List of historical national capitals
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Throughout the world there are many cities that were once national capitals but no longer have that status because the country ceased to exist, the capital was moved, or the capital city was renamed. This is a list of such cities, sorted by country and then by date.
See also:
- List of national capitals
- Former U.S. state capitals
- Former Chinese provincial capitals
- Extinct countries, empires, etc.
- Countries by date of nationhood
| Former capital city | Country, empire | Since | Until | Change, reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vlorë | Albania | 1912 | 1920 | moved to Tirana |
| Melbourne | Australia | 1901 | 1927 | moved to Canberra because of rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney |
| Vienna | Holy Roman Empire | s.XVI | 1806 | became in Austrian Empire |
| Vienna | Austrian Empire | 1815 | 1867 | became in Austro-Hungarian Empire |
| Vienna | Austro-Hungarian Empire | 1867 | 1918 | became in Republic of Austria |
| St. George | Bermuda (Brit.) | 1815 | moved to Hamilton | |
| Salvador da Bahia | Brazil (Portuguese colony) | 1549 | 1763 | moved to Rio de Janeiro |
| Rio de Janeiro | Brazil (Portuguese colony, Brazilian Empire and Republic) | 1763 | 1960 | moved to Brasília |
| Belize City | British Honduras | 1970 | moved to Belmopan | |
| Kingston | Canada | 1841 | 1843 | moved to Montreal |
| Montreal | Canada | 1843 | 1849 | moved to Toronto |
| Toronto | Canada | 1849 | 1859 | moved to Quebec City |
| Quebec City | Canada | 1859 | 1865 | moved to Ottawa |
| Chan Santa Cruz | Chan Santa Cruz | c.1852 | 1901 | became part of Mexico |
| Anyang | China see: Capital of China | |||
| Chang'an | ||||
| Chengdu | ||||
| Chongqing | ||||
| Datong | ||||
| Hangzhou | ||||
| Hao | ||||
| Hsinking | ||||
| Kaifeng | ||||
| Luoyang | ||||
| Nanjing | ||||
| Ye | ||||
| Léopoldville | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 1960 | 1966 | renamed Kinshasa |
| Grand Bassam | Côte d'Ivoire | 1893 | 1900 | moved to Bingerville |
| Bingerville | Côte d'Ivoire | 1900 | 1933 | moved to Abidjan |
| Abidjan | Côte d'Ivoire | 1933 | 1983 | moved to Yamoussoukro |
| Ciudad Trujillo | Dominican Republic | 1930 | 1961 | renamed Santo Domingo after the death of Trujillo |
| Roskilde | Denmark | 10th century | 1443 | moved to Copenhagen |
| Winchester | England | 10th century | 12th century | moved to London |
| Turku | Finland (Grand Duchy) | 13th century | 1812 | moved to Helsinki |
| Memphis | Egypt | |||
| Lavuka | Fiji (Brit.) | moved to Suva | ||
| Vichy | France | 1940 | 1942 | capital of Vichy France régime |
| Berlin | German Empire | 1871 | 1949 | Separation of Germany to East and West Germany |
| Plön | German Empire | 1945 | 1945 | Capital of the Dönitz government after Berlin was captured by the Soviet Union |
| East Berlin | East Germany | 1949 | 1990 | Berlin, country ceased to exist after re-unification of Germany |
| Bonn | West Germany | 1949 | 1990 | Berlin, country ceased to exist after re-unification of Germany |
| Cape Coast | Gold Coast (Brit.) | 1877 | moved to Accra | |
| Granada | Granada, Kingdom of | 1250 | 1492 | Kingdom ceases to exist after the Castilian reconquest |
| Nafplion | Greece | 1821 | 1836 | moved to Athens |
| Bolama | Guinea-Bissau | 1879 | 1941 | moved to Bissau |
| Boe | Guinea-Bissau | 1973 | 1974 | moved back to Bissau |
| Lahaina | Hawaii (Hawaiian monarchy) | 1840 | moved to Honolulu | |
| Calcutta | India (British) | 1912 | moved to New Delhi | |
| Simla | India (British) | Summer capital | ||
| Persepolis | Iran (Persia) | c.2500 B.C | ||
| Ctesiphon | Iran | |||
| Tabriz | Iran | Safavid period | moved to Qazvin (Being to close to the Ottoman border). | |
| Qazvin | Iran | Safavid period | moved to Isfahan | |
| Isfahan | Iran | Safavid period | moved to Shiraz | |
| Shiraz | Iran | Zand dynasty | moved to Tehran | |
| Torino | Italy, Kingdom of | 1861 | 1865 | moved to Florence |
| Florence | Italy, Kingdom of | 1865 | 1871 | moved to Rome |
| Heijo-kyo (Nara) | Japan (Nara period) | 784 | ||
| Kyoto | Japan | 1868 | moved to Tokyo (see also: Capital of Japan debate) | |
| Alma-Atta | Kazakhstan | 1992 | 1993 | renamed Almaty |
| Almaty (Alma-Atta) | Kazakhstan | 1993 | 1998 | moved to Astana |
| Jerusalem | Kingdom of Jerusalem | 1099 | 1187 | moved to Acre (Jerusalem captured by Saladin) |
| Acre | Kingdom of Jerusalem | 1187 | 1291 | Kingdom ceases to exist |
| Kaunas | Lithuania | 1922 | 1940 | moved back to Vilnius |
| Płock | Masovia | c.1038 | 1047 | Masovia reincorporated into Poland |
| Płock | Masovia | 1138 | 1313 | moved to Czersk |
| Czersk | Masovia | 1313 | 1413 | moved to Warsaw |
| Warsaw | Masovia | 1413 | 1526 | Masovia reincorporated into Poland |
| Iaşi | Moldavia | 1862 | unified with Wallachia to form Romania | |
| Cetinje | Montenegro | 1946 | moved to Podgorica | |
| Russell | New Zealand | 1840 | 1841 | moved to Auckland |
| Auckland | New Zealand | 1841 | 1865 | moved to Wellington |
| Lagos | Nigeria | 1991 | moved to Abuja | |
| Trondheim | Norway | 997 | 1070 | moved to Bergen |
| Bergen | Norway | 1070 | 1299 | moved to Oslo |
| Oslo | Norway | 1299 | 1624 | renamed Christiania |
| Christiania | Norway | 1624 | 1924 | renamed Oslo |
| Karachi | Pakistan | 1959 | moved to Rawalpindi | |
| Rawalpindi | Pakistan | 1967 | moved to Islamabad | |
| Gaza City | State of Palestine | From September till October 1, 1948 | moved to East Jerusalem | |
| Quezon City | Philippines | 1948 | 1976 | moved to Manila |
| Gniezno | Poland | 10th century | 1038 | moved to Krakow |
| Poznań | Poland | 10th century | 1038 | moved to Kraków |
| Kraków | Poland | 1038 | 1079 | moved to Płock |
| Płock | Poland | 1079 | 1138 | moved to Kraków |
| Kraków | Poland | 1138 | 1290 | moved to Poznań |
| Poznań | Poland | 1290 | 1296 | moved to Krakow |
| Kraków | Poland | 1296 | 1596 | moved to Warsaw |
| Paris | Poland | 1939 | 1940 | Government in exile |
| London | Poland | 1940 | 1990 | Government in exile |
| Lublin | Poland | 1944 | 1945 | de facto capital |
| Łódź | Poland | 1945 | 1947 | de facto capital |
| Porto | Portugal, County of | 868 | 1071 | Lost of Autonomy (Count Nuno mendes is defeated) when regained moved to Guimarăes in 1095 |
| Guimarăes | Portugal, County/Kingdom of | 1095 | 12th century | moved to Coimbra |
| Coimbra | Portugal, Kingdom of | 12th century | 1255 | moved to Lisbon |
| Lisbon | Portugal, Kingdom of | 1255 | 1808 | moved to Rio de Janeiro |
| Rio de Janeiro | Portugal, Kingdom of | 1808 | 1821 | moved to Lisbon |
| Moscow | Russian Empire | 13th century | 1712 | moved to Saint Petersburg |
| Saint Petersburg | Russian empire | 1712 | 1914 | renamed Petrograd |
| Petrograd | Russia | 1914 | 1918 | moved to Moscow |
| Dariyah | Saudi state | 1818 | moved to Riyadh | |
| Tulaghi | Solomon Islands | moved to Honiara | ||
| Saigon | South Vietnam | 1954 | 1975 | Hanoi, country ceased to exist after unification of Vietnam |
| Aden | South Yemen | 1967 | 1990 | San'a, country ceased to exist after unification of Yemen |
| Valladolid | Spain | 1600 | 1606 | moved to Madrid |
| San Sebastián | Spain | 19th century | Summer capital | |
| Valencia | Spain | 1936 | 1939 | Government of the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War |
| Columbia, Texas | Republic of Texas | 1836 | 1837 | moved to Houston, Texas |
| Houston, Texas | Republic of Texas | 1837 | 1839 | moved to Austin, Texas |
| Austin, Texas | Republic of Texas | 1839 | 1845 | Texas annexed by United States |
| Aneho | Togo | 1880s | 1897 | moved to Lomé |
| Cluj | Transylvania | 1918 | Unification with Romania. | |
| San Jose de Oruńa (St. Joseph) | Trinidad (Spanish) | 1592 | 1783 | moved to Puerto de Espańa (Port-of-Spain) |
| Philadelphia | United States | 1776 | 1776 | moved to Baltimore |
| Baltimore | United States | 1776 | 1777 | moved back to Philadelphia |
| Philadelphia | United States | 1777 | 1777 | moved to Lancaster |
| Lancaster | United States | 1777 | 1777 | moved to York after one day |
| York | United States | 1777 | 1778 | moved back to Philadelphia |
| Philadelphia | United States | 1778 | 1783 | moved to Princeton |
| Princeton | United States | 1783 | 1783 | moved to Annapolis |
| Annapolis | United States | 1783 | 1784 | moved to Trenton |
| Trenton | United States | 1784 | 1785 | moved to New York |
| New York | United States | 1785 | 1790 | moved back to Philadelphia |
| Philadelphia | United States | 1790 | 1800 | moved to Washington, DC |
| Samarkand | Uzbekistan (SSR) | 1925 | 1930s | moved to Tashkent |
| Bursa | Ottoman empire | 1335 | 1365 | moved to Edirne |
| Edirne | Ottoman empire | 1365 | 1453 | moved to Constantinople (Istanbul) |
| Constantinople | Ottoman empire | 1453 | 1923 | country ceased to exist |
| Port-of-Spain | West Indies Federation | 1958 | 1962 | country ceased to exist |
| Câmpulung | Wallachia | 13th century | 15th century | moved to Târgovişte |
| Târgovişte | Wallachia | 1698 | moved to Bucharest | |
| Taiz | Yemen | 1948 | 1962 | moved to San'a |
| Mérida | Yucatán | 1840 | 1847 | reunited with Mexico |