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London

25. dubna 2011 v 10:18 | Cait Sidhe |  Anglická konverzace
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London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom. It lies on the river Thames and covers an area of 1580 square kilometres. Almost 7 million people live there and about 12 million in its conurbation. It includes the City of London and 32 boroughs. The City is the oldest part of London where not many people live, there are mainly banks and offices. The rest of London is divided into 12 boroughs around The City(so-called Inner London) and then 21 boroughs around the Inner London(so-called Outer London). London is the seat of the Monarch, the Parliament, the Goverment and the Supreme Court. London is cultural centre and centre of education - there are also many important museums, galleries, theatres and you can there the University of London, which first gave degrees to women. London is also the centre of transport - there was built the oldest tube in the world, which today includes 12 lines. The Prime Meridian of the World runs across Greenwich in the east of London.

History
In the Roman era, the bridge over the Thames was built and the fortress Londonium, which was a version of its old Celtic name, was founded. It became the seat of romans administrative headquaters on the north bank. Londonium developed into a capital city, there were some 50 000 people living there. Near the London Bridge there was the forum(the chief market and meeting place) and the basilica. But, as the Roman Empire crumbled in the 5th century, the Roman army began pulling out. London remainded the capital od the Britons. It kept its importance during the Anglo-Saxon wars and later during the reign of the Danish kings. The historic division between the City and Westminster started in the mid-11th centrury, when Edward trhe Confessor established his court and sited his abbey at Westminster. The first stone bridge was built in 1209 and lasted 600 years. The Tower of London was started in 1708. After the Battle of Hasting was lost, William the Conqueror, a Norman king, was coronateted in Westminster Abbey. Also importatnt in this age was publishing of the Domesday Book. It was a great land survey, commissioned by William the Conqueror to access the extent of the land and resources owned in England at the time and the extent of the taxes he could raise. King John was forced by powerful English barons to sign the Magne Charta, which gave the City more power, and what also led to the first sessionof parliament, which was held at Westminster as early as 1240. The Black Death peaking in 1348-1350 reduced the population by half. In the 16th century the monarchy was stroger than ever before. The Tudors established peace and througout England, allowinf art and commorce to flourish. The Renaissance reached his peak under Elizabeth I, the daughter if Henry VII, who is mainly famous for his six wifes and establishing the Church of England. Henry died and was succeeede by sin son Edward VI. Six years late Edward died and his sister became Queen Mary I. Mary I's death made Elizabeth Queen in 1558. She succeeded in defeating the Spanish Armada and Britain became the Navy Power no. 1 in the world. The Elizabeth era is the time when English theatre flourished. The Stock exchange was founded in 1565. In 1591, the first play by Shakespeare was produced. Shakespeare dominated the theatrical scene till his death and his theatre - the Globe - became the centre of culture. Unfortunately the Great Fire of 1666 wiped out most of the city.

Shopping
The West End is the place where you can find most of the busiest streets and shopping centres. Oxford Street is the most well-known shopping street renowned for large deparment stores such as Selfriges, John Lewis and Marks and Spencer. Picadilly running from Picadilly Circus to Hyde Park Corner is the place where you can buy sportswear at Lillywhites or elegant ladies' and menswear at Simpson's. Covent Garned is the famou fruit and vegetable market and also the place where the opening scene og G.B.Shaw's play Pygmalion takes place. Soho in the West End also represents a spectacular shopping and entertainment area where you can find many Chinese, Indian and Italian restaurant, a few famous theatres, cafés and bars.

All major parks in London were once royal gardens.
St. James's Park is the oldest park in London, one of architect John Nash masterpieces. He created a lake with small island which are the home of many water-birds. The Mall street separates the park from St. James's Palace, built by Henry VIII.. It is a typical example of Tudor red-brick architecture.
Hyde is probably the most popular park among tourists. It consists of trees and grass intersected by paths. The visitors enjoy boating and swimming on the Serpentine lake and horse-riding in Rotten Row. In the North-East corner of Hyde park stands the Marble Arch, an execution place from the 12th to 18th centuries, formerly called Tyburn. In this corner is also the Speakers Corner, the place where everybody can speak publicly without fear of being arrested for their opinions.

Sightseeing:
Buckingham Palace, built in 1703 by Duke of Buckingham was purchased by George III sixty years later but Queen Victoria was the first monarch to live in the Palace since 1837. Nowadays it is the official seat of British royal family in London. Changing of the Guards takes place outside the Palace. The Royal Standard is flown when the Queen is in residence. The State Appartments have been open to public. An inseparable park of the view of Buckingham Palace is the Queen Victoria Monument.
Trafalgar Square was named after the place where Admiral Lord Nelson defeated the French and Spanish fleet in 1805. In the middle of the square there is Nelson's Column with a statue of Horatio Nelson at the top. It is surrounded by two fountains and several other monuments.
William the Conqueror began to built the massive fortress - the White Tower - to impress the people of England. The Tower served till the 16th century as a royal home, a prison, an execution site, a royal mint and an observatory. Now it is a museum where tourists go to see an arsenal of weapons, the Crown Jewels in the Jewel House, the prison where many famous prisoners were kept(including daring seaman and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, Guy Fawkes who planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament or Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy), the execution block where Henry VIII's wives, Ann Boleyn and Catherine Howard, and philosopher Thomas More were beheaded. The Tower is guarded by the Yeomen Warder who still wear the uniform of Tudor times. Six ravens are kept in the Tower to protect the whole kingdom. The legend says that the Kingdom will cease to exist when the ravens leaves the Tower.
Next to the Tower stands Tower Bridge, the most famous and distinctive bridge of London which is raised in the middle to allow ships to pass up the river.
In Westminster Abbey you can see the Coronation Chair, made in 1300. Many British kings and queens are buried in the abbey. In the poet's corner are the tombstones and monuments to some famous poets but only a few of them are really buried there.
Above the Parliament rises the clock tower called Big Ben. Bin Ben is not really the name of the clock, it is the name of the bell. The strike of Big Ben is known world-wide because it is used by the BBC as a time signal.
 

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1 Aife Aife | 25. dubna 2011 v 12:31 | Reagovat

Caitíčku, taky? Taky?:)

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