London

• The capital of both England and the United Kingdom
• It’s the largest city in the country
• Lies on the river Thames
• Covers the area of about 1,600 square kilometres
• The population is about 7, 5 million (according to wikipedia)
• It includes the City of London and 32 boroughs
• It’s the seat of the monarch, the Parliament, the Government and the Supreme Court (= nejvyšší soud)
• The city history is very rich – originally it was the city of merchants and traders (obchodníků)
• All important institutions are situated in Westminster, that used to be situated outside the city walls of London (now it’s a part of it)
• Several disasters have afflicted (postihnout) London – in 1665 the Black Plague (mor) killed 70,000 people, in 1666 the Great Fire broke out, destroying most of the city, also German bombing during World War II caused serious damage especially to buildings of the old City

INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE

• A lot of traditional British industries developed with the London port e.g. wood-working, furniture-making, the chemical and food industries
• For a very long time it has been the centre of clothing, printing and diamond cutting industry

• London is a financial and commercial centre, over twenty per cent of the world’s transactions take place in London and the London’s Stock Exchange is the world’s biggest
• Also, it’s an important centre of gold, silver and platinum trade

• It’s said to be the world centre of postal service
• The Port of London is considered to be one of the best in the world, but at present the port has moved about 30 kilometres downstream the Thames
• Famous transport on the Thames are riverbuses
• There are five airports in the London area, the largest of them is Heathrow
• The London underground is called „the tube„

PLACES OF GENERAL INTEREST
The Tower

• it is one of the most typical symbols of Britain
• its construction was started by William the Conqueror in order to  impress and dominate the people of London in 1066
• it served till the 16th century as a royal home, a prison, an execution site (popraviště)
• now, it’s a museum where tourists can see the arsenal of weapons, the Crown Jewels (= korunovační klenoty), the prison where many famous prisoners were kept (e.g. Guy Fawkes / see the story of the Gunpowder Plot on www.jetoboj.cz)
• it is guarded by the Yeomen Warders (who are sometime incorrectly called Beefeaters) who still wear the same uniforms as in Tudor times
• six ravens are kept in the Tower to protect the whole Kingdom, the legend says that the Kingdom will cease to exist (zaniknout) when the raven leave the Tower

TOWER BRIDGE

• it stands next to the Tower
• it’s the last bridge on the Thames before it flows to the sea
• it has two characteristic towers with a height of 65m

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

• has become the official royal residence, the royal family has lived there since 1837
• Queen Victoria was the first to live there
• outside the palace the changing of the guards take place

THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT

• situated close to the Buckingham Palace
• the political centre of the United Kingdom and the home of British Parliament (since 1547)
• The House of Lords is a gothic hall decorated in red, with the throne of Sovereign (panovník)
• The House of Commons consist of parallel rows of green leather benches

BIG BEN

• Rises above the Parliament
• The clock tower, named after its bell
• The strike (úder) of Big Ben is world-wide famous because it is used by the BBC as a time signal

WESTMINSTER ABBEY

• The first church was built there in the 7th or 8th century, but the history of the Abbey as a whole dates back to the 11th century
• There’s a Coronation Chair containing the historic Stone of Scone which is a symbol of Scottish Royalty
• Also, the Poet’s corner is situated there with the tombstone and monuments to famous poets such as William Shakespeare or Walter Scott

ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL

• The largest church in London, it’s the masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren and it took him 35 years to complete it in 1711
• It stands on the site of the previous cathedral which was damaged by the Great Fire
• It’s in Baroque style dominated by the central dome (kopule)
• It has seen many important occasions such as the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana

TRAFALGAR SQUARE

• The largest in London

NATIONAL GALLERY

• Forms one side of the Trafalgar Square
• It houses one of the word’s greatest collections of Western painting

PICCADILLY CIRCUS

• A short way from the Trafalgar Square
• It is famous as the centre of entertainment in The West End with its great number of clubs, theatres, cinemas and restaurants

OXFORD STREET

• Probably the most famous shopping street with a great variety of large department stores

COVENT GARDED

• Famous fruit and vegetable market
• Opening scene fro G:B. Shaw’s play Pygmalion (now better known as the musical My Fair Lady) takes place there

JAME’S PARK

• The oldest park (architect was John Nash)

HYDE PARK

• The most popular among tourists particularly for the Speaker’s Corner – the place where everybody can speak publicly without fear of being arrested for their opinions (however, there are some exceptions such as not insulting (urážení) the Queen)

QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL

• Musical centre

MADAME TUSSAUD’S MUSEUM

• It contains wax statues portraying the most prominent people from all over the world