Defensive wall

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The defence wall of Braşov, Romania

Defensive walls were common from the ancient period into the medieval period. Generally, these are referred to as city walls or town walls, although there were also walls, such as the Great Wall of China and the Atlantic Wall, which extended far beyond the borders of a city and were used to enclose vast regions.

City walls were still occasionally used as late as the 19th century although by this time they were generally of wood (rather than stone) construction and used only around small frontier settlements. City walls also had towers and were frequently surrounded by trenches.

The practice of building these massive walls had been developed sometime before the rise of the Sumerian Empire and was connected with the rise of city-states.

Oftentimes the walls proved impenetrable to attacking armies which then laid siege to the city.

Within walled cities, the poor and "noxious trades" were generally located near or outside the walls.

Contents

9 Morocco and Western Sahara

Canada

Quebec City, Quebec is the only fortified city north of Mexico whose walls still exist.

China

Great Wall of China
Chinese cities occasionally have remnants of city walls that were built in the Ming Dynasty and designed to withstand artillery bombardment. Chinese cities generally outgrew their walls, which fell into disrepair in the Qing dynasty. The city of Xi'an has well-preserved walls with a water filled moat that is a tourist attraction incorporating small parks surrounding a busy and modern area of the city.
The walls of Beijing were demolished during the 1960s to open large streets around the city. A metro line also follows the location of the former city walls.
Jingzhou
Walled villages can still be found in Mainland China and Hong Kong.

Croatia

Dubrovnik has well-preserved city fortifications including towers, gate, rampart walk and two citadels guarding the docks.
Ston walls built in 14th-16th century, at the isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula, to the north of Dubrovnik; 890 meters long town wall and 5 km Great Wall outside the town
Karlovac city walls, built in 1579 as a six-point star with bastions.

France

Aigues-Mortes
Arles (partial remains)
Avignon
Carcassonne
La Couvertoirade
Langres
Maginot Line
St Malo's old town

Germany

The German Democratic Republic claimed that the Berlin Wall (and the whole DDR border system) was defensive; but it was rather intended to prevent unauthorized emigration.

Israel

The walls of Akko (Acre) - 18th century modern Ottoman fortification able to withstand cannons attack. The wall has been restored and now includes rampart for tourists.

Ireland

Pale

Middle East

Jerusalem's Old City Walls
Jericho's Ancient City Walls - probably the most ancient stone wall ever discovered.

Morocco and Western Sahara

In the 1980s, Morocco built a system of sand wall defenses, the Moroccan Wall or Western Sahara walls, to keep the Polisario out of the Western Sahara.

Poland

Warsaw - partially preserved, partially restored after WWII
Cracow - only the barbican and some traces preserved
Zamosc - complete renaissance and 19th century walls preserved
Torun
Grudziadz
Wloclawek
Tyniec

Spain

Portions of a Roman wall are still standing in Barcelona, and many Spanish cities, such as Avila and Toledo, have medieval walls.
Lugo has a complete ringwall, with some parts of it dating back to Roman times.

Turkey

Istanbul

United Kingdom

Fragments of London Wall, the wall that once surrounded the Roman town of Londinium, are still visible just outside the Museum of London and at Tower Hill.
The remnants of the city walls of York are both a shortcut above the streets and, as in many places, a tourist attraction.
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Chester
Chichester
Conwy
Derry
Stirling

United States

Wall Street, in New York City, is named after New York's old city wall, long since dismantled.