London

The aim of this report is to introduce you London- the city of great variety. London is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom, with population of about 6 - 7 million. It is the largest city in Britain and one of the largest in the world. Historical and geographical circumstances have made London one of the most important commercial and cultural centers, while its range of historical connections and its buildings attract millions of tourists from overseas each year.
The most famous older buildings in London include Buckingham Palace (the Sovereign's residence in London), the Houses of Parliament (an outstanding example of ninteenth-century Gothic Revival architecture), St. paul's Cathedral (the second largest church in Europe), Westminister Abbey (where Sovereigns are crowned), and the tower of London.
The length and breadth of Greater London extends over an area of 700 square miles. The whole London is full of buildings of incalculable artistic areas -- the City, Piccadilly, Hyde Park Corner to the banks of the Thames -- providing an unfgettable and impressive image.


FROM THE HISTORY OF LONDON

The history of London begins about the year AD 43, when the Romans were in possession of the southern part of Britain and founded a military station on the present site of London. An insurrection of the British led by Boadicea caused it to be burned in AD 61. It was the center of various disturbances until about 306, when Constantine constructed walls and fortifications, and thereby established stability and a firm basis for commercial prosperity. From 369 until 412 it was the capital of Britain, when it was known as Augusta. Subsequently it became the chief seat of the Saxons. King Alfred expelled the Danes and fortified the city. It became famous as commercial centre at the beginning of the reign of Edward lll.
London was not built as a city in the same way as Paris or New Yourk. It began life as a Roman fortification at a place where it was possible to cross the River Thames. A wall was built around the town for defence, but during the long period of peace which followed the Norman Conquest, people built outside the walls. This building cintinued over the years, especially to the west of the City. In 1665 the there was a terrible plague in London, so many people left the city and escaped to the villages in the surrounding countryside. About 69,000 persons succumed to the dread disease. In 1666 the Great Fire of London ended the plague, but it also destroyed much of the city.
From these calamities the city recovered with marked rapidity. The Bank of England was established in 1694. Sir Hans Sloance founded the British Museum in 1759, the old walls were torn down in 1970, and about that time the streets were improved by pavements, lighting and sanitary regulations.In 1840 the present parliamentary buildings were commenced, and the rapid succession followed the construction of great parks and many different municipal improvements. Although people returned to live in the rebuilt city after the plague and the Great Fire, there were never again so many Londoners living in the city center.
London expanded, absorbing outlying villages, such as Kensington and Hampstead, untill by the end of the 19th century (during which the industrial revolution had made London the largest and most important city in the world) much of the central area of London had been developed in a way which is still recognisable today. During the twentieth century growth has continued into the outer suburbs, into the surrounding known as the "home counties" (Kent, Surrey, Buckinghamshire, Essex) and into the 12 new towns (out of total of 32 in Britain as a whole) which were created after 1945 within a radius of 129 km (80 miles) of London to help to relieve the pressure of population and the capital's housing problem.
These days not many people live in the city center, but London has spread further outwards into the country, including surrounding villages. Today the metropolis of Greater London covers some 700 square miles and the suburbs of London continue even beyond this area. Some people even commute over 100 miles (over 150 km) every day to work in London, while living far away from the city in the country or in other towns.


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