Letter from Europe

Cities of the imagination

Paul Scraton explores Lisbon with the writing of Fernando Pessoa in mind, and reflects on how the books we read powerfully inflect our understanding of a city.

Stories in timber and stone - Europe’s Old Towns

For many travellers the handsome squares in the heart of major cities - throughout central Europe but also more widely - capture the experience of being away from home. These squares, often distinguished by cobblestones and half-timbered buildings, are the focus of the tourism circuit. In some cases, these squares are reconstructions of originals destroyed in conflict, so raising interesting questions of authenticity.

At the harbour wall: port cities and the ties that bind

Port cities often have a very special feel. Hamburg, Genoa, Liverpool and Bergen have much in common by virtue of their connection to the sea. Berlin writer Paul Scraton explores the quaysides of the Norwegian port of Bergen and reflects on the cultural, economic and social ties which enliven port cities across Europe.

What’s in a name? From Eryri to Everest

The names of places and topographical features do not appear by accident. Examine a placename and there is often a good story about its origins and meaning. Paul Scraton takes to the Welsh hills to explore this theme.

Caught on film - travels through time and space in Łódź

Paul Scraton explores how cities reinvent themselves, taking inspiration from Łódź in Poland where a cutting-edge film industry has documented the city's transition from an industrial to a post-industrial era. Across Europe, media spaces are filling the urban wastelands left when the mills and mines close.

Finding homeplace: travelling with Seamus Heaney

Triggered by a visit to the Seamus Heaney HomePlace - an exhibition dedictated to the poet in Bellaghy in Ireland's County Derry - Paul Scraton ponders the meaning of place in the context of 'home'. Do we not take with us a keen appreciation of our personal home places on our lifelong journey?

Out of the ruins: in search of the old Magdeburg

Paul Scraton explores the German city of Magdeburg armed with a map from 1910. Largely rebuilt after the Second World War, Magdeburg's streetscape has greatly changed. The old map is not ideal for navigating the city, but it offers rich insights into the history of Magdeburg.