High-rises in the City

London. Sights of London

London dominates the life of Britain. And it is the greatest and nicest town in the world. Also, the nature of this city is very picturesque. There are a lot of sites and places of interest here. Many parks and theatres, museums and halls, which are always ready to surprise tourists and English with it’s beauty and charm. There are about 40 theatres, several concert halls, many museums including the British Museum, and the best art galleries.

Speaking about parks we can always see many people here listening to others or just heaving their rest. Hide Park with its Speaker's Corner is also in London. Among other parks are Kensington Gardens, St. James Park. In the West End is Buckingham Palace, which is the Queen's Residence, and the Palace of Westminster the seat of Parliament. The best-known streets here are Whitehall with important Government offices, Downing Street, the London residence of Prime Minister and the place where cabinet meets, Fleet Street where most newspapers have their offices, Harley Street where the highest paid doctors live, and some others. There are many statues and monuments there. I think that the majority is devoted to the famous and outstanding people.

L ondon Is situated upon both banks of the River Thames and it is one of the largest cities in the world. Speaking about the West end of London we mean it’s center where famous parks and tropical places are situated. In Westminster Abbey begins and comes to an end royal destiny: in its walls the British monarchs are crowned, here they find their eternal rest. Besides Westminster Abbey is well known for the " poet’s Conner ". So… many others memorial boards are established. But the present tombs are far from being all mentioned to the poets.

Well it is safe to say that it is the most famous building in England. It is a fine Gothic building, which stands opposite the Houses of Parliament. It is the work of many hands and different ages and the oldest part of the building dates from the 8th century.

While speaking about a Tower I want to say that the Tower has been part of the capital's history for the past 600 years. The Tower of London is a very old building. It is more than 900 years old. English kings lived in it many years ago, but now it is a museum. People, who come to London, like to go to the Tower. It was a fortress, a royal palace and later a prison.

The White Tower, dating from 1078, contains a spectacular collection of arms. Now The Tower protects the Crown Jewels. The Imperial State Crown and the Crown of Queen Elizabeth both incorporate precious stones whose history goes back centuries. Ceremony is still part of the daily life within The Tower. Following a 700-year tradition, each night the Chief warder locks the gates and hands the keys to the Resident Governor.

And now we can talk about a Tower Bridge of London.

London's best known and most distinctive bridge has straddled the Thames for a century. The twin draw-bridges, each weighing about 1,000 tons, have been raised more than half a million times since the bridge was built. It is a working tribute to Victorian engineering genius. The draw-bridges take just 90 seconds to rise. All the original machinery is still in place with just one concession to modern technology: electric motors now replace the steam engines. Between the massive gothic-style towers that rest on the river bed are walkways, giving superb views of the river and the Tower o London.

Now we can talk about BIG BEN!!

Big Ben is the name of the huge clock in one of the tall towers of the Houses of Parliament. People are allowed to get inside the Tower so that they can see the works of Big Ben. There is no lift and there are 340 steps up to Big Ben. The faces of the clock are very large.

The sound of Big Ben is well-known to all British people and the tower of Big Ben is often used as a symbol of Britain. The great bell got its name in 19th century after Sir Benjamin Hall. Big Ben is the voice of London; it shows an exact time since 1859.

Therefore there are many nice squares in London. Trafalgar Square is one of them and it is situated in the center of the West End. There you can see a statue of Lord Nelson named by Nelson’s Column, which is situated in the middle of the square. Trafalgar Square commemorates Nelson's naval victory of 1805. It was laid out between 1829 and 1841. There is Nelson's column there, nearly 185 feet high topped by statue of Nelson 17 feet high. The fountains and friendly pigeons make Trafalgar Square a popular place for Londoner and tourists. The building of National Gallery - one of the world famous art museums is situated on the Trafalgar square too.

Now we can tell few words about Buckingham Palace. It has served as the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837. It evolved from a town house that was owned from the beginning of the eighteenth century by the Dukes of Buckingham. Today it is The Queen's official residence. Although in use for the many official events and receptions held by The Queen, areas of Buckingham Palace are opened to visitors on a regular basis.

The State Rooms of the Palace are open to visitors during the Annual Summer Opening in August and September. They are lavishly furnished with some of the greatest treasures from the Royal Collection - paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, Canaletto and Claude; sculpture by Canova and Chantrey some of the finest English and French furniture in the world.
Visits to Buckingham Palace can be combined with visits to The Queen's Gallery, which will reopen in the spring of 2002. The nearby Royal Mews is open throughout the year.

Well… it is safe to say that a have finished my story about the nicest city in the world, exactly London and about all it’s sights, beauties and places of interest of course. As for me I’d like to visit it again, to feel everything I felt before, spending there my free spring time and therefore I’d like to know english better and that’s why I advise all of you to visit this irresistible city!

Not far from the Tower of London there is Tower Bridge — a masterpiece of engineering skill. Tower Bridge was built at the end of the 19th century to match the medieval style of the fortress. This bridge is opened to let big ocean ships move up the Thames from the ocean. The territory between the Tower and the bridge is called the Pool for that reason.

St. Paul's Cathedral is in the centre of London and is considered to be an architectural masterpiece.

After the Great Fire the City had to be built again. The commission of six architects was organized for the rebuilding and Sir Christopher Wren was the most talented of them. This architect drew a plan which greatly determined the look of today's London though it was not realized in every detail. It was forbidden to build wooden houses in the City of London.

St. Paul's Cathedral was the greatest work of Sir Christopher Wren. It is one of the largest churches in the world. Sir Wren was building the Cathedral for 35 years, completed it in 1711, and his aim was to build a church that could rival the great St. Peter Basilica in Rome. St. Paul was built of white stone as well as many other buildings in the City of London. But smoke and soot made the stones black and only the columns and edges were washed by the rain and remained white. That is how the building got its peculiar white-and-black look.

On top of St. Paul's Cathedral is a high dome, which contains the Whispering Gallery, where whisper can be heard at a great distance.

Fleet street is famous all over the world as the centre of British news services.

Barbican is a district of the City of London. Nowadays Barbican is one of the most beautiful districts of London. It is also famous for the Barbican Centre. The Barbican Centre is an enormous complex which contains two theatres (the Royal Shakespeare Company and the London Symphony Orchestra), an art gallery, three cinemas, two restaurants and two exhibition halls.

Buckingham Palace (the Palace) is the official London residence of the Queen and the Royal family. When the Queen is at the residence the flag is flying on top of Buckingham Palace. It was a country residence of the Duke of Buckingham. But in the 19th century it was rebuilt for King George. The square in front of the Palace is decorated with Victoria Memorial built in 1911.

The Changing of the Rоуаl Guard is the ceremony that you can see in front of Buckingham Palace. It dates back to the 17th century. The ceremony takes place every morning at 11.30 and lasts for 30 minutes. It is a real theatrical performance. The Queen's Guards wear traditional uniforms and tall black fur caps called "busbies".

Trafalgar Square is the geographical centre of the British capital. The square was named "Trafalgar" to commemorate Admiral Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. There is the monument in the centre of the square known as Nelson's Column. Around the monument there are four bronze bar-reliefs, representing scenes of Nelson's life and death.

The statue is guarded at the base by four bronze lions. Nelson was killed in the battle but the victory was won. The English consider Admiral Nelson to be a national hero for his victory in the war against Napoleon.

The National Gallery (a great picture museum) is situated on Trafalgar Square. It contains a wonderful collection of works from the British, French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish schools, which existed between the 13th and the 19th centuries.

Scotland Yard is the name of the police headquarters and the police itself.

Fleet Street is associated with British newspapers and is located between Westminster and the City.

St Mary Axe, better known by its nickname Gherkin, is one of the most eye-catching buildings in London and it stands out prominently in the city's skyline. The Gherkin is one of several modern buildings that have been built over the years in a historic area of London.

Construction

Construction of the Gherkin was commissioned by Swiss Re, a reinsurance company. The 41-story skyscraper was built in 2004 after a modern glass and steel design by the architectural firm of Foster and Partners.

The Gherkin

Originally known as the Swiss Re Building, it was later renamed to its street address 30 St. Mary Axe after Swiss Re sold the building in 2007. Even before its construction was complete Londoners dubbed the building the 'Gherkin' for its distinctive shape, and it is still known by that name.

High-rises in the City

The tower was built in the heart of London's financial center at the site of the 1903 Baltic Exchange Building which had been damaged by a terrorist attack in 1992. The construction of a glittering high-tech building in the middle of a relatively low-rise area with plenty of historic buildings and narrow medieval streets set off a new debate about the need for tall buildings in the City of London. But even as many new skyscrapers are now built in Canary Wharf - well outside the city's historic center - the Gherkin has acted as a catalyst for the growing cluster of high-rises in the City.

Architecture

Street level

The cigar-shaped structure has a steel frame with circular floor plans and a glass facade with diamond-shaped panels. The swirling striped pattern visible on the exterior is the result of the building's energy-saving system which allows the air to flow up through spiraling wells.
On the street level, the Gherkin's base is well integrated with an open public plaza. Huge white X braces create a dramatic entrance. The top of the tower, where visitors find an open hall covered by a glass conical dome is even more spectacular. From here you have great views over the city. Unfortunately the building is not open to the public.

Its unique, bold and energy efficient design has won the Gherkin many awards including the Stirling Prize, the London Region Award, and the Emporis Skyscraper Award.

The Albert Memorial was commissioned by Queen Victoria as a tribute to her late consort, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The High Gothic monument was completed in 1876, 15 years after prince Albert died at the age of 42.

Albert Memorial

Prince Albert

Prince Albert

Prince Albert was born in Germany as the second son of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In 1840 he married his cousin Victoria, who had just inherited the throne of Great Britain.
Prince Albert is best known for his support of the Great Exhibition of the World of Industry of All Nations which was held in 1851 in Hyde Park and became a tremendous success. 6 Million Britons, or one third of the population, visited the exhibition.

Albertopolis

After the closure of the exhibition prince Albert put all his energy on an even larger project. He wanted to provide free cultural education by creating a permanent national exhibition promoting science and culture. Along a broad boulevard near Hyde Park, museums, concert halls and academies would be built.

The grand project, dubbed 'Albertopolis', was unfinished by the time prince Albert died of typhoid in 1861, but by the end of the 19th century a whole cluster of cultural institutions had settled in South Kensington; they include the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal College of Art, the Natural History Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

The Monument

Albert's memorial was appropriately erected opposite the Royal Albert Hall, near the location of the Exhibition of 1851.

The memorial was commissioned by Queen Victoria as a tribute to her late consort.
The monument, standing 175ft/53m tall, was built from 1864 to 1876 after a neo-Gothic design by Sir George Gilbert Scott. A 14ft/4m high gilded statue shows Albert seated under a pinnacle, holding a catalogue of the 1851 Great Exhibition. The pinnacle is set on a base with a large frieze. It is adorned with marble reliefs of 178 people, mostly artists.

At each corner are four statues depicting some of prince Albert's interests: engineering, agriculture, commerce and manufacturing.

'Asia'

At the bottom of the steps leading to prince Albert's statue are four more sculpture groups, symbolizing Europe, Africa, America and Asia.

Renovation

Since 1914 the monument had been blackened, supposedly to avoid becoming a target of German zeppelin bombing raids. Between 1994 and 1998 the decaying monument was restored and Albert's statue was re-gilded.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 1065