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London
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General Facts>
- is situated in the South-East of England
- lies western from the Themsemouth
- capital of Great Britain
- there live neary 7-8 Mio people
- City of London was former Londinium
- today this part is the business an financial part of London with an area of 2,7 km²
- Great London, that is City od London and the 32 district = 1580 km²
History
- during England was conquered by the Angeln and Sax London has no importance
- with the conquest of the Normanns came upturn
- à William the conqueror was first king who was crowned in the Westminster Abbey
- in the end of the 12 century the citizens´ elected her first mayor
- 1348 first plaque - black death
- 1665 renewed plaque à Great Plaque and the Great Fire destroey the town
- in the 19 century the number of inhabitant incresed immense
- in the first world war, no damage in London
- in the second ww the air strikes destroyed nearly all the town à 10 000 were killed and 17 000 iniured persons
- but till the end of the fifties the most was rebuilt
Buildings / Sights
- Post Office Tower - constuct in 1965, height: 189 m
- National Westminster Bank Building - was built 1979, height 183 m
- highest building (224 m) - the Canary Wharf Towrk in Docklands
- Saint Paul´s Cathedral - which have a 110 m dome, was built after 1666, architect: Christopher Wren
- Big Ben - bell tower of the House of Paliament, named after the politican Sir Benjamin Hall, bell weight: 13,5 tonne (tan)
- Tower of London - it was the exprison, was built by William the Conqueror in defence
- Tower Bridge - was finished 1894, bridge over Themse at the Tower of London
- House of Parliament - British Central Office of Information
- Buckingham Palace - in district Westminster, residence of the brit. Queen
- Westminster Abbey - since 1066 the place where kings and queens are crowed
- London Dungeon - cabinet of spook near the Tower Bridge
- Madame Tussard´s - Museum, where famous personalities are showed as wax figures
The Town
- East, North/East: an area where mainly workers live à East End
- - home of immigrants, it is poor but lively an industryly
- West, North/West of the City: Inns of Court
- - West: Bloomsbury, the favourite place of intelectual in the twenties
- - West End - from downtown to the West: famous theatre an shopping streets
- - (in the South of WE: South Bank Arts Complex à National Theatre, Royal Festival Hall, Hayward Gallery)
- South: district of administration, district of the gouvernment with the Whitehall
- - Palace of Westminster - seat of parliament
- - Saint James Palace (where the Prince of Wales live)
- - Buckingham Palace (the residence of the Queen in London)
London´s cultural diversity
- Museums
- - British Museum in Bloomsbury (biggest and famous museum global with 6 Mio Ausstellungsstücken of all type and the brit. State library)
- - Victotia and Albert Museum in South Kensington (art treasures from all over the world)
- - National Gallery on the Trafalgar Square (worldwide the collection with the most different kinds of painting)
- - Museum of London (shows the histoy of the capital)
- - National - Portrait - Gallery (more than 9000 portraits)
- - Tate Gallery (collection of britisch paintings since the 16 century)
- Theatres
- - National Thaetre of the National Theatre Company in South Bank
- - Barbicans Centre of the Royal Shakespeare Company
- - Victoria Theatre
- Opera and Concert Halls
- - Royal Opera House in Covent Garden
- - Royal Festival Hall in Westminster
- Parks
- - altogether 215 parks with an area of 220 km²
- - famous: Hyde Park, Regent Park, Green Park
- Universities
- - University College in Bloomsbury
- - University College Hospital
- - King´s College
- - Royal Academy of Music
- - Royal College of Art
Inhabitants
- ethnic struckture:
- about 5 Mio whites
- 400 000 Indians, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Westindians and Africans
- more than 147 languages were speaken
Traffic
- two airports (biggest one: heathrow)
- very big underground, more than 270 stations
- many thousand famous british taxis
Economy
- very important: stock market
- insurance companies - London thanks to them his prosperity
- important revenue source: tourism
- producing industry lost the importance - only 10 %
- - pressure and publishing companies
- - pharmacic and electric produktion
- - textilies industry
- - brewery
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