Few people know, but until 2012 in the UK there was no building called the Elizabeth Tower. At the same time, it was built much earlier - back in 1834. How did it happen? The fact is that until 2012 the tower had a completely different name - it was the well-known Big Ben. For the 60th anniversary of the reign of the Queen of Great Britain, it was decided to rename the most famous landmark of the country. Since then, it has become known as the Elizabeth Tower.
A bit of history
The first building of the clock tower was erected in 1288, it stood for more than 5 centuries, but in 1834 it was almost completely destroyed by fire. In its place, it was decided to erect a new tower. The architect was Charles Barry, whose work is also the design of the Palace of Westminster.
The height of the new building was 96.3 meters. The diameter of each of the four dials located on the sides of the square tower is 7 meters. The first watch hands were made of cast iron, but they proved to be too heavy and had to be replaced with lighter ones made of alloy. This contributed to the improvement of the accuracy of the mechanism. The watch itself was designed by Benjamin Valami.
The world's largest four-sided chiming clockwork was launched in May 1859 and has never been interrupted since. Even a bomb that hit the tower during the Second World War could only slightly reduce the accuracy of the clock, but not stop it.
Behind the walls of the tower hangs the famous bell, which is called Big Ben. Its diameter is about 3 meters, and its weight is almost 14 tons. No New Year's Eve in the UK is complete without the chiming of the world-famous bell.
Where is the Elizabeth Tower?
Many people have seen photos of this building, but not everyone knows where it is located. As mentioned above, the Elizabeth Tower was designed by an architect who also designed the Palace of Westminster. Part of this palace is the clock, formerly known as Big Ben.
The area in which the palace and the tower crowning its northern part is located is also called Westminster and is located on the left bank of the Thames. This is the central part of London, which attracts tourists more than any other. Here are attractions such as Buckingham Palace, the famous St. James Park, Westminster Abbey, etc.
There are various ways to get to the Elizabeth Tower. If a taxi is not suitable for you, use the subway. Get off at Westminster station. And from there it remains to walk only a few tens of meters to the place where the Elizabeth Tower will appear before youin all its glory. Another option is a bus. The desired location can be reached on the routes to Trafalgar Square or Victoria Street.
What is the famous tower?
Straight and square in plan, the Elizabeth Tower is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. Even a person who is not familiar with the culture of Great Britain can easily recognize the famous Big Ben in this watch. A fine example of Western European Gothic architecture, it not only attracts attention, but is also memorable, even though the shape of the Elizabeth Tower is very simple. With a square plan, elongated rectilinear facades create a parallelepiped familiar to everyone from geometry lessons. Only in this case, it is decorated with a gabled roof, spiers, a lot of Gothic decor and 7-meter dials on each side. Their glass is made from Birmingham opal.
The clock mechanism, located at a height of 55 meters, weighs about 5 tons. Below it is a 300-kilogram pendulum, 4 meters long. Despite its huge size, the clock on the Elizabeth Tower is the most accurate in the country. Their error, which occurred after the bomb hit, is no more than 2 seconds.
Why was it called Big Ben?
There are many myths about the origin of the old name of the Elizabeth Tower. But they all agree on one thing - the name of the structure was given by the bell. But why it was named that way is hard to say now.
The mosta simple version explains this fact by the characteristic sound of a bell, reminiscent of the sound of the words "big Ben". The rest of the opinions are connected with the names of certain Englishmen. For example, there is an opinion that the name of the bell was given by Sir Benjamin Hall, who took an active part in its creation. According to another version, the name of the then-famous heavyweight boxer Benjamin County gave the nickname to the London Landmark.
Interesting facts
Even if you know perfectly well where the Elizabeth Tower is, you probably don't know some interesting facts from its history. It is hard to imagine, but for several years it was used as a prison for parliamentarians. At present, of course, the tower does not carry such a function.
Under each of the four dials is the inscription "God Save Queen Victoria". Another phrase, shorter, runs along the perimeter of the tower and reads "Praise the Lord."
The position of the tower has changed somewhat after a metro line was built under it. The deviation was only 22 millimeters to the Northwest side.
It is also interesting that the minute hand, which is 4.2 meters long, travels 190 kilometers a year. By the way, the length of the hour hand is 2.7 m.
Where else can you see the Elizabeth Tower?
Mentions of the most famous watches in the UK can be found in literature, movies and even cartoons. Often this sight of London gets a very unenviable role - fights take place in it, it is looted and even blown up. For example, inmovie "Mars Attacks!" aliens destroy the top of the tower, in "V for Vendetta" there is also an explosion. Even fantasy characters have not bypassed the famous clock. In the film Reign of Fire, the tower, along with the palace, is destroyed by dragons.
In whatever movie the UK appears, the Elizabeth Tower will definitely be there. For London, it is the same identification mark as the Eiffel Tower for Paris. Even in some games, such as Call of Duty and Mass Effect 3, Big Ben can also be seen.
