Capital City - Unusual Capital City Arrangements

Unusual Capital City Arrangements

See also: List of countries with multiple capitals

A number of cases exist where states have multiple capitals, and there are also several states that have no capital.

  • Chile: Santiago is the capital even though the National Congress of Chile meets in Valparaíso.
  • Czech Republic: Prague is the sole constitutional capital. Brno is home to all three of the country's highest courts, making it the de facto capital of the Czech judicial branch.
  • Estonia: the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Education and Research are located in Tartu.
  • Finland: During the summer, the President resides at the Kultaranta in Naantali; presidential sessions of the government are held there as well.
  • France: The French constitution does not recognise any capital city in France. By law Paris is the seat of both houses of parliament (the national assembly and the senate), but their joint congresses are held at the palace of Versailles. In case of emergency the seat of the constitutional powers can be transferred in another town, in order for the houses of parliament to keep seating in the same location of the president and cabinet.
  • Germany: The official capital Berlin is home to the parliament and the highest bodies of the executive branch (consisting of the ceremonial presidency and effective chancellery). Various ministries are located in the former West German capital of Bonn, which now has the title Federal City. The Federal Constitutional Court has its seat in Karlsruhe, which as a consequence is sometimes called Germany's "judicial capital"; none of Germany's highest judicial organs are located in Berlin.
  • Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur is the constitutional capital and seat of parliament, but the federal administrative centre and judiciary were moved 30 kilometres south to Putrajaya.
  • Myanmar (Burma): Naypyidaw was designated the national capital in 2005, the same year it was founded, but most government offices and embassies are still located in Yangon (Rangoon).
  • Nauru: Nauru, a tiny country of only 21 square kilometres (8.1 sq mi), has no distinct capital city, and thus has a capital district instead.
  • Sri Lanka: Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is the official capital and the location of the parliament, while the former capital, Colombo, is now designated as the "commercial capital". However, many government offices are still located in Colombo. Both cities are in the Colombo District.
  • South Africa: The administrative capital is Pretoria, the legislative capital is Cape Town, and the judicial capital is Bloemfontein. This is the outcome of the compromise that created the Union of South Africa in 1910.
  • Switzerland: Bern is the Federal City of Switzerland and functions as de facto capital. However, the Swiss Supreme Court is located in Lausanne.
  • Tanzania: Dodoma was designated the national capital in 1973, but most government offices and embassies are still located in Dar es Salaam.
  • Monaco, Singapore and the Vatican City are city-states, and thus do not have a capital city distinct from the country as a whole.

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