City/Land names with stories

[the real god emperor]

Hello ,

I decided to make a thread about cities with stories, how did they come up with the name? I think it can be good to know each others stories

I will start now;

Kastamonu

Kastamonu is a city located on the Black Sea region of Turkey, it has a weird name tho , so I learned the story of it;

Centuries ago , when Seljuks first come to Minor Asia (Greece , lol! ) There was a Byzantine Commander in the so called city. When Turks conquered the castle , they just couldnt take it . One day, Commander's daughter Moni, fell in love with one of the raiders.And gave him the key of the gates.When his father learned this he turned mad and yelled at her ; "Kastın neydi Moni? (Kastamonu)" Eng: "What was your purpose , Moni?" thats why its called Kastamonu.

I think you guys have few of these too , please share

[no_rules_just_play]

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The story how the flag of leuven was chosen:
According to the legend the flag tells the story of the battle against the vikings in 891. Arnulf van Karinthië defeated the vikings during a bloody battle, there even was so much blood that the river banks turned red.
But actually the flag just wears the colors of Neder-Lotharingen and isn't older than the 13th century.



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Antwerpen:
According to folklore, notably celebrated by a statue in front of the town hall, the city got its name from a legend involving a mythical giant called Antigoon who lived near the Scheldt river. He exacted a toll from those crossing the river, and for those who refused, he severed one of their hands and threw it into the river. Eventually, the giant was slain by a young hero named Brabo, who cut off the giant's own hand and flung it into the river. Hence the name Antwerpen, from Dutch hand werpen, akin to Old English hand and wearpan (to throw), which has evolved to today's warp.

In favour of this folk etymology is the fact that hand-cutting was indeed practised in Europe; the right hand of a man who died without issue was cut off and sent to the feudal lord as proof of main-morte. However, John Lothrop Motley argues that Antwerp's name derives from an 't werf (on the wharf). Aan 't werp (at the warp) is also possible. This "warp" (thrown ground) is a man-made hill, just high enough to remain dry at high tide, whereupon a farm would be built. Another word for werp is pol (hence polders).

The prevalent theory is that the name originated in the Gallo-Roman period and comes from the Latin antverpia. Antverpia would come from Ante (before) Verpia (deposition, sedimentation), indicating land that forms by deposition in the inside curve of a river (which is in fact the same origin as Germanic waerpen). Note that the river Scheldt, before a transition period between 600 to 750, followed a different track. This must have coincided roughly with the current ringway south of the city, situating the city within a former curve of the river.

[zagibu]

M'Tgo'tbulu was founded when the great hawk Mabulu fell in love with the Opossum (yes, there was only one opossum back in the day, and it was also its name). The Opossum didn't want to have a bird for a husband, because they are known to be infidel, so she didn't eat the mouse Mabulu brought her as a wedding gift. She thought that Mabulu would understand the message, and look for another wife, but Mabulu was unfortunately a very determined, and also a bit dumb, hawk. He kept bringing her mice every day, and soon the exit of the Opossum's den was blocked with the dead remains of those mice. The Opossum was very angry, because it had wanted to visit relatives in the neighboring town, but it couldn't leave its den because of all the dead bodies. When the Opossum didn't show up for visit, its relatives were concerned that something happened, so they traveled to its den and saw the mice graveyard. The dumb bird was just then dropping another mouse onto the pile, and the Opossum's relatives immediately understood what's going on. So they decided to help the Opossum and started to eat the mouse corpses to clear a way for the Opossum. But when the dumb bird came back and saw that they were eating his presents, he swore to himself that they could eat all they want, he would simply bring more mice than they could eat, after all, he was a great hunter, and also very dumb. So he kept bringing another dead mouse for every mouse the Opossum's relative ate. This didn't discourage the Opossum's relatives, though, because like the bird, they weren't very smart (many animals are actually kind of dumb, most can't even write). So they decided to settle there so that they could keep clearing a path for the Opossum. They figured that Mabulu, the dumb bird, would get tired of it eventually. But he didn't. Also, he didn't die, because he is one of the first birds. So to this day, the Opossum's relatives live in this town and clear away mice that the dumb bird keeps replacing. They named the town M'Tgo'tbulu, which means "Mabulu is dumb".

[Kafein]

M'Tgo'tbulu was founded when the great hawk Mabulu fell in love with the Opossum (yes, there was only one opossum back in the day, and it was also its name). The Opossum didn't want to have a bird for a husband, because they are known to be infidel, so she didn't eat the mouse Mabulu brought her as a wedding gift. She thought that Mabulu would understand the message, and look for another wife, but Mabulu was unfortunately a very determined, and also a bit dumb, hawk. He kept bringing her mice every day, and soon the exit of the Opossum's den was blocked with the dead remains of those mice. The Opossum was very angry, because it had wanted to visit relatives in the neighboring town, but it couldn't leave its den because of all the dead bodies. When the Opossum didn't show up for visit, its relatives were concerned that something happened, so they traveled to its den and saw the mice graveyard. The dumb bird was just then dropping another mouse onto the pile, and the Opossum's relatives immediately understood what's going on. So they decided to help the Opossum and started to eat the mouse corpses to clear a way for the Opossum. But when the dumb bird came back and saw that they were eating his presents, he swore to himself that they could eat all they want, he would simply bring more mice than they could eat, after all, he was a great hunter, and also very dumb. So he kept bringing another dead mouse for every mouse the Opossum's relative ate. This didn't discourage the Opossum's relatives, though, because like the bird, they weren't very smart (many animals are actually kind of dumb, most can't even write). So they decided to settle there so that they could keep clearing a path for the Opossum. They figured that Mabulu, the dumb bird, would get tired of it eventually. But he didn't. Also, he didn't die, because he is one of the first birds. So to this day, the Opossum's relatives live in this town and clear away mice that the dumb bird keeps replacing. They named the town M'Tgo'tbulu, which means "Mabulu is dumb".

didn't read, plusing anyway

[Moncho]

My hometown has an interesting story that is quite well reflected on its name.
Home to an iberian settlement, was then extended by the carthaginians in the Punic Wars and called Akra Leuka (white cliff, or similar, due to the castle hill that made it a good strategic position).
Later the romans founded a nearby settlement and called it Lucentum. However later the land changed and they relocated to where Akra Leuka had been.
Then the muslims renamed it to Al-laqant when they invaded most of Spain in the 8th century.
When the Reconquista arrived to that part of modern Spain, it was very near the line that separated Castillan and Aragonese expansion lines. First Castille took it, but then after some revolts it ended up in Aragonese hands. Also, in subsequent wars between Aragon and Castile, it has always been a military target, due to being the largest town in the immediate region.
Then two different names emerged: The Aragonese adapted Al-laquant to Alacant, whereas in Castilian it gradually changed to Alicante.
And ever since then, the town has two names, Alicante (Castilian/Spanish) and Alacant (Catalan). It has ever since had parts of the population that supported each of them and some years ago they were both recognised as official names.

[zagibu]

My brother has been to Alicante once. He stayed with a dude from Switzerland who emigrated with his wife to there and runs some boat rental or something? I don't remember.

[Kafein]

My brother has been to Alicante once. He stayed with a dude from Switzerland who emigrated with his wife to there and runs some boat rental or something? I don't remember.

This story goes somewhere I'm sure.

[zagibu]

This story goes somewhere I'm sure.

Yeah, but the webserver doesn't have enough free disk space to store it.

[Sniger]

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0916/135687-viking/

[Radament]

R'lyeh

R'lyeh is a fictional lost city that first appeared in the H. P. Lovecraft short story "The Call of Cthulhu", first published in Weird Tales in 1928. According to Lovecraft's short story, R'lyeh is a sunken city in the South Pacific and the prison of the entity called Cthulhu.

    The nightmare corpse-city of R'lyeh…was built in measureless eons behind history by the vast, loathsome shapes that seeped down from the dark stars. There lay great Cthulhu and his hordes, hidden in green slimy vaults.
    —H. P. Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu" (1928)

R'lyeh is characterized by bizarre architecture likened to non-Euclidean geometry. Norwegian sailor Gustaf Johansen, the narrator of one of the tales in the short story, describes the accidental discovery of the city: "a coast-line of mingled mud, ooze, and weedy Cyclopean masonry which can be nothing less than the tangible substance of earth's supreme terror—the nightmare corpse-city of R'lyeh...loathsomely redolent of spheres and dimensions apart from ours".[1] The short story also asserts the premise that while currently trapped in R'lyeh, Cthulhu will eventually return, with worshipers often repeating the phrase Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn: "In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming".[1]

Lovecraft claims R'lyeh is located at 47°9′S 126°43′WCoordinates: 47°9′S 126°43′W in the southern Pacific Ocean.[1] Writer August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft and co-creator of the Cthulhu Mythos, placed R'lyeh at 49°51′S 128°34′W.[2] The latter coordinates place the city approximately 5,100 nautical miles (9,400 km) from the actual island of Pohnpei (Ponape), the location of the fictional "Ponape Scripture". Both locations are close to the Pacific pole of inaccessibility (48°52.6′S 123°23.6′W), a point in the ocean farthest from any land mass.

In Brian Lumley's Primal Land short story "The House of Cthulhu", the island is referred to as "Arlyeh".[3]

Charles Stross's novella A Colder War implicitly locates R'lyeh in the Baltic Sea, describing Cthulhu as being "scraped from a nest in the drowned wreckage of a city on the Baltic floor".[4]

The Tsuburaya Productions tokusatsu series Ultraman Tiga places R'lyeh in the South Pacific, and the series' antagonist, Gatanozoa (who is directly based on Ghatanothoa), was born there.

[Herezy92]

Moncuq

When you hear it in french :
Moncuq = Mon cul = My ass in English.

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