Transcript Document

WELCOME TO LONDON
TATJANA KOSOLAPOVA,
History of Britain in brief
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy.
This means that it has a monarch ( a king or a queen)
as its Head of State. The monarch reigns with the
support of Parliament. Everything is done in the
Queen’s name.
Now Elizabeth II is on the British throne. She came to
the throne in 1952 and was crowned in Westminster
Abbey on 2 June 1953.
She appoints all the Ministers, including the Prime
Minister.
Queen Elizabeth II plays an important role in the
country.
• Travels a lot
•Has four children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne,
Prince Andrew, Prince Edward
•Likes reading, taking pictures, watching horse races
•Has official residences in Britain: Buckingham
Palace, Windsor
Her Majesty the Queen
Elizabeth II
HERALDRY OF GREAT BRITAIN
The COAT of ARMS of the UNITED
KINGDOM
The flag of the United
Kingdom, known as the
Union Jack, is made up of
three crosses.
The upright red cross is the
cross of St. George, the
patron saint of England.
The white diagonal cross is
the cross of St. Andrew, the
patron saint of Scotland.
The red diagonal cross is
the cross of St. Patrick, the
patron saint of Ireland.
The State Flag of the United Kingdom
GEOGRAPHY
• The United kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland (the UK) – the
official name of the country.
• Consists of four countries: England,
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Is situated off the west coast of Europe
between the Atlantic Ocean on the
northwest and the north Sea on the east.
•Total area – over 244 .000 square
kilometers.
• Population – over 59 million people.
• Official language – English
• London – the capital of the UK
• National emblem -
LONDON
London – is the capital of Great Britain,
its political, economic, commercial centre.
It is one of the greatest cities of the world.
Its population is about 11 million people.
London is situated on the river Thames.
The city is very old and beautiful. It was
founded more than two thousand years
ago.
In 43 A.D. the city was called Londinium.
London is also cultural centre of the
United Kingdom, its main tourist
attraction of the country.
BIG BEN and the HOUSES of PARLIAMENT
SIGHTSEEINGS OF LONDON
There are a lot of places of interest in London which attracts thousands of
tourists every year.
They usually want to see:
1. Westminster Abbey
2. The Houses of Parliament
3. Buckingham Palace
4. St. Paul’s Cathedral
5. The Tower of London
6. Trafalgar Square
7. Royal Zoo
8. Piccadilly Circus
9. The British Museum
10. Theatres, Cinemas, Parks of London etc….
The Houses of Parliament
- the seat of British
Parliament.
The first building was
constructed as early as the
11th century.
Most of the old palace was
destroyed in a fire in 1834.
The present Houses of
Parliament were completed
in 1865.
The division of Parliament
into two houses goes back
as 700 years.
The Clock Tower of the
Houses of Parliament is
famous for its big hour bell,
known as “Big Ben”.
Many government buildings
including 10 Downing
Street, the official residence
of Prime Ministers for more
than 250 years, are nearby.
BIG BEN AND THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT
NOW I INVITE ALL OF YOU TO THE EXCURSION
Buckingham Palace is the
official residence of the
Queen.
The Palace takes its name
from Buckingham House
which was built in 1703 as
the home of the Duke of
Buckingham and then
bought by George III in
1762.
Today the Queen lives at the
Palace for only part of the
year.
The main palace isn’t open
to the public.
London’s most popular
spectacle is the Changing of
the Guard.
It takes place in the
forecourt and lasts about 30
minutes.
BUCKINGHAM PALACE
St. Paul’s Cathedral
designed by Sir
Christopher Wren in the
17th century (since 1675
until 1709) is one the
most famous churches in
the world.
It took Sir Christopher
Wren 35 years to build
this masterpiece.
It is crowned with a huge
dome.
Inside the dome there is
the famous Whispering
Gallery, where the words
whispered into the stone
wall can be heard right
round the other side.
There are many
memorials in the
Cathedral, including
memorials to Wellington
and Nelson.
ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL
The British Museum is
the largest and richest
museum in the world.
It is situated in
Bloomsbury district.
An Irish man Sir Hans
Sloane was the
benefactor of the
British Museum.
An Italian man Anthony
Panizzi designed the
plans for the
construction of the
famous circular
Reading Room.
The British Museum
contains books and
manuscripts: Greek,
Roman, British and
antiquities.
Every year the British
Museum is visited by 2
million people.
THE BRITISH MUSEUM
The Tower of London was
founded by Julius Caesar
and rebuilt by William the
Conqueror in 1078.
It was a fortress , a
prison, the Royal
residence, the Royal Mint
and now it is a museum.
Beefeaters were formed
to be a body-guard for
Henry VII. They still wear
the Tudor Uniform chosen
by the King and now give
guided tours of the Tower.
The ravens whose
forefathers used to live in
the Tower still live there.
The Raven Master is
responsible for feeding
and caring for the ravens
at the Tower.
The Tower toady bears
the official title of “Her
Majesty’s Palace and
fortress of the Tower of
London.
THE TOWER OF LONDON
THE TOWER OF LONDON
THE TOWER BRIDGE AT NIGHT
Trafalgar Square is
situated in the West
End. It is named to
commemorate Lord
Nelson’s great naval
victory of 1805 in the
battle of Trafalgar. The
English fleet defeated
the fleet of France and
Spain.
Nelson’s Column in the
middle of the square to
remember this national
hero, who died during
the battle.
The English are proud
of Trafalgar Square.
TRAFALGAR SQUARE
TRAFALGAR SQUARE
Nelson’s Column is
situated in the
centre of Trafalgar
Square.
On its pedestal
there are four
bronze relieves cast
from captured
French cannon,
representing scenes
from the battles of
St. Vincent, the Nile,
Copenhagen and
Trafalgar.
The bronze lions at
the corners of the
pedestal are the
work of Landseer.
NELSON’S COLUMN
The Houses of Parliament and Westminster
Abbey face each other across Parliament
Square. Westminster Abbey is a beautiful Gothic
building.
From the Norman times British monarchs have
been crowned and later buried.
There are memorials of many statesmen,
scientists, writers and musicians in Westminster.
In the Poet’s Corner one can find the tombs of
W. Shakespeare, Byron, C. Dickens, R. Kipling
and others.
Here in the Abbey there is also the Tomb of the
Unknown Warrior, a symbol of the nation’s grief.
Westminster Abbey isn’t a Cathedral. It is a
“Royal Peculiar”, royal property. It is dependent
directly on the monarch.
WESTMINSTER ABBEY
Piccadilly Circus is a famous
junction and public space of
London’s West End in the City
of Westminster.
It was built in 1819 to connect
Regent Street with the major
shopping street of Piccadilly.
Piccadilly Circus is surrounded
by several tourist attractions,
including Shaftsbury Memorial,
Citerion Theatre, London
Pavilion and several retail
stores.
Numerous nightclubs and bars
are located in the area.
In the centre of Piccadilly
Circus there is a statue of Eros.
It was designed in 1893.
STATUE OF EROS
Piccadilly Circus used to be
surrounded by illuminated
advertising boards on
buildings (Coca-Cola, TDK,
McDonald’s, Samsung…)
On special occasions the
lights are switched off, such
as the deaths of W. Churchill
in 1965 and Diana, Princess
of Wales in 1997.
On 21 June they were
switched off for an hour as a
part of the Lights Out London
campaign.
ADVERTISINGS BOARDS
In the centre of Piccadilly Circus
there is a bronze fountain.
It was designed by sir Alfred
Gilbert in 1893.
MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN
MadamTussaud’s
Museum is an exhibition
of hundreds of life-size
wax models of famous
people of yesterday and
today.
The collection was
started by Madam
Tussaud, a French
modeler in wax, in the
18th century.
The famous exhibition
was established in Paris
in 1770, who later made
her name with models of
victims of the guillotine.
She moved to London in
1802.
Here you can meet
Marilyn Monroe, Elton
John, Picasso, the Royal
Family, the Beatles and
many others: writers,
movie stars, singers,
politicians, sportsmen,
etc.
MADAM TUSSAUD’S MUSEUM
•
•In conclusion I should say if you are lucky
enough to find yourself in London some day
you will have a lot to see and enjoy there.