History of London: description, interesting facts and sights

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:48

Almost all travelers who find themselves in the UK tend to definitely visit its capital. Not surprising, because the history of London has been going on for about two millennia, full of events, including bloody ones. What can be said about the creation and development of the political, economic and cultural center of the United Kingdom, its interesting sights?

History of London: Beginning

The first mention of the capital of foggy Albion dates back to 43 AD. In fact, the history of London begins with the landing of Roman legionnaires in the British Isles. Moving inland, the troops met with an obstacle, which became the famous Thames. Crossing the river meant building a bridge. To carry out the work, the Romans were forced to establish a camp on the north bank of the Thames, which received the name Londinium.

According to the records of the scientist Tacitus, already in 51 a new settlementearned the title of stronghold of trade. At first it was surrounded by an earth wall, later (around the beginning of the fourth century) it was replaced by a stone wall. The history of London shows that the city went through hard times associated with the collapse of the Roman Empire. The buildings were destroyed, the number of inhabitants of the city decreased significantly. However, already in the seventh century, London began to revive. It was then that the city acquired the first cathedral named after St. Paul.

In the ninth century, the reputation of a center of trade returned to the former Londinium, but a new problem appeared - Viking raids. Only the monarch Edward the Confessor, who in the middle of the 11th century proclaimed Anglo-Saxon supremacy in the city, managed to restore order.

Middle Ages

The history of London during the Middle Ages is also rich in events. In the 11th century, Westminster Abbey was built 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 was built, crossing the Thames, it lasted about 600 years.

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

Favorable for the capital of foggy Albion was the period of the Tudor dynasty. At that time, London was among the largest European tradecenters. The weakening of Spain, which was defeated in the war of 1588, had a positive effect on its development.

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, the restoration of St. Paul's Cathedral, destroyed by fire, the construction of Westminster Bridge takes place. Buckingham Palace turns into the main residence of the kings.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city experienced industrialization and urbanization, the number of its inhabitants increased to one million people. In 1836, the construction of railways began, in 1863 the underground appeared in London. Of course, there were problems, for example, cholera epidemics, which are easily explained by the rapid growth of the population.

Information about the losses suffered during the Second World War, also contains the history of London. Briefly: the capital repeatedly suffered from the bombing of enemy aircraft, many buildings were destroyed. Only an approximate number of civilian casu alties is known - 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 today? It is known that this settlement is the second largest city located in Europe. Its area is approximately 1580 square kilometers.

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

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 mentioned as Londinium, Ludenburg, Ludenvik. The 17th century is considered the bloodiest in the history of the capital, it was at this time that its inhabitants faced such shocks as the Great Plague, which claimed the lives of more than 60 thousand people, the Great Fire of London, which destroyed many buildings of historical value.

Locals often refer to their city as "big smoke". This is due to the Great Smog, a catastrophe that took place in 1952. Within five days, the settlement was shrouded in smoke, this happened as a result of an excessive concentration of industrial enterprises on its territory. The great smog claimed the lives of approximately four thousand people.

There is no Underground in the world built before London. Its inhabitants of London have nicknamed the "pipe", since most of the tunnels have this shape.

London History Museum

Inhabitants of the British capital carefully treat the history of their beloved city. The London History Museum, whose number of exhibits has long exceeded a million, can serve as proof. This building contains everything that is connected with the life of the settlement, starting from the time that preceded its foundation.

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

Museum of Natural History

The Natural History Museum 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 the 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. A mechanical model of a Tyrannosaurus rex is also shown to visitors.

Vivid sights

Fortunately, the eventful history of London is recorded not only in textbooks. It can be studied by exploring the sights that the capital of foggy Albion is deservedly famous for. For example, the Tower of London is a fortress that has been in existence for over 900 years and has covered almost the entire bloody history of Great Britain. At the moment, it has been 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 delights with its elegance. It was here that for more than a thousand yearsthe coronation of English rulers, here are the graves of prominent representatives of the nation - not only monarchs, but also scientists and writers. The British Museum contains such a number of exhibits that it is impossible to study them all even in a few days. The area of the building is 6 hectares. Not to mention Buckingham Palace, which has 775 rooms.