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LONDON (london[1].doc)

LONDON

Some basic facts about London

           London is the capital city of the United Kingdom. It is the 9th largest city in world - its population is about 10 000 000 (with suburbs). It’s total area is over 4 000 square kilometers. From about 1800 until World War Two, London was the biggest city in the world Its primary geographical feature is the Thames, a navigable river which crosses the city from the southwest to the east. The Thames is a tidal river, and London is vulnerable to flooding.

           London has a temperate climate with regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year. The warmest month is July, with an average temperature range at Greenwich of 13.6 °C to 22.8 °C. The coolest month is January, averaging 2.4 °C to 7.9 °C. Average annual precipitation is 583.6 mm, with February on average the driest month. Snow is uncommon, particularly because heat from the urban area can make London 5 °C  hotter than surrounding areas in winter.

TRANSPORT

Rail

         The centerpiece of the public transport network is the London Underground, the oldest and largest metro system in the world, dating from 1863. The Metro system was home to the world's first underground electric line, the City & South London Railway, which began service in 1890. Nearly 1 billion journeys are made each year on the London Underground system. The Underground serves the central area and most suburbs to the north of the Thames, whilst those to the south are served by an extensive suburban rail network. Commuter and intercity railways generally do not cross the city, instead running into fourteen terminal stations scattered around its historic centre. The London bus network caters for most local journeys and carries even more passengers than the Underground. These internationally recognized buses are the trademark of London transport along-side black cabs and the underground. Metro systems by annual passenger ridership, London ranks 7th in the world, with 976 million passengers per year.

Air

      London is an international transport hub, with five sizeable airports and a cross-channel rail service. Heathrow is the busiest airport in the world for international traffic; such traffic is also handled at Gatwick, whilst Stansted and Luton cater mostly for low-cost short-haul flights. London City, the smallest and most central airport, is focused on business travellers.

Biggin Hill is often counted as London's sixth airport. However, this is not an international airport and handles mainly chartered aircraft. By annual passenger air traffic, London ranks 1st in the world, with around 133,599,000 passengers using London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport, London Stansted Airport, London Luton Airport and London City Airport in the year 2005.

Road

Although the vast majority of journeys involving central London are made by public transport, travel in outer London is car-dominated. The inner ring road (around the city center), the North and South Circular roads (in the suburbs) and an orbital motorway circuit the city and are intersected by a number of busy radial routes — but very few motorways penetrate into inner London. A plan for a comprehensive network of motorways throughout the city was prepared in the 1960s but was mostly cancelled in the early 1970s due to vociferous objections from the population and the huge costs. In 2003, a congestion charge was introduced to reduce traffic volumes in the city center. With a few exceptions, motorists are required to pay £8 per day to drive within a defined zone encompassing much of central London. Motorists who are residents in the defined zone can also buy a season pass which is renewed monthly.

DIDTRICTS

London is divided into 3 main parts: THR CITY, THE WEST END, THE EAST END.

            THE CITY is the oldest part. It is a small area of about 2.5 square kilometers and with only around 10,000 permanent residents. But on weekdays it’s a very busy place as it houses a great number of banks, offices, headquarters of firms, the world’s most advanced stock exchange, foreign exchange market and other important institutions. Thousands of people residing in other parts of the city come to work here every day. At weekends the City is crowded with tourists coming to see historic attractions like the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. But the City is not only the modern center, here are sides too, for example London Wall, Lombard Street, Moor gate and Bishops gate. Here’s the site of the oldest London Bridge, which was built in 1971 and replaced the one.

             THE WEST END is famous for its shops and places of entertainment. Here we can find most of London’s theatres, cinemas, and nightclubs. The heart of London’s entertainment

world is Piccadilly Circus. In the center of the West End is Chinatown - an attractive place

for tourists who can taste traditional Chinese food here in typical Chinese restaurants. Among the most famous West End’s streets are: Oxford St., Regent‘s St., Carnaby St. /only about 100 m long, it’s full of open-air stalls selling fashion clothes/ - very popular among Londoners and visitors, Bond St. /well - known for its art galleries, jewellery shops and luxury goods and the famous auction house Sotheby’s/.

             THE EAST END used to be a slum in the 19th century but after heavy bombing during the World War II it was rebuilt. It is historically associated with Cockney dialect - understood only in this part of London and hardly comprehensible even to most of the English.

London is one of the world’s leading financial centers and we can find here all sorts of banks, financial institutions and head - offices of international companies. The best-known building of this place is The Bank of England, which is also called The Old Lady of Thread needle Street and it issues money. The other is Lloyds’ insurance building; all the ships in the world are insured here. The Stock Exchange and Royal Exchange are also situated here. This part of London is known for not meeting the typical Englishmen because now it’s full of new technologies.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

        The administration of London takes place in two tiers — a city-wide, strategic tier and a local tier. City-wide administration is coordinated by the Greater London Authority, whilst local administration is carried out by 33 smaller districts.

        The Greater London Authority is responsible for strategic planning, policing, the fire service, transport and economic development. It consists of two elected parts — the Mayor of London, who has executive powers, and the London Assembly, who scrutinise the Mayor's decisions and can accept or reject his budget proposals each year. The GLA is a recent organisation, having been set up in 2000 to replace the similar Greater London Council (GLC) which was abolished in 1986.

The current Mayor of London is Ken Livingstone, who is in his second term of office. He was elected in 2000 as an independent candidate and again in 2004 as a Labour candidate. Ken Livingstone was also the leader of the GLC when it was abolished.

         The 33 local districts are the 32 London boroughs and the City of London. They are responsible for local services not overseen by the GLA, such as local planning, schools, social services, and refuse collection. The London boroughs each have a council which is elected every four years by local residents. The City of London does not have a conventional local authority, but is governed by the historic Corporation of London which is elected by both residents and businesses, and which has existed more or less unchanged since the Middle Ages.

         The City of London also has its own police force: The City of London Police, which is independent of the Metropolitan Police Service which covers the rest of Greater London.

Health services in London are managed by the national government through the National Health Service, which is controlled and administered in London by five Strategic Health Authorities.

NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

         London is the home of the Government of the United Kingdom which is located around the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. Many government offices are located close to Parliament, particularly along Whitehall and including the Prime Minister's famous residence on Downing Street. London is represented in the national Parliament by 74 Members of Parliament (MPs) who correspond to local parliamentary constituencies. Of these 74 MPs, 44 are from the Labour Party, 21 are Conservatives, 8 are Liberal Democrats and one is from the RESPECT party.

EDUCATION

Home to a diverse range of universities, colleges and schools, London has a significant student population (about 378,000)and is a centre of research and development. Most primary and secondary schools in London follow the same system as the rest of England.

With 125,000 students, the University of London is the largest contact teaching university in the United Kingdom and in Europe. It comprises 20 colleges as well as several smaller institutes, each with a high degree of autonomy. Constituent colleges have their own admissions procedures, and are effectively universities in their own right, although all degrees are awarded by the University of London rather than the individual colleges. Its constituents include multi-disciplinary colleges such as UCL, King's and Queen Mary and more specialised institutions such as Imperial, the London School of Economics, SOAS, the Royal Academy of Music and the Institute of Education.

London's other universities, such as City University, London Metropolitan University, Middlesex University, UEL, the University of Westminster and London South Bank University, are not part of the University of London. Some were polytechnics until these were granted university status in 1992, and others which were founded much earlier.

London is home to a number of important museums and other institutions which are major tourist attractions as well as playing a research role. The Natural History Museum, Science Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum (dealing with fashion and design) are clustered in South Kensington's "museum quarter", whilst the British Museum houses historic artefacts from around the world. The British Library at St Pancras is the UK's national library, housing 150 million items.[38] The city also houses extensive art collections, primarily in the National Gallery, Tate Britain and Tate Modern.

Historical monuments

HYDE PARK is one of the best-known London parks. It has the Serpentine, a little lake and Speaker´s Corner. Hyde Park is a large green area. You can come and relax and have a picnic. Some people go fishing or boating. Lots of people go for long walks and jogging. Hyde Park is the personal property of the Queen, who inherited it from Henry VIII. It is one of the largest, the best known and most extensive parks in London. It was opened to the public by Charles I. and there is SPEAKER´S CORNER where various orators come every Sunday morning. Speaker´s Corner quickly became a public institutions, acquiring international prestige and attracting the talents of speakers. It is listed in all the guidebooks to London. The right to hold meeting was not given legal recognition until 1872. There are widely different topics: politics, economics, religion, international relations and about Britain´s current problems, such as unemployment, the arms race, high prices, etc. There can be seen individual singers and musician.

The distinguishing feature of the style of oratory practised at Speaker´s Corner the opportunity given to members of the public to interject their own comments and questions while the speaker is addressing his audience.

TROCADERO: It is situated not far from Picadely Circus. It is place where we can see amazing holograms. There are many shops and shows, cafe´s and restaurants, cinema, casino, etc. There is one of the largest and best music shop. It has 300 years history. It was built in 1740´s, then it was tennis court. Since that time it is used for entertainment. Trocadero is one of the most visited places in London. There can be visited Light Fantastic, which are world´s largest exhibition of holograms. In International Village we can order different delicious meals from all over the world.

NATIONAL GALLERY:  is situated along the north-west side of the square, with the National Portrait gallery behind it. National Gallery includes works by all the great European masters. There are collections of paintings from Duccio and Margarito of Arezzo to Monet or Ronoir.

REGENT STREET: Regent Street was designed by John Nash as a „Royal Mile“ (along which the Prince Regent might drive from his mansion at carlton House, St. Jame´s to his new park, the Regent´s Park). John Nash (1752 – 1835) was an English architect and pioneer of town planning. Above Picadely Circus in the curred portion of Regen Street known as the Quadrant.

THE TOWER OF LONDON: in the Tower of London many people were executed, for example Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard (Henry VIII´s wives) and many people were prisoned there, for example Queen Elizabeth I. Today we can see there some of the apparatus of fortune, for example the Scavenger´s Daughter, an iron ring compressing head, body and feet into a circle. There is a Jewel Tower, where the Crown Jewels in price of $ 100 million, shimmer behind some of the most sophisticated electronic protective device on earth. The Tower of London consists of the White Tower (the oldest part), Waterloo barracks (Crown Jewels), Site of Scaffold, Tower green (there are many ravens), Bloody tower (prison), Site of Lion Tower (there was a collection of wild animals) and Traitor´s Gate. The Tower of London dates from the eleventh century and it is the most beautiful of Norman buildings. Wild animals were kept at the Tower until the 19th century, when the Zoological Gardens were founded.

Before Tower of London are Beefeaters, ex-army men, which guard the security of this building.

MADAME TUSSAUD´S: Madame Tussaud´s is one of the best known tourist attraction in London, the most famous waxworks in the world. At the first it was opened in 1835 by madame Tussaud. She made waxworks of famous people during the French Revolution.

The museum is divided into sections. One of them is devoted to prominent characters from British history. Another is full of the stars like Elvis Presley, Beatles, Michael Jackson. The number of rooms are devoted to world leaders from Royal Family. In the other there are model of various well-known murderers – such as Jack the Rippers – the legendary multiple killer. This is the best – known wax exhibition in the world. It consists of 6 areas: the Tableaux, the conservatory, superstars, the Grand Hall, the chamber of Horrors and the battle of Trafalgar.

NATIONAL THEATRE: National theatre is new building with 3 stages for performances on 3 floors. Ample space for refreshment. Shelves full of literature on the subject of the theatre. From a building we can enjoy a fantastic view of London, on the side Westminster, St. Paul´s cathedral and the River. In Britain there are 200 professional theatres.

RIVER THAMES: In 43 AD Roman army built bridge across the Thames. This was the beginning of the City of London. First docks were built in 17th century.

Land nearby grew into a key port with a trade. This trade booming kept until the time of Wiliam the Conqueror in 1066. In the next 500 years was London a great industry port. People who work in trade formed guilds (group of people with some interests or work joined together to help one another).

Bridges over the Thames: Vauxhall Bridge, Lambeth Bridge (Houses of Parliament, Big Ben), Waterloo Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, Tower Bridge.

LONDON DOCKLAND´S: far almost two centuries, up till the 1960´s, London was one of  

Britain´s main port. But when the docks closed, the whole area went into a steep decline. In the 1980s the London Dockland Development Corporation was set up to try to stop this and the whole area went under massive redevelopment.

The Dockland is used to be a strongly working-class area. Now they are full of the offices of national and international firms and housing for the wealthy, who are attracted by the closeness of the area to the city centre and its transport link, which include a modern light railway and even a brand new airport right in the middle of the city. The old Tobaco Dock and St. Katherine´s Dock are now malls with shops and restaurants.

WHITEHALL: Whitehall is a London street in which there are many government offices. It runs from Trafalgar square to Parliament square. The name comes from White Hall Palace. In 1698 fire destroyed it. Horse Guards in Whitehall are famous and popular. Many people come to see Changing of the Guards which takes place at 11 a. m. om weekdays and at 10 a. m. on Sundays. The Household Bridge is composed of 2 regiments of Household cavalry, the Life Guards and they Royal Horse Guards and the 5 regiments of Foot Guards.

10 DOWNING STREET: Downing Street is very visited street in London. At 10 Downing Street is a residence of Britain´s Prime Minister and the number 11 is the official residence of the Chancellor of Exchequer. When the Prime Minister is in London, cabinet meets there for a few hours once or twice a week. They meet in long white room witch has shape like airplane wing. It was designed so that the Prime Minister can see everyone who sits at the table. It was built by Sir George Downing.

Nearby is a museum of Sherlock Holmes.

THE CITY OF LONDON: London originated as the Roman settlement of Londinium. London with its population is greater than that of all Slovakia (4000 km2). There are two cities, London and Westminster and 28 boroughs. The Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament are not in the City of London at all. The City is one of the world´s leading financial centres. There are many banks: Bank of England Lloyds of London, Stock Exchange, Royal Exchange.

The City of London is area around St. Paul´s Cathedral. It is very small and tiny. It has only 2 square miles. It is seat of the Chairman, the head of the Greater London and the Lord Mayor of London, a chief officer of the City.

SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN: He was born in 1632. He built 53 churches within the St. Paul´s Cathedral. Much of the St. Clement Domes was destroyed by bombs in 1941, during WWI, but the outside walls and the steeple were left standing. When it was restored St. Clement´s Domes was rededicated, becoming the central church of the Royal Air Force in 1958. His earliest architectural works are to be found in Oxford and Cambridge.

TRAFALGAR SQUARE: Trafalgar Square is named after the cape in Spain near which a great sea battle was fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined French and Spain navies in 1805. The British won and the result was that Bonaparte lost command of the seas forever. A statue of the victor of Trafalgar, the one-armed Admiral Horatio Nelson, dominates the square on top of 56-metres high column guarded at each corner by splendid bronze lion designed by sir Edwin Landseer. Important streets that join it include Whitehall, synonymous with government, the Mall, which leads directly to Buckingham Palace, Regent Street, a major shopping street, Charring Cross Road, the heart of the book trade, and the Strand, named after its position on what used to be the bank of the river Thames. On the corner of this street is Charing Cross railway station. The present-day cross dates from 1863, the original was destroyed during the Civil War. The square is lived with important buildings, for example the church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. The biggest and probably the best known is the National Gallery. As a large open speal in the heart of the city, the square is a natural meeting place to enjoy the atmosphere, to see the sights, to demonstrate, to celebrate – sport victories, for instance, or X-mas (every year there is a huge X-mas tree there, a present from the people of Norway) or New Year, to feed the pigeons, or just to meet friends.

On a Trafalgar Square are the Royal Horse Guards with dark uniforms and helmets.

TOWER BRIDGE: Tower Bridge is in the City and is the most interesting bridge across the Thames because it opens in the middle to let large ships pass up and down the river. Visitors to London can go inside, where there is a museum.

THE HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT: There are two Houses of Parliament: the Lords and the Commons. They are in the same building – the Palace of Westminster. There is also Westminster Hall and the famous Big Ben next to Westminster Bridge.

BIG BEN: Big Ben is a bell which strikes the hours in the clock tower of the Houses Of Parliament in London. The bell weighs 13.5 tons and was named after Sir Benjamin Hall in 1858. Sir Benjamin Hall was one of the ministers in the middle of the last century. He was nicknamed „Big Ben“ because he was very tall.

WESTMINSTER ABBEY: westminster Abbey is a church in London. Its history began in the 11th century. The Abbey is the place where kings and queens are crowned and buried. Memorials to famous British poets and writers are found here in Poet´s Corner.

Westminster, now the political centre of London, was, until the 11th century, a sacred place called Thorney Island. It was covered in brambles and surrounded by swamps. It was here that King Edward the Confessor, inspired by the churches he had visited in Normandy, decided to build a great abbey church. Sadly the church he built was consecrated on December 28, 1065, when he was too weak to attend. Eight days later Edward the Confessor died and was buried in the abbey. His tomb became a popular place of pilgrimage and it is still found at the heart of the present Westminster Abbey. As Edward the Confessor died, the first monarch to be crowned here was William the Conqueror. His coronation took place on Christmas Day 1066 and since then all Coronations have been held here. The Coronation Chair, which has been used since 1308, can be seen in Confessor´s Chapel.

In the 13th century Henry III began rebuilding the old Abbey – a process which lasted some 300 years to create most of the building we know today – although the West Towers were not finished until 1745. Henry III added a Lady Chapel in 1220.

Most English sovereigns were also buried here, and the Abbey contains many outstanding royal tombs. The Abbey contains many other tombs and memorials to eminent men and women, but perhaps the most popular ones are those writers, actors and famous musicians, politicians and churchmen in Poets´ Corner. Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to be buried, in 1400, in Poets´ Corner. Winston Churchill is remembered with a marble slab placed near the tomb of an unknown soldier.

One of the Abbey´s many beauties is the 16th century Henry VII´s Chapel, where the king and his wife lie beneath the most exquisite fan vaulting.

BUCKINGHAM PALACE: Buckingham palace is the London residence of the Queen Elizabeth II. and her husband and family. The Royal Standard is on top when the Queen is in residence. There are the guards in red uniforms with high bearskin hats.

ST. PAUL´S CATHEDRAL: St. Paul´s Cathedral is the heart of City of London. It is very large and it was built between 1675 and 1710. It is the work of a well-known English architect Sir Christopher Wren. This great renaissance church is dedicated to the honor of Saint Paul.

The history of St. Paul´s begins in 604 A.D. when it was probably a wooden structure. The cathedral was 4x destroyed and rebuilt. Latest was rebuilt, when the Great Fire of 1666 had destroyed the Norman Church of „Old St. Paul´s“ Sir Christopher Wren designed a new church again which has more or less the same appearance today.

The inscription above Wren´s tomb in the Crypt reads: „If you seek the monument, look around you“. In the crypt there are the tombs of some Britain´s great heroes, including Admiral lord Nelson, Sir Alexander Fleming , the Duke of Wellington, etc.

A person standing at the entrance to the Whispering Gallery can be hear clearly what a guide on the opposite side may be saying.  During the WWII the cathedral suffered two direct hits from high-explosive bombs.

St. Paul´s Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of London and the spiritual centre of the City. It has a longer history than any other existing English institution. Its history is definite from the year 604 onwards, with Saxon buildings, then a vast medieval cathedral. The Great Fire of London in 1666 ruined it. Sir Christopher Wren rebuilt 52 City churches and St. Paul´s Cathedral is his masterpiece. He supervised its building from across the river, in a house from which he could watch his magnificient opus arise. His mammoth achievement took 35 years.

It has a nave 180 feet long and a height of 365 feet from the floor to the top of the cross. There are a lot of artistic paintings and frescos which can be seen from the Whispering Gallery 100 feet above floor level. The famous Whispering Gallery is the spot, where the slightest sound can be heard right round its circumference.

Its bells, its organ and choir are familiar to those who love the City. It is often the scene of great occasions: services attended by Royalty, consecrations of bishops, services for the Forces, for sailors, the Red Cross, many Church, educational and musical activities. The Cathedral was a place where the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana took place in 1981.

St. Paul´s is the resting place of Admiral Nelson and the Duke of Wellington. While it has witnessed sombre funeral processions, the bell called Great Tom is generally only tolled for the deaths of members of the royal family, bishops of London, deans of St. Paul´s and the Lord Mayor of London, should he or she die in office.

MONUMENT: In 1666 the Great Fire destroyed a large part of London. The fire broke out in a baker´s shop. There were a lot of wooden houses so the flames spread fast. The memorial was built in 1671 – 77 to commemorate the Great Fire of London. The columns is 202 feet and has 311 steps in it.

PICCADILLY CIRCUS: Piccadilly circus is the very famous square in the heart of London. In the middle of Piccadilly there is a statue of Eros – the God of Love. A winged figure, balancing on one foot and holding a bow in one hand, and shooting an imaginary arrow. Eros first came to PC in 1893, paid for by the nation as a memorial to great social reformer, Lord Shaftesbury, and intended to represent the spirit of Christian charity „flying swiftly as an arrow to help those in need.“ His sculptor was Sir Alfred Gilbert.

It is the heart of London´s entertainment world. Many buildings are decorated with bright neon signs. We find most of London´s theatres and cinemas, the most famous restaurants and nightclubs. It is particularly in the evening that PC is thronged with people going to the theatre or the cinema, or perhaps to a restaurant. Many others have come for an evening stroll. The crowd is mixed, for it is composed of people of many nationalities.

VICTORIA STATION: Victoria Station is one of the oldest railway stations in London. It is a place from which people travel to Europe or arriving in the capital. It looks like a very small town. There are stalls, small shops, restaurants, snack bars, cafés, information centers, an exchange office, etc.

WINDSOR: Windsor is a small town about 22 miles from London. Windsor Castle dominates the small town. It is a family residence. Queen Elizabeth and other members of Royal Family spend much of their time there. In summer there are thousands of visitors there.

In Windsor is a famous school for children for famous people called Eaton.

UNIFORMS IN LONDON: There are a many kinds and each have their history.

The Guards are outside Buckingham Palace and they have red coat with high bearskin hats. Outside a Buckingham Palace we can see changing of the Guards.

The Royal Horse Guards are on Trafalgar Square and they have dark uniforms and helmets.

The Police had in past truncheon and rattles and now they have whistles and walkie-talkies.

Traffic Wardens control parking since 1960s. They have navy blue uniforms and a peaked cap.

Beefeaters are outside Tower of London and they are most photographed men. They come from ex-army men and they guard the security of this building.

WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL: Westminster Cathedral is a seat of the Cardinal Archibishop, and the leading Catholic Churches in England. It was built at the turn of the century and it is situated half a mile from Westminster Abbey, near Victoria Station.

The single bell in the 280 foot high campanile is dedicated to Edward the Confessor.

The Cathedral was designed by J. F. Bentley and it was built in Early Christian Byzantine style between 1895 and 1903. It is composed of red bricks with bands of gray stones. More than one hundred different kinds of marble were used for the interior decoration of the Cathedral.

An early alabaster statue of Our Lady and Child comes from the Nottingham School. The marble pulpit was the gift of Cardinal Bourne in 1934. The Cathedral has chapels to commemorate St Thomas of Cantenbury, St George and the English Martyrs, as well as saints of Ireland and Scotland.

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History

Although there is some evidence of scattered pre-Roman settlement in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the Romans in AD 43, following the Roman invasion of Britain. This settlement was called Londinium, commonly believed to be the origin of the present-day name, although a Celtic origin is also possible.

The first London lasted for just seventeen years. Around AD 61, the Iceni tribe of Celts led by Queen Boudica stormed London, burning it to the ground. The next, heavily-planned incarnation of the city prospered and superseded Colchester as the capital of the Roman province of Britannia in AD 100. At its height in the 2nd century AD, Roman London had a population of around 60,000. However, by the 3rd century AD, the city started a slow decline due to trouble in the Roman Empire, and by the 5th century AD, it was largely abandoned.

By 600 AD, the Anglo-Saxons had created a new settlement (Lundenwic) about 1 km upstream from the old Roman city, around what is now Covent Garden. There was probably a harbour at the mouth of the River Fleet for fishing and trading, and this trading grew until disaster struck in 851 AD, when the city's defences were overcome by a massive Viking raid and it was razed to the ground. A Viking occupation twenty years later was short-lived, and Alfred the Great, the new King of England, established peace and moved the settlement within the defensive walls of the old Roman city (then called Lundenburgh). The original city became Ealdwīc ("old city"), a name surviving to the present day as Aldwych.

Subsequently, under the control of various English kings, London once again prospered as an international trading centre and political arena. However, Viking raids began again in the late 10th century, and reached a head in 1013 when they besieged the city under Danish King Canute and forced English King Ethelred the Unready to flee. In a retaliatory attack, Ethelred's army achieved victory by pulling down London Bridge with the Danish garrison on top, and English control was re-established.

Canute took control of the English throne in 1017, controlling the city and country until 1042, when his death resulted in a reversion to Anglo-Saxon control under his pious step-son Edward the Confessor, who re-founded Westminster Abbey. By this time, London had become the largest and most prosperous city in England, although the official seat of government was still at Winchester.

Norman and medieval London

The Great Fire of London destroyed large parts of the city in 1666.

Following a victory at the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror, the then Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England in the newly-finished Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. William granted the citizens of London special privileges, whilst building a castle in the southeast corner of the city to keep them under control. This castle was expanded by later kings and is now known as the Tower of London, serving first as a royal residence and later as a prison.

In 1097, William II began the building of Westminster Hall, close by the abbey of the same name. The hall proved the basis of a new Palace of Westminster, the prime royal residence throughout the Middle Ages. Westminster became the seat of the royal court and government (persisting until the present day), whilst its distinct neighbour, the City of London, was a centre of trade and commerce and flourished under its own unique administration, the Corporation of London. Eventually, the adjacent cities grew together and formed the basis of modern central London, superseding Winchester as capital of England in the 12th century.

After the successful defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, political stability in England allowed London to grow further. In 1603, James VI of Scotland came to the throne of England, essentially uniting the two countries. His enactment of harsh anti-Catholic laws made him unpopular, and an assassination attempt was made on 5 November 1605 — the famous Gunpowder Plot.

Plague caused extensive problems for London in the early 17th century, culminating in the Great Plague in 1665-1666. This was the last major outbreak in Europe, possibly thanks to the disastrous fire of 1666. The Great Fire of London broke out in the original City and quickly swept through London's wooden buildings, destroying large swathes of the city (and killing off much of the disease-carrying rat population). Rebuilding took over ten years.

Rise of modern London

A London street hit during the Blitz of World War II

London's growth accelerated in the 18th century, and was the world's largest city from about 1831 to 1925. This growth was aided from 1836 by London's first railways which put small countryside towns within easy reach of the city. The rail network expanded very rapidly, and caused these places to grow whilst London itself expanded into surrounding fields, merging with neighbouring settlements such as Kensington. Rising traffic congestion on city centre roads led to the creation of the world's first metro system — the London Underground — in 1863, driving yet further expansion and urbanisation.

London's local government system struggled to cope with the rapid growth, especially in providing the city with adequate infrastructure. Between 1855 and 1889, the Metropolitan Board of Works oversaw infrastructure expansion. It was then replaced by the County of London, overseen by the London County Council, London's first elected city-wide administration.

The British Airways London Eye, one of the many symbols of modern London

The Blitz and other bombing by the German Luftwaffe during World War II killed over 30,000 Londoners and flattened large tracts of housing and other buildings across London. The rebuilding during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s was characterised by a wide range of architectural styles and has resulted in a lack of architectural unity that has become part of London's character. In 1965 London's political boundaries were expanded to take into account the growth of the urban area outside the County of London's borders. The expanded area was called Greater London and was administered by the Greater London Council.

In the decades following World War II, large-scale immigration from Commonwealth countries and beyond, transformed London into one of the most racially and culturally diverse cities in Europe. Integration of the new immigrants was not always smooth, with events such as the Brixton Riots in the 1980s.

An economic revival from the 1980s onwards re-established London's position as an eminent trading centre. However, as the seat of government and the most important city in the UK, it has been subjected to bouts of terrorism. IRA bombers sought to pressure the government into negotiations over Northern Ireland, frequently disrupting city activities with bomb threats — some of which were carried out — until their 1997 ceasefire. More recently, a series of coordinated bomb attacks were carried out by Islamic extremist suicide bombers on the public transport network on 7 July 2005 — just 24 hours after London was awarded the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Bibliography

GREVEROVÁ, Josephine : Londýn. Praha, Polygott, p. 96

HAMMOND, Peter: The Tower of London. London, Ladybird, p. 50.

Internet:

http://referaty.atlas.sk/cudzie_jazyky/anglictina/15954

http://referaty.atlas.sk/prirodne_vedy/geografia/9372

http://en.wikipwdia.org./wiki/London