The Stories Old Towns Tell: A Journey through Cities at the Heart of Europe

by Marek Kohn

A fascinating journey through Europe’s old towns, exploring why we treasure them—but also what they hide about a continent’s fraught history


Historic quarters in cities and towns across the middle of Europe were devastated during the Second World War—some, like those of Warsaw and Frankfurt, had to be rebuilt almost completely. They are now centers of peace and civility that attract millions of tourists, but the stories they tell about places, peoples, and nations are selective. They are never the whole story.


These old towns and their turbulent histories have been key sites in Europe’s ongoing theater of politics and war. Exploring seven old towns, from Frankfurt and Prague to Vilnius in Lithuania, the acclaimed writer Marek Kohn examines how they have been used since the Second World War to conceal political tensions and reinforce certain versions of history.


Uncovering hidden stories behind these old and old-seeming façades, Kohn offers us a new understanding of the politics of European history-making—showing how our visits to old towns could promote belonging over exclusion, and empathy over indifference.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Travel, Poland, Urban, Politics, Cities

343 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 25, 2023

About the author

Marek Kohn is a British science writer on evolution, biology and society.

Reviews

[Mylene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely interesting and fun!!!

[A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I did get bogged down a bit in the names during the chapters on the reconstruction of Warsaw, but aside from that, it was riveting. I am consistently so moved by the Polish determination to be Polish. I do wish there had a been a little more on what got left out of reconstructions, but I did get a much better sense of how these borderland towns, especially, were transformed after the war. Really interesting read. Also I do not care that so much of what we see today is reconstructed; more cuteness please!

[Pep Bonet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about Old Towns, but more specifically about their destruction and reconstruction. While containing a lot of researched information, it looks as an architect (I have not checked that the author is one) speaking in their convoluted way and explaining the Weltanschauung that each type of reconstruction brings. Prague is the only exception to destruction by war and allows to imagine how would Old Towns evolved without bellicose violence.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book about the revival of 'old' European city centres. The emphasis is on the reworking of architecture and history to fit a current narrative. I rather enjoy this sort of thing and don't really care that a lot of 'historical' towns are post-1945 reconstructions.

[Sunalee · Rating 3 out of 5]

plutôt 3,5

[Johann Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly brilliant and thoroughly engrossing.

[Ellabelle86 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really interesting subject matter, but as dry as plaster dust. Reads like a text book.