Nashville is the capital and largest city of Tennessee, located in the southern United States. The city is known as the “music capital” of the United States, as it is home to many famous recording studios and music venues where performers from around the world perform in concerts.
Nashville is also famous for its history, culture and cuisine. The city has many museums, architectural landmarks, and parks that attract tourists. In particular, there is the Tennessee State Capitol, where the state legislature meets, and the Country Music Hall of Fame, where you can learn about the history of country music.
Nashville is also the economic center of the region and one of the largest health care centers in the United States. There are many companies in the city, especially in health care, media and entertainment.
History of the city
In the Civil War between the North and South, Tennessee sided with the Southerners. On February 23, 1862, Nashville became the first state capital that Southerners were forced to surrender to the enemy.
Following the North’s victory, Nashville became the site in April 1867 of the Maxwell House Hotel, where cavalry general Nathan Forrest (1821-1877) was appointed as the “Grand Magician” – leader of the secret Ku Klux Klan organization. Under conditions of strict conspiracy, the first congress of the Klan was held in Nashville, at which it received the secret name “Invisible Empire”, and the members of the organization were called “knights”.
However, little remained of the “chivalrous” ideas in the years that followed. The intention to protect the white population from the atrocities of gangs organized by former slaves, while avoiding murder and brutality, was not feasible. Confrontations with the authorities and the black population became increasingly bloody.
In 1869, General Forrest wrote to members of the Ku Klux Klan that the organization he led had departed from its original noble aims and therefore he declared a complete cessation of its activities. But not everyone listened to him. Violence continued to engulf the South for a long time.
In the twentieth century there were two attempts to revive the Ku Klux Klan, and although they were not particularly successful, the organization still exists. In 2002, for example, a court allowed its members to hold rallies and marches in New York City.
At the end of the 20th century, the Ku Klux Klan was all but forgotten in the United States, but white men in hooded robes are once again trying to influence public opinion.
Music City
The people of Nashville take great pride in the fact that their city is a trendsetter of sound for country music fans. Today, Nashville is recognized as the country music capital where all fans of the style flock.
Nashville got its nickname “the city of music” thanks to the country music style, the musical folklore of North America, which combines the European folk music of the XVII-XVIII centuries and the cowboy ballads of the Wild West. Country music features English, Irish, and Scottish motifs, and its main instruments are the banjo, fiddle, and guitar.
In the early 1960s, the so-called Nashville sound emerged in Nashville, long considered the country music capital, with its virtuoso arrangements, in which the piano played a major role. The instruments on which country music is played also include the Hawaiian guitar and electric guitar.
In 1961, Nashville opened the Country Music Museum and Hall of Fame, which carefully preserves everything related to country music and its great performers. The museum’s research center offers any record of their idols, documentaries about them, archival materials, and copies.
The museum houses the car of Elvis Presley, who began his career in Nashville, with a gold-plated TV and bar, and his same gold-plated grand piano. There’s also the car of famous country singer Webb Pierce, who lived in a luxury estate in Nashville until his death. His car has pistol-shaped door handles, everything inside is trimmed with leather and silver coins, there is a saddle between the front seats, and there are real bullhorns on the front bumper.
General Information
- The capital of the state of Tennessee, USA.
- Language: English.
- Currency: U.S. dollar.
- Important airports: Nashville International Airport.
- Important river: Cumberland.
- Area: 1,362.5 km2.
- Population: 626,000 (2008).
- Population density: 459.4 people/km2.
- Ethnic composition: whites 60.2%, Hispanics 5.4%, African Americans 28.9%, Asians 3.3%, Native Americans 0.6%, others 1.6%.
- Founding date: 1779
Climate and weather
- Subtropical continental, the average temperature in January +3.5°C … +5°C in January and +25°C in July.
Economy
- Industries: chemical, metalworking, tannery, shoe industry, machine-building, polygraphic, ceramic silicate, food, etc.
- Large transport junction.
- Well-developed health care.
- Large center of education.
- Features of economy: Nashville has the first place in the USA in quantity and quality of recorded music. This business brings in more than $3.5 billion a year to the city.
Attractions
- Parthenon (exact replica).
- Country Music Museum and Hall of Fame.
- Tennessee State Museum.
- Music Row Quarter.
- Fort Negley Park.
- Fort Nashberow.
- Opryland Center.
- Country Star Wax Museum.
- Centennial Park.
Fun Facts
- After the American Civil War (1861-1865), which ended with the defeat of the Confederacy of Southern states, the social situation in the South was very difficult. The white population was practically deprived of all rights, and officials “from the North” incited former slaves to form armed bands and settle scores with their former masters. Margaret Mitchell’s famous novel, Gone with the Wind, describes vividly the events of that time, as well as the story of the rise of the Ku Klux Klan from a “Southern” perspective.
- In 1873, Cornelius Vanderbilt gave a million dollars to establish Vanderbilt University in Nashville. At the time, the sum was so substantial that the university received state-of-the-art equipment and created excellent research laboratories.
- In the 1920s, country music concerts began to be broadcast from Nashville on the radio. In 1945, the city opened its first recording studio, and since 1950, Nashville has been home to the office of the director of country music at Capital Records. Today there are hundreds of recording studios in the city.
- In 1992, the Bell South Tower, or “Batman Tower,” one of Nashville’s most recognizable buildings, the top of which looks like a Batman mask, was built in Nashville.
