To those from the Western hemisphere, it’s always fascinating to hear that some homes and businesses from the times of the Greek philosophers still have inhabitants, and then you remember that the Western hemisphere is itself not without its own examples, for example some Mexican villages still have temples from the times of the Mayans.
Over 700 years. A tower originally built in 1310. The island it’s on is an exclave that is technically part of Hamburg.
Must be the church St. Pancratius, built somewhere between 1100 and 1120.
The second-oldest building here is probably the remains of the castle of the poem “The castled crag of Drachenfels” by Lord Byron.
Most of the old buildings (usually churches / cathedrals) here have been built upon and changed over the centuries so what you see above ground is still old, but it’s not - at least comparatively - ancient.
I’m in England. I may or may not be in a town that has something like that, but even the places that don’t have something are within a couple of hours’ drive of somewhere that does.
I will say that where I am is listed in the Domesday book, but that isn’t saying much to be fair.
There’s a castle that’s been in the same place since the 12th century, but the current building is from the 18th century. There’s an old wooden church dating to late 16th century, a large church built in 1642 but its current look is from the 19th century, and a bunch of houses from 17th and 18th century.
There are also roman ruins dating back to at least 1st century.
The oldest church was built around 1200, on the remains of an older church from the 7th century and you can go below ground to view those. We also have some Roman ruins from a castellum build around the year 47 you can also go and view.
Edit: The castellum is gone, but there are just some walls and stones.
We have Neolithic attracts and Roman ruins, as well as a castle from somewhere around 1066, also now ruins.
The oldest recorded standing and still used building is from around 1290.
800 years.
Historians say the church was completed in the first quarter of the 13th century, that makes it somewhere between 799 - 824 years old.
Am Aussie so we don’t really have old buildings, but this is nearly 200
The church in my town is from the early 13th century, and there’s a house from the mid 13th century. Both have been modified many times of course, but a lot of it remains original.
It’s from 1247 (first mention, might be even older).
The oldest intact building in my city is from 1320 - so 700 years old. Baguely Hall, which is an old landowners hall.
The city itself - Manchester - dates back to the roman era and we have the remnants of an old castrum/fort in the city centre dating back to 79 AD - so 1945 years old. Surprisingly there were more complete ruins at the site but much of it was levelled during the industrial revolution.
Here in Curitiba it’s this church:
It’s constantly maintained and renovated, but the building is 287 years old, built in 1737. (For reference the city itself is 331yo.)
It’s kind of funny that people here don’t typically remember the name of that church, Igreja da Ordem (Church of the Order; the “order” in question are the Franciscans). Instead they remember the name of the square that the church faces, named after the church - o Largo da Ordem (lit. “Order Plaza”, but more like “the plaza of the church of the Order”).
When I lived in Germany for a couple years, I was surprised to learn that the large church in the center on my village was about 1,000 years old. This one building has been standing longer than America has been a country. Over 4x as long, too! European culture amazes me because there’s such a lengthy history, and so many things are much older than I’d imagine. American history is so short in comparison, and we’re more likely to tear down and build new and cheap than create a solid structure that will last for hundreds of years.
In southern Spain you can’t dig without hitting some stone age stuff. My town was a known stop for travellers before the Romans took over because of fresh water wells. Eventually a roman road was built about two millenia ago, and still ride on it with my bike for some routes.
No old buildings remain, this was a roadside village and stuff was made cheap and not meant to last, but there is a funeral arrangement from 600 BC that was unearthed and sent to the national museum. More info
Here, there is a 450 year old house that is now owned by a group of citizens who use it to arrange local events.
