Gorizia is a town in the north eastern corner of Italy in the foothills of the Alps. The town lies on the border with Slovenia. The current border was set in 1947 as part of a Peace Treaty signed after World War II. Since then, as the city has grown it has affectively grown in two different countries... Gorizia on the Italian side and, on the Slovenian side, the twin city of Nova Gorica (New Gorizia). The border between the two countries effectively divides the city and runs right down the middle of the public square that lies in front of the town's railroad station.

Although the border remains where it has been since 1947, on December 21st, 2007, Slovenia joined the "Shengen Area", a group of 25 European nations that agreed to allow free passage across all borders to member citizens. Shengen Area nations are also now part of the European Union. This vastly eased movement between Italy and Slovenia... including where the border passes through the town of Gorizia. Still, boarding a train in Gorizia, Italy means a walk down Via Guiseppe Caprin, and crossing in Slovenia as you cross the public square in front of the train station. A crossing that not too long ago was considered illegal.

Sources: Wikipedia

Valga, or Valka as it is known in Latvia, has more than its fair share of existential challenges. Between 1298 and 1558 it was invaded and burnt to the ground or destroyed six times. It has been colonized or occupied by Sweden and then Russia and Germany twice. Finally, from at least 1920, the town was split into two pieces and divided between Latvia and Estonia. The fences and border gates finally came down in 2009 but the town remains divided by two very different languages, one Nordic and similar to Finnish, the other one of only two still-spoken Baltic languages. As a result it is hard for people from the two sides of town to communicate and Russian is often used as the common language for those that speak it.

As with several other strange or disputed borders in this set, the people of Estonia and Latvia have a Brit to thank for the border running down the middle of their town. In 1920, Colonel S. G. Tallents helped lay out the border with most of the town going to Estonia with the exception of the area surrounding Lugazi Square.

As with other strange borders, the town's unique history has now made it something of a tourist attraction. The Visit Estonia website asks, "Where else could you stand, one foot in one country, holding “jäätis” (ice cream in Estonian) in your left hand and other foot in another country, holding “saldejums” (ice cream in Latvian) in your right hand?”

Thanks to Käty Tarkpea for alerting me to this border curiosity

Sources: Geosite , Wikipedia , Visit Estonia