Transcript . Vypracovala: Mgr. Silvie Reitharová General information London is the capital and the largest city of England It´s also the capital of Great Britain, the.

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Vypracovala: Mgr. Silvie Reitharová
General information
London is the capital and
the largest city of England
It´s also the capital of
Great Britain, the United
Kingdom and the British
Commonwealth
It is situated on the River
Thames, a few miles from
the sea
The population is about
9 million ( about 12 million in conurbation)
A bit from the history
the Celts settled the area of today´s
London at about 800 B.C.
The Romans occupied the place since 55
B.C. and in 43 A.D. they established
Roman Londonium there
when the Romans left the country it
remained the capital of the Britons
the town kept its importance during the
Anglo-Saxon invasion and later during
the Viking period
the Norman kings ( first William the
Conqueror) removed the royal court
from Winchester and London became
the capital city for ever
The Great Fire of London
In 1666 one of the worst events
happened
The Great Fire, that started at
a baker’s shop, destroyed four fifth
(4/5) of the town
However it helped to stop a plague
epidemic that killed more than 75,000
people a year before
After the fire a great reconstruction
of the city started
Sir Christopher Wren was
appointed the main architect
and he constructed about
50 churches and some other
public buildings
Industry and Commerce
The prime economic importance of
modern London is a financial and
commercial centre
22% of the world´s financial
transactions take place in London
The London Stock Exchange is
the world´s biggest
London is also an important centre
of gold, silver and platinum trade
London is also the centre of art
and culture
There are recording,
broadcasting, television and film
studios and publishing houses
Tourism is of great importance
too
Transport
DOUBLEDECKERS
Typical red buses, in present only used by tourists
LONDON UNDERGROUND
also called the “tube” because of the round shape of its tunnels
Is the world’s oldest, was established in 1863
Nowadays there are 273 stations and it is 420 km long
760 million passengers use the “tube” every year
AIRPORTS
There are five airports in the London area, the largest of them
are Heathrow and Gatwick
RAIL
There is a rail connection to all parts of the island from 15
central stations. The trains are controlled by computers.
CABS
Very familiar and reliable kind of transport. London
taxi drivers belong to the best ones. They are
trained and controlled very well
Interesting and Important Places
and Sights of London
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Do you know the places and sights ?
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Trafalgar Square
Tower Bridge
Harrods’
St. Paul’s
Westminster Abbey
the largest square in
London
very busy centre of the
town, with huge traffic
the name commemorates
the naval battle at
Trafalgar (1805), where
Admiral Nelson defeated
Spanish and French fleet
(led by Napoleon)
in the middle of the square
is Nelson’s Column (about
50 meters high) with a
five-meter tall statue of
Horatio Nelson
the place is also famous for
plenty of pigeons
Trafalgar Square
Piccadilly Circus
 a well-known place near
Trafalgar Square
 famous for the Statue of
Eros-a Greek God of love
 it is a very busy place
Two famous addresses in London
10 Downing Street
the seat of the
Prime Minister
always watched by
a typical English
policeman called
“bobby”
Buckingham Palace
 The seat of the
sovereign
 The Queen and her
husband live there
 Changing of the
Guards takes place
in front of the
Palace
Queen Victoria Memorial
the memorial is situated just
in front of Buckingham Palace
a favourite place for meeting
friends …..
The Houses of Parliament
one of the well-known symbols of the town, on
the bank of the River Thames
the political centre of the country- the seat of
the House of Lords and the House of Commons
were built in New-Gothic style in 19th century
the most famous part is the tower with a clock
called Big Ben
one of the oldest sights in
London
goes back to 11th century
a beautiful and precious
example of pure Gothic style
almost all coronations since
William I have been made there
some English Kings and Queens
and some other famous people
are buried there or they have
their memorial in the Poet’s
Corner
Westminster Abbey
St. Paul’s Cathedral
the second largest
church in the world,
after St. Peter’s in
Rome
was built in Baroque
style, at the place of
previous cathedral
which was destroyed
by the Great Fire
 Sir Christopher
Wren’s masterpiece,
was completed after
35 years in 1711
 Inside the cupola
there is a very
interesting place,
called Whispering
Gallery
The Tower
a well-known London castle
William I began building the
massive fortress-the White
Tower on 1066
next kings continued and added
other parts
till 16th century it served as
a royal home, a prison, an
executive site and an
observatory
nowadays there is a museum.
You can see the coronation
jewels there
there are always kept some
ravens in the Tower, because
a legend says, that the
Monarchy will last until ravens
live in the Tower
Tower Bridge
the most famous bridge in
London
typical by its blue colour and the
ability to open in the middle and
enable ships to go through
Royal Albert Hall
a famous round concert hall
was named after Prince Albert-Queen
Victoria’s husband
more than 8000 people can listen to music
there
British National Museum and
National Gallery
the most important cultural institutions
all state museums and galleries in Britain are free-you don’t
have to pay for the tickets
in National Gallery (in Trafalgar Square) you can see the
world’s masterpieces of the most famous painters
National Museum has –among others-the largest collection
of ancient Egyptian sights (it’s said there are more Egyptian
artifacts than in Egypt)
Tate Gallery and
Madam Tussaud’s Museum
the most visited private cultural institutions
Tate Gallery is dedicated to world’s modern art
in Madam Tussaud’s Museum you can see wax figures
representing famous personalities from history and from
present – criminals, politicians, actors, singers, sportsmen and
also the members of the Royal family
London parks
All major parks used to be Royal gardens
Hyde Park
St. James’s Park
Kensington Gardens
Regent Park-most elegant and attractive with London ZOO
Green Park-outside the centre, very large
Shopping in London
Harrod’s
Covent Garden
Soho
Oxford Street-London’s most famous shopping street
Regent Street- Liberty’s and Hamley’s -two popular toy shops, probably the best known in the
world
Bond Street- art galleries, antiques, jewelers’ shops and Sotheby’s-one of the most famous
auction house
Covent Garden-fruit and vegetable markets, the best place for buying souvenirs and
postcards
Soho-many Chinese, Indian and Italian restaurants, famous theatres, cinemas, cafes and bars
Harrod’ s –the prominent, very expensive department store