/r/papertowns

Photograph via snooOG

Papertowns is dedicated to well-crafted pictorial maps, detailed panoramic cityscapes, broad aerial vistas, intricate bird's-eye views, even full 3D reconstructions of cities, towns and citadels from any place.

Definition (According to /r/papertowns):

Papertowns: well-crafted pictorial maps, detailed panoramic cityscapes, broad aerial vistas, intricate bird's-eye views, fictional cities, even full 3D reconstructions both digital and physical. We enjoy anything from the famed citadels of antiquity to the quaint towns of the middle ages and the vibrant metropolises of our time.

If you also enjoy these works of cartography, history and art, then you'll fit in just fine.

  • Civility rule: Be courteous to others. Any post that puts down anyone for any reason will result in an immediate and permanent ban.

  • Relevance rule: Only post content related to this subreddit's definition of Papertowns (see above).

  • Title rule: Always include the city if possible and current country name in the submission title, otherwise it will be removed.

  • Repost rule: A repost may only be allowed if the original post has fewer than 100 upvotes and was submitted at least 6 months ago. If you wish to repost a popular submission, you may do so by making a text-submission, with the exact title as the original and it must promote an educated and relevant discussion.

This subreddit is dedicated to high quality illustrations only. Please bear that in mind when making a contribution here. Low quality or "casual" content will most likely be removed.


Filter Search by Country!

In order to keep things well organized, every submission has a country flair. Here are two short examples that illustrate how you can search for all papertowns from any specific country:

1. If the name of the country consists of a single word, for example Japan, then you will search like this:

flair:japan

2. If the name of the country consists of multiple words, for example United States, then you will search like this:

flair:united_states

Also, you can just click the flair next to any submission title to perform this search automatically.

Tip: In addition to its own separate flair, UK has four extra flairs for each of its constituent countries.


Here are some other similar subreddits you might be interested in:

If you want to be more professional...

/r/papertowns

128,260 Subscribers

220

Fortified monastery of Suceviţa in 1807, depicted by Franz Jaschke. Modern-day Romania

0 Comments
2024/12/01
09:04 UTC

49

Transylvanian city of Bistriţa/Bistritz, depicted in 1735, when it was part of Habsburg Empire. Modern-day Romania.

1 Comment
2024/12/01
08:47 UTC

318

Isca Dumnoniorum during the Roman Period. Now the site of modern-day Exeter, England.

4 Comments
2024/11/30
18:38 UTC

875

Bird's eye view of Constantinople (today Istanbul in modern Turkey) in 360 AD by Rocío Espín Piñar

15 Comments
2024/11/28
15:01 UTC

304

My intepretation of fictional city of Pfeildorf - Warhammer

28 Comments
2024/11/25
19:54 UTC

884

Model bird's eye view of Londinium, England in Roman age by Rocío Espín Piñar

12 Comments
2024/11/20
20:11 UTC

501

Model of Ancient Jerusalem, birds eye, 1st century by Rocío Espín Piñar

6 Comments
2024/11/17
15:21 UTC

144

Island city of Hormuz/Ormuz depicted in 1572. Located in a strait between Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, it was an important trade center, held by Portuguese Empire since 1507. In 1622, the city was conquered by Persia - modern-day Iran.

1 Comment
2024/11/17
08:40 UTC

288

Print of a 1610 map of Nice, France

10 Comments
2024/11/15
12:00 UTC

52

Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos, Greece, depicted on a 1793 print

3 Comments
2024/11/14
22:53 UTC

762

The Basque city of Hondarribia in 1476, the year in which it successfully repelled the besieging forces of Louis the Prudent and his 40,000 men, modern-day Spain

5 Comments
2024/11/14
13:53 UTC

64

Imaginary aboveground and underground in front of the station. I drew it as a cross-sectional diagram. 'fictional'

It was created using a 0.03mm pen and postcard-sized paper. There is a private railway station with a distinctive arch structure and a Japanese National Railways station above ground, and a Shinkansen station underground, all connected by an underground mall and a pedestrian bridge. Trams also run directly into the passage.

The concept is "seriousness of a local city". This is the story of the opening of the Shinkansen, which has come to this town, which until now was a quiet rural town with no novelty. To take this opportunity to attract a Shinkansen station, I imagined a sudden wave of modernization in a rural area.

1 Comment
2024/11/14
01:21 UTC

225

Map of parts of Washington D.C. And Virginia USA HD map in comments

12 Comments
2024/11/13
06:29 UTC

205

Map of Goslar in 1975, Germany

4 Comments
2024/11/12
18:05 UTC

108

Salta, capital of the fictional Salton Empire

3 Comments
2024/11/11
15:04 UTC

486

3D reconstruction of Al-Natah, a recently discovered 4000-year-old fortified settlement in Saudi Arabia

4 Comments
2024/11/11
08:56 UTC

336

Taughannock Gorge (Upstate New York, USA) by Aaron Koelker

3 Comments
2024/11/09
20:56 UTC

146

Karasubazar in 1856, modern-day Bilohirsk in Ukraine

1 Comment
2024/11/09
11:25 UTC

48

[Fictional](Obviously.:) Flying City | (definitely not a star destroyer..)

3 Comments
2024/11/08
13:46 UTC

204

Port Blacksand - Fighting Fantasy World - Fictional Settlement

11 Comments
2024/11/08
13:16 UTC

180

Chișinău, modern-day capital of Moldova, in 1711, in a graphic reconstruction by Sergius Ciocanu, who estimated the population of the town to be of circa 2000 inhabitants.

8 Comments
2024/11/07
07:58 UTC

192

Cresana (fictional city)

9 Comments
2024/11/06
14:48 UTC

356

Prague, Czechia (1926)

5 Comments
2024/11/03
19:34 UTC

88

View of Pompeii by Alfred Guesdon [Italy]

1 Comment
2024/11/03
16:30 UTC

187

Scenes in and around Kyoto, Japan (1615 CE)

3 Comments
2024/11/01
13:52 UTC

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