---
title: "Village and City"
description: "Upgrade a village to a city and what changes"
url: https://support.kingdoms.com/en/articles/27-village-and-city
collection: "Expansion"
updated: 2026-11-07
language: en
alternates: [tr, de, fr, ru]
---

# Village and City

Upgrade a village to a city and what changes

In Travian Kingdoms, you have the possibility of upgrading villages to cities. Once you have earned enough culture points, you can choose to either found a new village or upgrade an existing one to a city. Cities offer strategic advantages but also come with certain limitations. 

#### What is a city?

A city is an advanced form of a village, created by upgrading an existing village through the Main Building. 

While upgrading a village to a city consumes culture points, it does not occupy one of your expansion slots. This makes cities a powerful alternative to founding a new village when you're looking to strengthen your empire.

**Requirements to upgrade a village to a city**

Before you can upgrade a village to a city, you must meet the following conditions:

-   Sufficient culture points (The required amount depends on your current expansion stage in the game world.)
    
-   Population of at least 500 in the village
    

![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/helpcenter/68308cfeb9e87dee6f158b79/20260212085111_3960.png)

#### Advantages of upgrading to a city

Upgrading to a city provides several notable benefits:

-   Higher resource field levels: Resource fields can be upgraded up to level 12.
    
-   Bonus population: Each city receives 500 extra inhabitants, increasing your influence (important for kings and for oasis).
    
-   Increased culture point production:
    
    -   +500 culture points/day if the capital is a city
        
    -   +200 culture points/day for other cities
        
-   Higher loyalty cap: Maximum loyalty increases to 200%, making cities more resistant to conquest.
    
-   Exclusive building: Cities can build a Water Ditch, offering up to 30% defense bonus at level 20.
    
-   Harder to conquer: Capturing a city requires the culture points for two villages.
    

#### Disadvantages of upgrading to a city

Despite their benefits, cities also have some downsides:

-   Less expansion flexibility: Founding a new village may be more strategic for expanding territory (for kings) or accessing new oases.
    
-   Lower culture point potential: A new village can sometimes outproduce a city in culture points and population over time.
    
-   Higher development cost: Building resource fields in a new village is more cost-effective than upgrading existing ones in a city.
    
-   Lower overall resource production: Two villages typically produce slightly more resources than one city.
    
-   Risk of downgrade: If a city's population drops below 1000, it reverts to a village, and all resource fields above level 10 are reduced to level 10.
    
-   No extra queues or feasts: Cities do not provide additional build queues (Barracks, Stable, Workshop) or the ability to hold extra celebration in the Town Hall.
    

#### Strategic Considerations

Upgrading to a city is a strategic choice based on your playstyle and priorities. Cities are especially effective for:

-   Players in high-conflict zones who need better defense and loyalty
    
-   Less active players who do not expand aggressively
    
-   Maximizing a capital village’s potential in the endgame phase
    

For well-developed capital villages, upgrading to a capital city is often the optimal move, providing strong defenses and additional culture points without requiring another expansion slot.