Former capital city |
Country, empire |
Since |
Until |
Change, reason |
Kandahar |
Afghanistan |
1748 |
1772 |
moved to Kabul |
Vlorë |
Albania |
1912 |
1920 |
moved to Tirana |
Paraná |
Argentine Confederation |
1853 |
1861 |
moved to Buenos Aires |
Melbourne |
Australia |
1901 |
1927 |
moved to Canberra - interim capital only while Canberra developed |
Karlsruhe |
Baden |
1771 |
1918 |
Baden became part of the German Empire in 1871, and lost sovereignty fully in 1918. Karlsruhe remained the capital of the German state of Baden until 1945. |
St. George |
Bermuda |
1612 |
1815 |
moved to Hamilton |
Salvador da Bahia |
Brazil |
1549 |
1763 |
moved to Rio de Janeiro |
Belize City |
British Honduras |
1638 |
1970 |
moved to Belmopan |
Pliska |
Bulgaria (Old Great Bulgaria |
681 |
893 |
moved to Preslav |
Preslav |
Bulgaria (First Bulgarian Empire) |
893 |
972 |
moved to Ohrid |
Ohrid |
Bulgaria (First Bulgarian Empire) |
990 |
1015 |
Empire ceases to exist after the Byzantine conquest |
Veliko Tarnovo |
Bulgaria (Second Bulgarian Empire) |
1185 |
1396 |
Empire ceases to exist after the Ottoman conquest |
Plovdiv |
Eastern Rumelia |
1878 |
1885 |
annexed as part of the Unification of Bulgaria |
Kingston |
Canada |
1841 |
1843 |
moved to Montreal |
Quebec City |
Canada |
1859 |
1865 |
moved to Ottawa |
Chan Santa Cruz |
Chan Santa Cruz |
c.1852 |
1901 |
became part of Mexico |
Anyang |
China (Shang Dynasty) |
c.1600 BC |
c.1046 BC |
moved to Chang'an - end of Shang Dynasty |
Xianyang |
China (Qin Dynasty) |
221 BC |
206 BC |
moved back to Chang'an - fall of Qin Dynasty |
Luoyang |
China (Han Dynasty) |
25 |
220 |
fall of the Han Dynasty marking the beginning of the Six Dynasties period |
Chang'an |
China (Tang Dynasty) |
618 |
907 |
fall of the Tang Dynasty marking the beginning of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period |
Kaifeng |
China (Song Dynasty) |
960 |
1127 |
moved to Hangzhou |
Hangzhou |
China (Song Dynasty) |
1127 |
1279 |
Kublai Khan integrates China into the Mongol Empire |
Nanjing |
China |
1928 |
1937 |
moved to Chongqing |
Chongqing |
China |
1937 |
1945 |
moved back to Nanjing |
Nanjing |
China |
1945 |
1949 |
moved to Beijing - After the proclamation of the People's Republic of China
The Republic of China government flees to Taiwan and made Taipei the provisional capital. However, Nanjing remains the official capital.
|
Montgomery |
Confederate States of America |
February 4, 1861 |
May 29, 1861 |
Moved to Richmond |
Richmond |
Confederate States of America |
May 29, 1861 |
April 3, 1865 |
Moved to Danville |
Danville |
Confederate States of America |
April 3, 1865 |
April 10, 1865 |
Confederate States forced to rejoin the United States following the surrender of General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia in Appomattox, Virginia |
Cartago |
Costa Rica |
1562 |
1823 |
moved to San José |
Grand Bassam |
Côte d'Ivoire |
1893 |
1900 |
moved to Bingerville |
Bingerville |
Côte d'Ivoire |
1900 |
1933 |
moved to Abidjan |
Varaždin |
Croatia |
1756 |
1776 |
Moved back to Zagreb,when a fire destroyed most of the city. |
Santiago de Cuba |
Cuba |
1522 |
1589 |
moved (after 1607 in Havana) |
Roskilde |
Denmark |
c.1020 |
1443 |
moved to Copenhagen |
Winchester |
Wessex/Kingdom of England |
519 |
1066 |
moved to London |
Åbo |
Finland, Grand Duchy of |
1809 |
1812 |
moved to Helsinki |
Vaasa |
Finland |
January 29, 1918 |
May 3, 1918 |
moved by White Guards from Helsinki because of Finnish Civil War |
Al-Fustat |
Egypt |
905 |
969 |
moved to Cairo (see also: Capital of Egypt) |
Levuka |
Fiji |
1874 |
1877 |
moved to Suva |
Vichy |
France |
1940 |
1944 |
capital of Vichy France régime |
Otjimbingwe |
German South-West Africa |
1886 |
1892 |
moved to Windhoek |
East Berlin |
Germany, East |
1949 |
1990 |
Berlin, country ceased to exist after re-unification of Germany |
Bonn |
Germany, West |
1949 |
1990 |
moved to Berlin after re-unification of Germany |
Cape Coast |
Ghana (Gold Coast) |
1664 |
1877 |
moved to Accra |
Granada |
Granada, Kingdom of |
1250 |
1492 |
Kingdom ceases to exist after the Reconquista and incorporated into Castile |
Nafplion |
Greece |
1821 |
1836 |
moved to Athens |
Bolama |
Guinea-Bissau |
1879 |
1941 |
moved to Bissau |
Boe |
Guinea-Bissau |
1973 |
1974 |
moved back to Bissau |
Lahaina |
Hawaiʻi, Kingdom of |
1820 |
1845 |
moved to Honolulu |
Honolulu |
Hawaiʻi, Kingdom of |
1845 |
1893 |
became seat of Provisional Government of Hawaiʻi after overthrow of the Hawaiʻian monarchy |
Székesfehérvár and Esztergom |
Hungary |
972 (or 973) |
1361 |
moved to Buda for the first time |
Buda |
Hungary (as part of Austro-Hungarian Empire |
1867 |
1873 |
united with Óbuda and Pest to become Budapest |
Cuzco |
Inca Empire |
fl.13th Century |
c.1533 |
moved to Lima after the Spanish conquest |
Calcutta |
India (British) |
1772 |
1912 |
moved to New Delhi |
Simla |
India (British) |
fl.1850 |
1947 |
Summer capital |
Yogyakarta |
Indonesia |
1946 |
1948 |
Allied invasion, moved to Bukittinggi |
Bukittinggi |
Indonesia |
1948 |
1949 |
moved to Jakarta |
Ecbatana |
Iran (Median Empire) |
7th century BC |
550 BC |
captured by Cyrus the Great |
Pasargadae, Persepolis, and Susa |
Iran (Persian Empire) |
550 BC |
330 BC |
captured by Alexander the Great and incorporated into Macedonian Empire |
Seleucia on the Tigris |
Iran (Seleucid Empire} |
305 BC |
240 BC |
moved to Antioch |
Antioch |
Iran (Seleucid Empire) |
240 BC |
64 BC |
conquered by Parthia |
Ctesiphon |
Iran (Parthian and Sassanid Empires) |
c. 64 BC |
637 |
fell in Islamic conquest of Persia |
Nishapur |
Iran {Tahirid dynasty) |
821 |
873 |
conquered by Saffarid dynasty |
Shiraz |
Iran (Saffarid dynasty) |
861 |
900 |
conquered by Samanid |
Bukhara, Samarqand, and Herat |
Iran (Samanid) |
875 |
999 |
conquered by Karakhanids |
Tabriz |
Iran (Safavid Dynasty) |
1501 |
1548 |
moved to Qazvin |
Qazvin |
Iran (Safavid Dynasty) |
1548 |
1598 |
moved to Isfahan |
Isfahan |
Iran (Safavid Dynasty) |
1598 |
1736 |
moved to Mashhad |
Mashhad |
Iran {Afsharid dynasty) |
1736 |
1750 |
moved to Shiraz |
Shiraz |
Iran (Zand dynasty) |
1750 |
1794 |
moved to Tehran in the Qajar dynasty |
Hill of Tara |
Ireland (under the High Kings |
6th century |
12th century |
Ireland conquered by England |
Hebron |
Israel, Kingdom of |
c.1007 BC |
c.1000 BC |
moved to Jerusalem when the kingdom is reunited under King David |
Tel Aviv |
Israel, State of |
May 1948 |
Dec 1948 |
moved to Jerusalem after 1948 Arab-Israeli War because Jerusalem was under siege. |
Florence |
Italy |
1865 |
1871 |
moved to Rome |
Spanish Town |
Jamaica |
1534 |
1872 |
moved to Kingston |
Heijo-kyo (Nara) |
Japan (Nara Period) |
710 |
784 |
moved to Nagaoka-kyo (Nagaoka) |
Nagaoka-kyo (Nagaoka) |
Japan (Nara Period) |
784 |
794 |
moved to Kyoto |
Kyoto |
Japan |
794 |
1868 |
moved to Tokyo (see also: Capital of Japan) |
Acre |
Jerusalem, Kingdom of |
1187 |
1291 |
Kingdom ceases to exist |
Njimi |
Kanem |
fl. 11th Century |
c.1396 |
lost to Bulala invaders (eventually moved to Ngazargamu) |
Ngazargamu |
Kanem-Bornu Empire |
c.1472 |
1808 |
lost to Fulani invaders (eventually moved to Kukawa) |
Kukawa |
Kanem-Bornu Empire |
1814 |
1893 |
Kingdom ceases to exist |
Alma-Ata |
Kazakhstan |
1992 |
1993 |
renamed Almaty |
Kaunas |
Lithuania |
1922 |
1940 |
moved back to Vilnius |
Mdina |
Malta |
|
1566 |
moved to Valletta |
Czersk |
Masovia |
1313 |
1413 |
moved to Warsaw |
Modena |
Modena, Duchy of |
1452 |
1860 |
became part of united Italy |
Iaşi |
Moldavia |
1351 |
1862 |
unified with Wallachia to form Romania |
Cetinje |
Montenegro |
1482 |
1946 |
moved to Podgorica |
Yangon |
Myanmar |
1948 |
2005 |
moved to Naypyidaw |
Bacolod |
Federal Republic of Negros |
1898 |
1899 |
absorbed by the Philippines. |
St. John's |
Newfoundland |
1855 |
1949 |
entered confederation with Canada |
Russell |
New Zealand |
1840 |
1841 |
moved to Auckland |
Auckland |
New Zealand |
1841 |
1865 |
moved to Wellington |
Lagos |
Nigeria |
1914 |
1976 |
moved to Abuja |
Trondheim |
Norway |
997 |
1070 |
moved to Bergen |
Bergen |
Norway |
1070 |
1299 |
moved to Oslo |
Christiania |
Norway |
1624 |
1924 |
renamed Oslo |
Bursa |
Ottoman empire |
1335 |
1365 |
moved to Edirne |
Edirne |
Ottoman empire |
1365 |
1453 |
moved to Istanbul (Constantinople) |
Rawalpindi |
Pakistan |
1959 |
1967 |
moved to Islamabad |
Heidelberg |
Palatinate |
14th century |
1720 |
moved to Mannheim |
Mannheim |
Palatinate |
1720 |
1777 |
Palatinate inherited by the Electors of Bavaria. |
Parma |
Parma, Duchy of |
1545 |
1860 |
Became part of united Italy. |
Cebu City |
Philippines |
1562 (?) |
1578 (?) |
First Spanish settlement in the country. Moved to Manila (Formerly Maynilad) after capture. |
Malolos |
Philippines |
1898 |
1899 |
|
Quezon City |
Philippines |
1948 |
1976 |
|
Gniezno |
Poland |
10th century |
1038 |
moved to Krakow |
Płock |
Poland |
1079 |
1138 |
moved to Kraków |
Poznań |
Poland |
1290 |
1296 |
moved to Krakow |
Kraków |
Poland |
1296 |
1596 |
moved to Warsaw |
Lublin |
Poland |
1944 |
1945 |
de facto capital |
Łódź |
Poland |
1945 |
1947 |
de facto capital |
Guimarães |
Portugal |
1095 |
1131 |
moved to Coimbra |
Coimbra |
Portugal |
1131 |
1255 |
moved to Lisbon |
Rio de Janeiro |
Portugal |
1808 |
1821 |
moved to Lisbon |
Vladimir |
Russia (Vladimir-Suzdal) |
1169 |
1327 |
moved to Moscow |
Yaroslavl |
Russia (Muscovite) |
1611 |
1612 |
de facto |
Dariyah |
Saudi Arabia |
1744 |
1818 |
moved to Riyadh after the Turks destroyed the city |
Dresden |
Saxony |
1485 |
1918 |
Saxony became part of the German Empire in 1871, and Saxony lost its independence fully in 1918. Dresden remains the capital of the German state of Saxony. |
Perth |
Scotland |
846 |
1452 |
moved to Edinburgh |
Tulaghi |
Solomon Islands |
1896 |
1942 |
moved to Honiara |
Aden |
South Yemen |
1967 |
1990 |
San'a, country ceased to exist after unification of Yemen |
Valladolid |
Spain |
1600 |
1606 |
moved to Madrid |
Aarau |
Switzerland (Helvetic Republic) |
1798 |
1798 |
moved to Lucerne |
Lucerne |
Switzerland (Helvetic Republic) |
1798 |
1803 |
Helvetic Republic abolished |
Valencia |
Spain |
1936 |
1939 |
Government of the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War |
Columbia, Texas |
Republic of Texas |
1836 |
1837 |
moved to Houston, Texas |
Austin, Texas |
Republic of Texas |
1839 |
1845 |
Texas annexed by United States |
Ayutthaya |
Thailand |
1350 |
1767 |
moved to Thonburi after the Burmese destroyed the city |
Thonburi |
Thailand |
1767 |
1782 |
moved to Bangkok after King Taksin was declared mad |
Aneho |
Togo |
1880s |
1897 |
moved to Lomé |
Trieste |
Trieste, Free Territory of |
1947 |
1954 |
Territory dissolved, integrated into Italy and Yugoslavia |
San Jose de Oruña |
Trinidad |
1592 |
1783 |
moved to Port of Spain |
Naples |
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies |
1816 |
1861 |
became part of unified Italy |
Chyhyryn |
Ukraine (Cossack Hetmanate) |
1648 |
1669 |
moved to Baturyn |
Hlukhiv |
Ukraine (Cossack Hetmanate) |
1727 |
1734 |
Cossack Hetmanate lost its sovereignty |
Baturyn |
Ukraine (Cossack Hetmanate) |
1750 |
1764 |
Cossack Hetmanate lost its sovereignty |
Kharkiv |
Ukraine (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) |
1919 |
1934 |
moved to Kyiv (Kiev) |
Lancaster, Pennsylvania |
United States |
1777 |
1777 |
moved to York after one day |
York, Pennsylvania |
United States |
1777 |
1778 |
moved back to Philadelphia |
Princeton |
United States |
1783 |
1783 |
moved to Annapolis |
Annapolis |
United States |
1783 |
1784 |
moved to Trenton |
Trenton |
United States |
1784 |
1785 |
moved to New York |
Samarkand |
Uzbekistan (SSR) |
1925 |
1930 |
moved to Tashkent |
Venice |
Venice, Republic of |
fl. 9th century |
1797 |
annexed by Austria |
Machynlleth |
Wales |
1404 |
1416 |
seat of Owain Glyndŵr's parliament until was Wales was annexed by England - capital moved to Cardiff in 1955 |
Câmpulung |
Wallachia |
fl.13th Century |
fl.15th Century |
moved to Târgovişte |
Târgovişte |
Wallachia |
1396 |
1698 |
moved to Bucharest |
Taiz |
Yemen |
1948 |
1962 |
moved to San'a |
Mérida |
Yucatán |
1840 |
1847 |
reunited with Mexico |