The history of London: a description, interesting facts and attractions

Almost all travelers who find themselves in the UK are eager to visit its capital. It's not surprising, because the history of London is already about two millennia, full of events, including bloody ones. What can you tell us about the creation and development of the political, economic and cultural center of the United Kingdom, its interesting sights?

The history of London: the beginning

The first mention of the capital of foggy Albion dates from the year 43 AD. In fact, the history of London begins with the landing of Roman legionaries on the British Isles. Moving deep into the territory, the troops met with an obstacle, which became the famous Thames. Forcing the river meant building a bridge. For the work of the Romans were forced to establish a camp on the northern bank of the Thames, which received the name Londinium.

If we believe the records of the scientist Tacitus, already in 51 the new settlement has earned the title of a stronghold of trade. At first it was surrounded by an earthen wall, later (around the beginning of the fourth century) it was replaced by a stone wall. The history of London shows that the city survived the hard times associated with the collapse of the Roman Empire. The buildings were destroyed, the number of residents of the city has significantly decreased. However, already in the seventh century, London began to reborn. It was then that the city acquired the first cathedral, named after St. Paul.

In the ninth century, the reputation of the center of commerce returned to the former Londinium, but a new problem arose-the raids of the Vikings. The order was able to guide only the monarch Edward the Confessor, in the middle of the 11th century proclaimed the Anglo-Saxon rule in the city.

Middle Ages

The history of London during the Middle Ages is also rich in events. In the 11th century, Westminster Abbey was erected on its territory, in which the famous William the Conqueror was crowned in 1066. Through the efforts of the king, the settlement became rich and large. In 1209, the famous London Bridge, crossing the Thames, was built, it lasted about 600 years.

The time period, covering the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries, proved to be a difficult test for this settlement. The history of the city of London shows that he was briefly captured by the French, survived a peasant revolt. The plague epidemic was also a serious problem.

Beneficial for the capital of the foggy Albion was the period of the Tudor dynasty. At this time, London was among the largest European shopping centers. Positively affected by its development weakening of Spain, defeated in the war of 1588.

New time

The Tudors were replaced by the Stuarts, but the capital continued to flourish. By the way, London acquired the status of the main city of Great Britain in 1707. In the same century, there is a restoration of St. Paul's Cathedral, destroyed in the fire, the construction of the Westminster Bridge. Buckingham Palace turns into the main residence of the kings.

In the 19-20th centuries the city survived industrialization and urbanization, the number of its inhabitants has increased to one million people. In 1836, the construction of railroads began, in 1863 in London there was a subway station. Of course, there were also problems, for example, cholera epidemics, which can easily be explained by the rapid population growth.

Information on losses incurred during the Second World War also contains the history of London. Briefly: the capital repeatedly suffered from bombing enemy aircraft, many buildings were destroyed. It is known only an approximate number of casualties among civilians - 30 thousand people.

Description

Of course, not only the history of the creation of London is interesting. What is the main city of the United Kingdom these days? It is known that this settlement is the second largest city, located on the territory of Europe. Its area is approximately 1580 square kilometers.

How many people live in the capital of Foggy Albion? According to the latest data, this figure is approximately 8.5 million people. The inhabitants of the city are not only British, but also Irish, Asians, Indians, etc.

Interesting Facts

The history of London says that the city did not always bear its modern name. In various chronicles that have survived to this day, this settlement is referred to as Londinium, Ludenburg, Ludenwick. The bloodiest in the history of the capital is the 17th century, it was at this time that its inhabitants faced such upheavals as the Great Plague, which claimed the lives of more than 60 thousand people, the Great London fire that destroyed many buildings of historical value.

Local residents often call their city "big smoke". This is due to the Great Smog - the catastrophe that took place in 1952. For five days, the settlement was enveloped in smoke, it happened as a result of excessive concentration of industrial enterprises on its territory. The great was able to kill about four thousand people.

In the world there is no subway, built before London. Its inhabitants of London have been called a "pipe", since this is the shape of most of the tunnels.

London History Museum

The inhabitants of the capital of Great Britain carefully treat the history of their beloved city. The proof is the Museum of London History, whose number of exhibits has long exceeded one million. In this building everything that is connected with the life of the settlement, from the times before its foundation, is stored.

The grand opening of the museum took place in 1976, it is located next to St. Paul's Cathedral. Everyone can visit it free of charge. At the moment, the most interesting exhibit is the Lord Mayor's carriage.

Museum of Natural History

The Museum of Natural History in London appeared in 1881, at first it worked as part of the British Museum, later officially separated from it. The building is famous for rare exhibits from the world of zoology, botany, mineralogy, paleontology. First of all, its popularity among residents and visitors of the city is due to the fact that among the exhibits there are remains of dinosaurs.

For example, in the Museum of Natural History (its second name) you can see the skeleton of a Diplodocus, the length of which is 26 meters. Also, visitors are shown a mechanical model of the tyrannosaurus.

Bright attractions

Fortunately, the eventful history of London is fixed not only in textbooks. It can be studied by exploring the sights that the capital of foggy Albion deservedly famous for. For example, the Tower of London - a fortress that has existed for more than 900 years, caught almost the entire bloody history of Britain. At the moment it is turned into a unique museum complex, which contains many interesting exhibits.

Westminster Abbey is an excellent example of Gothic architecture that has existed for several centuries and is admired for its elegance. It was here for more than a thousand years that the coronations of English rulers took place, and here are the graves of the outstanding representatives of the nation - not only monarchs, but also scholars and writers. The British Museum contains so many exhibits that they can not be studied even in a few days. The area of the building is 6 hectares. It is impossible not to mention Buckingham Palace, which has 775 rooms.