Nashville

The Music City in Tennessee

Categories: Nashville Tennessee USA

Nashville is the capital of the US state of Tennessee. The city is located on the Cumberland River and has about 601,200 inhabitants. Nashville is the center of country music and is also called "Music City". The climate of the city is subtropical. The summers are hot, the winters are mostly cold and snowy.
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Nashville is the perfect place for a city tour. It has a dynamic music scene, diverse museums and galleries, excellent restaurants and a unique spectrum of historic buildings. The city is rounded out by many shops, successful professional and college teams and numerous leisure activities.

First settlers and foundation of the city
The first Europeans came to the area where the Shawnee, Cherokee and Chickasaw lived in the 17th century. The city of Nashville developed from the Fort Nashborough built at the end of the 18th century. Because of its optimal location on the river, Nashville developed very dynamically. It became the administrative seat and in 1843 finally the capital of the state of Tennessee. Not far from the city is The Hermitage, the former residence of former US President Andrew Jackson. The historic property is now a listed building.

Sights in Nashville
The Cumberland River still plays a major role in the city today. In the past, paddle wheel steamers transported passengers and goods on the river. Today, there are numerous skyscrapers in the city centre. The first skyscraper of this kind was the Life Cacualty Tower from 1957. The highest building in the city is the AT& T-Building, completed in 1994, which is 192 meters high. The Pinnacle at Symphony Place, built in 2010, measures 127 meters.

A striking building in the city is the replica of the classic Parthenon Temple. The replica dates back to 1897 and today serves as an art gallery. The statue of Athena from 1990 is one of the largest sculptures within a building with a height of 13 meters. The city is full of history, which is also reflected in magnificent villas from the pre-civil war period.

These include, for example, Belle Meade Plantation, Belmont Mansion or the aforementioned The Hermitage. Hip shops, bars, restaurants and music venues can be found in the districts 12South, Hillsboro Village, East Nashville, Germantown or The Gulch. Fine art galleries can be found on Fifth Avenue or in Wedgewood-Houston. Nashville is a green city. There are more than 120 parks and almost 20 green spaces and twelve golf courses.

Nashville as Music City
Nashville is the city of country music. Numerous clubs and honky-tonk bars are known for their live music. The most famous music scene takes place on and around Lower Broadway, Second Avenue or Printer's Alley. Thousands of fans come to Nashville every year for the Country Music Festival (CMA Music Festival).
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The Grand Ole Opry, which has been broadcast weekly from Nashville since 1925, is the oldest radio show in the USA. Fans from all over the world regularly flock to it. A music sanctuary is the renowned Country Music Hall of Fame. Visitors should not miss the Johnny Cash Museum, which is dedicated to the legendary country musician.