Nashville is the capital and most populous city of Tennessee.
It lies on the Cumberland River in the north-central part of the state.
As of September 2019, the population of Nashville is about 690,000 people. It is the 24th most populous city in the United States.
The city covers a total area of 1,362 square kilometers (526 square miles).
Nashville’s elevation ranges from its lowest point, 117 meters (385 feet) above sea level at the Cumberland River, to its highest point, 354 meters (1,163 feet) above sea level in the Radnor Lake State Natural Area; a mean elevation is 182 meters (597 feet) above sea level.
The Nashville area was originally inhabited by peoples of the Mississippian culture; Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Shawnee later moved into the region.
Named for Francis Nash, a general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, the city was founded in 1779.
The city grew quickly due to its strategic location as a port on the Cumberland River and, in the 19th century, a railroad center.
Nashville seceded with Tennessee during the American Civil War; in 1862 it was the first state capital in the Confederacy to fall to Union troops.
The city became known for the many institutions of higher education that were founded there and was given the nickname “Athens of the South.”
Today, Nashville is a center for the music, healthcare, publishing, private prison, banking, and transportation industries.
The Parthenon in Centennial Park, in Nashville, is a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. It was designed by Confederate veteran William Crawford Smith and built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Today the Parthenon, which functions as an art museum, stands as the centerpiece of Centennial Park, a large public park just west of downtown Nashville.
Music Row is a historical district located to the southwest of downtown Nashville that is home to numerous businesses related to music, predominantly the country music, gospel music, and contemporary Christian music industries. In this area, one will find the offices of numerous record labels, publishing houses, music licensing firms, recording studios, video production houses, along with other businesses who serve the music industry, as well as radio networks, and radio stations.
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio “barn dance” on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a division of Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc.), it is the longest running radio broadcast in US history.
Ryman Auditorium is a 2,362-seat live-performance venue located at 116 5th Avenue North, in Nashville. It is best known as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974 and is owned and operated by Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. Ryman Auditorium was included in the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and was later designated a National Historic Landmark on June 25, 2001, for its pivotal role in the popularization of country music.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, is one of the world’s largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amassed one of the world’s most extensive musical collections.
Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge is a honky-tonk bar located in behind the Ryman Auditorium. Tootsie’s has three stages that host live local talent each night; covering modern day country music artist such as Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, and other popular country music artists as well as original work.
The Hermitage is a historical plantation and museum located in Davidson County 16 kilometers (10 miles) east of downtown Nashville. The plantation was owned by Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, from 1804 until his death at the Hermitage in 1845. Jackson only lived at the property occasionally until he retired from public life in 1837. It is a National Historic Landmark.
The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere is a zoological garden and historic plantation farmhouse located 10 kilometers (6 miles) southeast of Downtown Nashville. The zoo is middle Tennessee’s top paid attraction and contained 6,230 individual animals, encompassing 339 species. The zoo’s site is approximately 76 hectares (188 acres) in size. It is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Some of the more popular types of local cuisine include hot chicken, hot fish, barbecue, and meat and three.
Perhaps the biggest factor in drawing visitors to Nashville is its association with country music, in which the Nashville sound played a role.
Nashville hosts the second-oldest continually operating race track in the United States, the Fairgrounds Speedway.
The coldest temperature ever recorded in Nashville was −27 °C (−17 °F) on January 21, 1985, and the highest was 43 °C (109 °F) on June 29, 2012.