Nordhausen, Germany

Capital City

At just 41,097 residents, Nordhausen is a small, compact city that's struggled to recover from heavy WWII bombing. The population has yet to regain its pre-war peak of 48,000, and the city center remains heavily damaged, with only 25% of the historic inner city surviving. Bureaucracy is a persistent headache, as Nordhausen was once an independent imperial city before losing that status in 1802. While the engineering industry has provided some economic stability, the transition to a market economy after reunification was rocky, leading to high unemployment rates in the 1990s. Nordhausen may appeal to those looking for an affordable, historic German town, but the lingering effects of war and a shrinking population mean it's not for everyone.