Atlas Trail
Thirteen Northern and Central European Towns in Order of Recorded Population, from Pardubice to Ísafjörður
These thirteen towns from Iceland to Austria are not national capitals, yet each has a history and a trade of its own. They are arranged from the largest recorded population to the smallest, so the path runs from a Czech regional capital of about 93,000 people down to a Westfjords fishing town of under 3,000.
Stop 1 of 13.
Cities
Pardubice is the capital of the Pardubice Region, at the confluence of the Elbe and Chrudimka rivers, with a recorded population of 92,713. The Pernstejn family ruled it from 1491 to 1560, and its historic centre is protected as an urban monument reservation.
Stop 2 of 13.
Cities
Jaworzno is a city county in the Silesian Voivodeship of southern Poland, recorded with 86,812 residents in 2024. It belongs historically to Lesser Poland rather than Silesia, and it forms part of the Katowice conurbation.
Stop 3 of 13.
Cities
Lünen lies on both banks of the River Lippe north of Dortmund and is the largest town in the Unna district, with 85,844 residents recorded for 2025. In 2009 it built a biogas plant that generates electricity from animal waste.
Stop 4 of 13.
Cities
Pori is the regional capital of Satakunta on the Gulf of Bothnia, recorded with 83,010 residents in 2025. Duke John, later King John III of Sweden, established it in 1558, and it has burned down nine times in its history.
Stop 5 of 13.
Cities
Tønsberg stands on the western shore of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak, with a population of 55,387 in 2023. It is the most populous urban centre in Vestfold county, and its recorded founding year is 871.
Stop 6 of 13.
Cities
Järvenpää sits on Lake Tuusula about 37 kilometers north of Helsinki on the railway line to Riihimäki. Its recorded population is 46,944 for 2025, and it is part of the Helsinki metropolitan area.
Stop 7 of 13.
Cities
Wiener Neustadt is a self-governed city in Lower Austria about 50 kilometers south of Vienna, recorded with 44,820 residents in 2018. It is home to the Theresian Military Academy, founded by Empress Maria Theresa in 1751.
Stop 8 of 13.
Cities
Přerov is a statutory city on the Bečva River in the Olomouc Region, with 40,492 residents recorded for 2026. It was first documented in 1141 and is a major railway junction and home of the optics maker Meopta.
Stop 9 of 13.
Cities
Kópavogur lies just south of Reykjavik and is Iceland's second-largest municipality, with 40,040 residents recorded for 2025. Its name means seal pup inlet, and it is home to the Smáratorg Tower, the tallest building in Iceland.
Stop 10 of 13.
Cities
Hillerød is the administrative seat of Region Hovedstaden in North Zealand, with a population of 36,873. It is best known for Frederiksborg Castle, a large Renaissance castle that now houses the Museum of National History.
Stop 11 of 13.
Cities
Třinec lies on the Olza River along the Polish border and is a cultural center for the Czech Republic's Polish minority, with a recorded population of 33,852. It became a town only in 1931, driven by the Třinec Iron and Steel Works.
Stop 12 of 13.
Cities
Hafnarfjörður is a port town about 10 kilometers south of Reykjavik, recorded with 31,525 residents in 2025. It is the third most populous municipality in Iceland, after Reykjavik and Kópavogur.
Stop 13 of 13.
Cities
Ísafjörður is the largest settlement of the Westfjords, with a recorded population of 2,744. It was granted municipal status in 1786 and holds Iceland's oldest collection of timber-frame houses, built between 1757 and 1784.
Create an account to keep this trail. Saving copies its stops into a collection of your own, which you can add to, reorder and share.
Where you have got to in this trail is kept by your own browser and is never sent to us. Clearing your browser data clears it. All trails.