Citizens’ Friendship - Nagasaki, Japan

Located on the south-west of Japan’s third biggest island Kyūshū, the originally small fishing village grew to an important seaport after the Portuguese arrived in the middle of the 16th century.

During World War II the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August, 9th 1945 made the city the second city in the world to experience a nuclear attack. Today amongst other sites, the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum remembers on that day and its fatal aftermath. The city was rebuilt after the war, though- unlike Würzburg- dramatically changed. The shipbuilding industry which was the reason why Nagasaki got targeted for a nuclear strike remained the main pillar of the cities’ economy, e.g. Mitsubishi is building luxury cruise ships and high-speed freight boats there.

Nagasaki possesses the largest share of Christian population among all japanese major cities. The artificial island “Dejima” is especially worth a visit. Originally built to house Portuguese traders it was later used as a Dutch trading post until 1853. Also the Philipp Franz von Siebold from Würzburg spent several years of his life there.    

Further information:

http://visit-nagasaki.com/
http://foreign.at-nagasaki.jp/en/about/

Photo credits : City of Nagasaki