Szeged has beautiful buildings and wide avenues. This is mainly due to the great flood of 1879, which literally wiped away the whole town (only 265 of the 5723 houses remained and 165 people died). Emperor Franz Joseph visited the town and promised that "Szeged will be more beautiful than it used to be". He kept his promise. During the next years a new, modern city emerged from the ruins, with palaces and wide streets. After the First World War Hungary lost its southern territories to Serbia, as a result Szeged became a city close to the border, and its importance
Nord-Pas-de-Calais frequently used by the inhabitants. With its 330.8 people per km on just over 12,414 km, it is a densely populated region, having some 4.1 million inhabitants, 7% of France's total population, making it the fourth most populous region in the country, 83% of whom live in urban communities. Its administrative centre and largest city is Lille. The second largest city is Calais, which serves as a major continental economic/transportation hub with Dover of Great Britain away; this makes Nord-Pas-de-Calais the closest continental European connection to the Great Britain. Other major towns include Valenciennes, Lens, Douai, Béthune, Dunkirk, Maubeuge, Boulogne,