Nicosia is the capital city divided by the United Nations buffer zone in Cyprus.
The zone, commonly called the Green Line, runs through the centre of old Nicosia and separates the southern area administered by the Republic of Cyprus from the northern area controlled by the Turkish Cypriot administration. United Nations peacekeepers patrol the zone as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, or UNFICYP.
The first Green Line was drawn during intercommunal violence in December 1963. The division became substantially more entrenched after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, when the ceasefire line was expanded into the present buffer zone. In central Nicosia, the zone can be only a few metres wide, while elsewhere across Cyprus it expands considerably.
For decades, movement between the two sides was severely restricted. Crossings began reopening in 2003, and the Ledra Street crossing in the historic centre opened in 2008. Nicosia is often described as Europe’s last divided capital. Berlin is a historical comparison, not the current answer, while Belfast and Jerusalem are divided or contested cities without this particular UN-patrolled line through their capital centre.