edmonton is a major city and is in the same general class as Calgary. It’s not like the weird mismatches of Albany vs. NYC, or Harrisburg vs. Philadelphia, or Springfield vs. Chicago. I’d agree. Calgary is larger in population, but Edmonton isn’t far behind. Certainly, Edmonton has skyscrapers and business and public transit on par with Calgary; and if nobody is sticky about population, is Calgary’s equal in terms of services provided to inhabitants. As one who has lived in both cities, I can attest that differences in lifestyle between the two are negligible. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-world-countries-where-the-biggest-city-isnt-the-capital/637161/68 "2012-11-18T06:33:17Z")
St Petersberg was the Russian capital during the time of Empire although Moscow was larger. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-world-countries-where-the-biggest-city-isnt-the-capital/637161/69 "2012-11-18T07:14:08Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > I’d say our only real U.S.-style capital is Fredericton, which I never hear about in any capacity other than as provincial capital (and for its university). New Brunswick has not one but two larger cities – Saint John and Moncton. What about Victoria? It’s the number #2 city in BC, but unlike Edmonton it’s by a pretty big margin-- 350k vs. 2.3 million. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-world-countries-where-the-biggest-city-isnt-the-capital/637161/70 "2012-11-18T07:53:35Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Sacramento was made the capital of California when it was the major transportation head for what was, then, most of the people of California; Los Angeleswas a small town.. Not true. LA was the capital of Mexican Alta California and was not a small town by Western North American standards. The only reason Sacramento was made the capital was because that’s where most of the American immigrants were concentrated. Both Los Angeles and San Francisco were more important transportation centers than was Sacramento ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-world-countries-where-the-biggest-city-isnt-the-capital/637161/71 "2012-11-18T08:00:59Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > What about Victoria? It’s the number #2 city in BC, but unlike Edmonton it’s by a pretty big margin-- 350k vs. 2.3 million. Victoria was the largest city in BC until the railroad reached Vacouver in the 1880s. ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-world-countries-where-the-biggest-city-isnt-the-capital/637161/72 "2012-11-18T08:18:05Z")
Isn’t Bonn a fairly small city even compared to other West German cities? ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-world-countries-where-the-biggest-city-isnt-the-capital/637161/73 "2012-11-18T09:53:21Z")
> [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](#): > > Isn’t Bonn a fairly small city even compared to other West German cities? About 325,000 people live in Bonn which makes it #18 on the [list of the biggest cities in Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Germany_by_population). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-world-countries-where-the-biggest-city-isnt-the-capital/637161.md?page=3)