Cathedral in London next to Big Ben. Central London: description and photo

When talking about the symbols of England, the famous landmark of London, the Big Ben tower, immediately appears.

What is Big Ben

Big Ben is the largest of the six bells in the Palace of Westminster. Many people think that this is the name of the clock tower in London, but in fact this is the name of the 13-ton bell that is inside it, behind the dial.

Big Ben's official name was Clock Tower Palace of Westminster". In 2012, by decision of the British Parliament, this landmark of England was renamed the Elizabeth Tower (in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Queen's reign).

Despite other names, the name "Big Ben" remains the most popular and is used generically for the tower, clock, and bells.

All about Big Ben: history and description

The clock tower was built in Westminster in 1288 and at that time had a completely different look.

In 1834, there was a huge fire in the Palace of Westminster and everything burned down. It was restored by Charles Barry, together with the architect Augustus Welby Pugin, who designed the current neo-Gothic clock tower. In 1859, when Big Ben was built, the clock was launched and to this day it keeps accurate time.

There are two popular versions of who the London clock is named after. The first version sounds like this: the tower got its name in honor of Benjamin Hall - the one who built Big Ben, or rather supervised the construction, he was quite large in build and was often called Big Ben. Another version of why the clock tower is called so is in honor of the popular heavyweight boxer Benjamin Count.

Big Ben Height

The size of the tower, including the spire, is 320 feet (96.3 meters). To imagine what Big Ben looks like, imagine the height of a 16-story building.

There are no elevators or lifts in the tower, so it is closed to the public. Sometimes exceptions are made to this rule, and then visitors overcome 334 steps to climb up.

Watch

The clock on Big Ben in London is by far the largest in the world. The dial diameter is 7 meters. The length of the arrows is 2.7 and 4.2 meters.

The watch mechanism is considered the standard of reliability, its total weight is 5 tons. Watchmaker Edward John Dent was responsible for its assembly and completed the work in 1854. A fundamentally new double three-stage stroke was created, which allows a better separation of the pendulum and the five-ton clockwork.

The clock is so reliable that even during the Second World War, when German bombings damaged two dials and the top of the tower, it did not break its course. Thus, this landmark of Great Britain has become a symbol of the accuracy and reliability of all English. At the bottom of each dial is the inscription "God save our Queen Victoria", which is also completely in the English spirit.

• 13 tons - that's how much Big Ben weighs (the largest bell in the Palace of Westminster).
• The clock in London is the international time standard and is also considered the largest four-sided chiming clock in the world.
• The accuracy of the clock is regulated using a 1 penny coin (if necessary, a coin is placed on the pendulum and its movement slows down by 0.4 seconds per day).
• In the bell tower, in addition to the Big Ben (sounding every hour), there are four more quarter-bells that ring every quarter of an hour. A melody is issued, consisting of 20 consecutive Cambridge chimes, for each quarter of an hour - its own composition of chimes.
• To the sounds of Big Ben, the British celebrate the onset of the New Year, and also denote all mournful events and moments of silence.
• News programs in England begin with a picture of this tower.
• Almost all documentaries and feature films about England use the image of Big Ben in the intro.
• Once upon a time, Big Ben housed a prison for parliamentarians who behaved violently at meetings, the last prisoner was Emmeline Pankhurst, she fought for women's rights. In honor of this woman, a monument was erected on Parliament Square, where Big Ben stands.

Information about Big Ben: location, address on the map

Location: London, Parliament Square

Address: Palace of Westminster, Old Palace Yard, London SW1

Nearest metro station: Westminster on the Circle

How to get there by bus: to Parliament Square or to the stop "Whitehall Street" (Trafalgar Square).

If you are suddenly tired of the imposing architecture of the Kingdom of Great Britain, you can visit one of the very first Madame Tussauds museums, with a unique collection of wax figures.

Big Ben (Great Britain) - description, history, location. The exact address, phone, website. Reviews of tourists, photos and videos.

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The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster in London is known worldwide as Big Ben. Meetings of the House of Lords and the House of Commons are held in the Palace of Westminster, it is easy to lose the right direction in the multi-kilometer corridors of the palace, there is hardly a person who has visited all of its 1200 rooms, but the most famous part of the palace - the clock tower - is known, without exaggeration, to everyone world and is one of the brightest architectural symbols of the city.

The height of the tower is 96 meters, inside it hides a narrow spiral staircase of 334 steps. After passing them all, you can get to a small open area, where the famous Big Ben bell is located. It is he who strikes the time every hour, it is his sounds that are transmitted every hour on BBC radio. It was this bell that gave the name to both the clock and the tower itself.

The bell is large: 2 meters high and 3 meters at the base. No less striking are the dimensions of the watch: their diameter is 7 meters, and the hands are 2.7 and 4.2 meters long.

The clock was launched on May 21, 1859 (the tower itself was built a year earlier) and to this day is on the list of the largest clocks in the world. Four of their dials are made of opal glass, bordered by gilded frames and have a Latin inscription, which in translation means "God save our Queen Victoria". These watches also have global significance: officially New Year on planet Earth begins with the first impact of Big Ben on January 1st.

Interestingly, Londoners living near the Palace of Westminster, in new year's eve thirteen chimes of the Big Ben bell are heard: the effect is due to the fact that the speed of sound is slower than the speed of radio waves.

Unfortunately, the general public does not have the opportunity to climb the Big Ben tower: safety considerations are paramount. But from time to time members of the press and various important guests of the UK get the opportunity to climb it. But even important guests are forced to overcome the steps of the stairs on their own: there are no lifts inside the tower.

The Big Ben clock tower systematically becomes the "heroine" of many films, personifying the image of London.

The capital of Great Britain is London, it is one of the largest capitals in the world. The population of the city exceeds 12 million people and the same number of visitors and tourists come to London every year to get acquainted with its sights.
The sights of London are historical monuments and architectural ensembles, magnificent art galleries and world-famous museums, exquisite shady parks and royal traditions.
In the article "Guide to London", there is an incomplete list of attractions in London, which will be discussed now.

London Attractions

Fortress and Royal Palace Her Majesty's, a historic castle located in the city centre.
The fortress, built in the knightly ages to protect the city and the borders of the country, later, for many years, served as a prison where prisoners of high rank and noble birth were kept.
Now the Tower is a treasury where the royal regalia and jewels are stored, where tourists can see exquisite jewelry and the royal scepter topped with the Cullinan diamond. One of the attractions of the Tower was the "beefeaters" - the ceremonial guard and guard of honor of the Tower.
The literal translation of the word bifeater means beef eater. Beef eaters include local crows, they are fed and their wings are clipped so that they cannot fly away. Otherwise, as the legend says - "If the ravens leave the Tower, then the fortress and the kingdom will fall."

One of the most beautiful and majestic bridges in the world. Built in 1894, the bridge was not to the taste of many and it was given various unpleasant names, now, after a hundred years, the Gothic silhouette of the bridge has become a symbol of London. The construction of the bridge was a necessity of that time, it was made movable for the passage of merchant ships, and at the same time pedestrians could cross it along the upper galleries.
Now in the upper galleries there is a small museum and an exhibition about the history of the bridge, from where beautiful view to the city.
Thousand-ton spans of the Tower Bridge rise in 90 seconds, at any time and no more than 10 minutes. An application for the passage of a vessel with a height of more than 9 meters is submitted a day before the passage and the time of passage does not matter. Tourists love this tradition, it allows you to take some wonderful pictures of the bridge with raised spans.

Since 1837 - the residence of the royal dynasty in London, this is a palace complex forming a square of four buildings with a courtyard.
The palace has more than 770 rooms, of which: 52 are royal and guest bedrooms; 19 - ceremonial halls; 78 - bathrooms; 280 - service premises and rooms for attendants.

Every year, Buckingham Palace is visited by more than 50,000 guests officially invited to dinners, banquets and receptions in the garden. The presence of a member of the Royal Family is signaled by the raised royal standard above the roof of the palace.

One or two months a year, in the absence of a member of the royal family, some rooms of the palace are open to visitors, at this time you can see the Throne Room, where receptions are held on special occasions, see the Ballroom, for receptions and concerts.
One of the highlights of Buckingham Palace is the daily changing of the guard.

We all know from the school bench that the most famous bridge London is the Tower Bridge. Unusual appearance makes it easily recognizable: two Gothic-style towers stand on imposing river pillars, which are connected by drawbridges and pedestrian galleries.

Its main difference from other bridges is that it is drawable and the lowest located over the Thames. It got its name due to its proximity to the Tower, which is located on the north side.

Short story

For a long time, the Thames was crossed by one London Bridge. However, the sharp economic recovery and population growth that began in the 19th century showed the need for the construction of additional bridges, which were supposed to help solve the transport problem of the capital.

Within a few years, more than one bridge was built, but the problems with the traffic flow did not decrease. Soon a committee was created that studied dozens of projects, and only in 1884 was the project approved by John Wolf Bury and Goras Jonsan.

More than 400 workers worked on the construction of the bridge for 8 years. The opening took place on June 30, 1894, the event was attended by Prince Edward of Wales and his wife Princess Alexandra.

The bridge was made in the Gothic style, but with a number of innovative developments. Thanks to the presence of a hydraulic system, just a couple of minutes is enough to ensure free passage for a sailing vessel. Until 1974, the bridge was raised by the operation of steam engines, in the furnaces of which coal was burned, which powered the pumps. They pumped water into tanks, storing energy. But progress did not stand still, and the entire mechanism was replaced by an electro-hydraulic system, which significantly saved time and costs. Now the bridge was raised not according to the schedule, but out of necessity.

Over the years, Tower Bridge, along with Big Ben, have become real symbols and one of the main attractions of London.

To date, Tower Bridge is one of the most visited attractions in England. Many tourists, coming here, consider it an honor to take a walk through the legendary building, especially since many London hotels are sent on very informative and comprehensive city tours.

Information for visitors

Address: Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 2UP, United Kingdom

You can walk along the Tower Bridge:

• in the summer season (from April 1 to September 30) - from 10:00 to 18:30 (last entry at 17:30);
• in the winter season (from October 1 to March 31) - from 09:30 to 18:00 (last entry at 17:00).

Ticket price:

You can buy tickets at

Generally. However, the capital of Great Britain is so juicy in terms of historical and cultural attractions that it is simply unrealistic to fit everything in one article. In principle, as well as seeing the main "goodies" of the city in one day.

If you, my dear reader, on the first day of your stay in London, for sure, ran to watch, the second day is simply created in order to go to the cult fortress -.

Tower of London over 900 years of its history, it managed to visit a palace, a prison, a treasure vault, an observatory, and even a zoo. Since then, the appearance of the fortress has not changed much. Today, the Tower houses a museum and a repository of the treasures of the British crown. There are also private apartments in the building, in which high-ranking guests are received, and the attendants also live here.

It is better to visit the fortress in the morning if you plan to have time to see a lot in the Tower itself and in the surrounding area. Entrance to the Tower is paid, a ticket for adults - 25 pounds at the box office (23 pounds online, on the official website), children (5-15 years old) - 12 pounds (10.75).

Near the Tower there is another cult object of London -. Designers in the 19th century had to work hard on the project so that the new bridge across the river would become not just an overpass for the rapidly increasing flow of traffic, but also a structure that would harmoniously fit into architectural style capital Cities. Now it's hard to believe, but at the end of the 19th century, Tower Bridge turned out to be the only place in the city center where it was possible to cross from one bank of the Thames to the other.

The construction of the bridge took 8 years, and in 1894 the bridge, 265 meters long, was finally completed. Many Londoners initially disliked the bridge for its Victorian Gothic design, but gradually got used to it, and over time it became one of the main symbols of London.

The Tower Bridge area has an excellent promenade with modern residential buildings and office buildings, on the first floors of which there are many restaurants and cafes with a summer terrace. Rumor has it that in this part of London - the most expensive property in the city per square meter.

On the other side of the Thames I met this unusual monument. According to unconfirmed information, the idea of ​​​​this creation was embodied by a local architect, impressed by the masterpiece Igor Nikolaev heard - “Dolphin and Mermaid”.

If you want to see where the British queen lives, you are in. A significant part of the official royal ceremonies are held here, such as receptions of foreign heads of state or appointed foreign ambassadors. More than 50,000 people each year are invited to state banquets, lunches, dinners and official receptions, including at the royal one. The Queen also holds weekly meetings with the Prime Minister here.

One of my favorite places in London is Trafalgar Square. The local architecture cannot but please the eye. There are always many tourists here. locals also like to make appointments here. In the middle of the square is the 56-meter Nelson's Column with a statue of Admiral Nelson at the top.

There is also a pretty nice fountain nearby, and in the background on the right you can already see Big Ben, which is about five minutes walk from here.

Trafalgar Square is also home to the National Gallery of London, the third most visited art museum in the world. More than 2,000 paintings are on display here, including works by Rubens, Titian, Van Dyck and other great artists.

Monument to some general. Even if you knew which one, it is unlikely that you would have retained this information for longer than a second after reading these lines.

Walking around London, one gets the impression that this city is endless. Monuments, ancient buildings, parks. You turn right - beauty, left - beauty, back, forward - the same thing. And so kilometer after kilometer, until the moon replaces the sun. It even gets a bit boring. No garbage, no dull five-story Khrushchev, no rude sellers. No, well, I'll still find the weak points of this city, you won't get off so easily, London!