The origins of oldtown

[locke and key]

I'd like to know how and why oldtown which is one of the most amazing and intriguing cities to me, was built

any chance of finding this out in world of ice and fire?

[billy g.]

It's a port on a slow flowing river that feeds a sheltered bay or strait. The First Men apparently founded it. I can't imagine the CotF having cities. The wiki page said that they welcomed the Andals when they came to Westeros. So instead of costly wars the town grew important.

Also it's out of the way for the natural lines of invasion from Essos.

[locke and key]

It's a port on a slow flowing river that feeds a sheltered bay or strait. The First Men apparently founded it. I can't imagine the CotF having cities. The wiki page said that they welcomed the Andals when they came to Westeros. So instead of costly wars the town grew important.

Also it's out of the way for the natural lines of invasion from Essos.

Thats all good reasons for it being the right location to build a city, but I wanna know why they built that particular, what was it originally called seeing as it can't have been old when it was newly built was it called newtown

[Alester Florent]

It won't have been built as a major centre, although it probably quickly developed into one. Only in developed economies are cities or towns founded from scratch; they tend to develop organically from smaller settlements. It was probably originally known as "New town" or just "Town"; as other towns grew up it will have come to be known as "the old town" and eventually "old town". Or perhaps it had a more descriptive name in the Old Tongue, but when the Andals came they just called it "old town".

See, for instance, Southampton, originally Hampton, meaning "town", and later prefixed with "south" to distinguish it from other Hamptons around the place (most notably Northampton).

[IRON BANK]

here is the wiki link it adds some more details

http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/82790-the-origins-of-oldtown/

[Giantsbabe]

In the end of AFFC the sphinx mentions that the rookery is the oldest part of the Citadel, having been raised by a pirate robbing ships on the Honeywine. I guess it also must be older than the rest of Oldtown, because you normally won't find pirate camps close to regular settlements.

So most likely Oldtown was built around that pirate's castle.

[Rodrik of Dorne]

The Whispering Sound is not free of invaders, if you consider the Iron Islands. So, Oldtown grew around the Hightower, the fortress of House Hightower.

If you secure the Mander (with the Shield Islands) and the Whispering Sound (with the Highwoter), you create a trade route, linking the fertile lands of the Reach to the Summer Sea, via Oldtown.

[Ran]

There is at least one pretty interesting revelation regarding the ancient history of Oldtown in the book. I'll say no more.

[Moon-Pale Maiden]

There is at least one pretty interesting revelation regarding the ancient history of Oldtown in the book. I'll say no more.

I just love the way you tease... lol.. actually, I can't wait. It will give us a lot to discuss on the forum, I think.