Big Ben is the calling card of London: when will the restoration be completed? UK: memorable places in London Cathedral in London next to Big Ben

In Great Britain, Big Ben is considered such a symbol ( Big Ben) - north tower Palace of Westminster London.

Important news!

Big Ben has been closed for renovation since 2017

On August 21, 2017 at 12:00 the clock sounded for the last time before the start of the big reconstruction.

Updated Northern Dial Unveiled

21 March 2019 - The newly restored North Dial of the Elizabeth Tower is unveiled.

It is very convenient to visit Big Ben and other main symbols of the city as part of a sightseeing tour. bus tour with a personal audio guide in Russian. It also includes a Thames cruise which adds even more locations to the trip! Ticket price is £35.10. .

Don't forget to buy Big Ben souvenirs!

How to get to Big Ben?

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

You can get there by bus, which goes to Parliament Square or to the Whitehall Street stop (Trafalgar Square). Those who prefer the tube should get off at Westminster (District Line) or Victoria (Jubilee Line) stations.

Located close to major attractions, and save time on travel.

We are waiting for your comments about the new image of the famous Beg-Ben!

The question of which part of London is considered its geographical center worries not only those who like to study their native planet using maps. Many tourists, arriving in the capital of Great Britain, have difficulty finding their way around this metropolis. Luckily, most of the more interesting attractions are fairly easy to find. Guided tours can also be booked.

Buckingham Palace

There is hardly a person who has never heard of Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second. So, her official residence - Buckingham Royal Palace - is located in the area of ​​Pall Mall and Green Park streets. If a standard flutters over the building, this means that the monarch is in her beloved capital.

The Royal Palace acquired its status with the accession of Elizabeth II's great-grandmother Victoria to the throne in 1837. Today, the statue of this monarch is the first to greet everyone who approaches the fence of the residence to inspect the ceremonial home of the Windsor dynasty.

Buckingham Palace consists of 775 rooms. 52 of them are the royal family's chambers and guest rooms. There are also about 20 government premises there. 92 of them house offices, and 188 are used for technical needs and recreation for service personnel. In addition, the royal residence has 72 bathrooms. The total area of ​​the palace is 20 hectares, and on 17 hectares there is the largest private garden in London with an artificial lake.

Changing of the guard ceremony

The guards, dressed in bright red uniforms and tall fur hats, are as much a landmark as the palaces and temples that adorn central London.

The Changing of the Guard ceremony is held at Buckingham Palace every day at 11:30 in the summer, and every other day in other seasons. The duration of the ceremony is 45 minutes. Sometimes the military parade for the ceremonial changing of the guard is canceled due to bad weather.

The tradition dates back to 1660. It began to be held at Buckingham Palace in 1837, when Queen Victoria moved there.

The colorful action is accompanied by the sounds of orchestral music. Part of the parade takes place outside the fence of Buckingham Palace, and the rest of the ceremony is usually watched by tourists and Londoners through its fence.

Tower of London

This fortress is one of the main attractions of the British capital. It is believed that it was around him that modern London was formed. It is impossible to imagine the city center without it today. The castle covers an area of ​​1170 square meters. m and is a square. WITH outside The Tower of London is surrounded by two rings of walls with big amount towers There are 13 towers on the inner defensive line. As for the outer ring, it is significantly longer than the first one. To protect it from the water, 6 towers were erected along the banks of the Thames, offering a beautiful view of the magnificent city center of London.

In the south-west corner of the space, which is located between two belts of walls, there is a meadow with a scaffold on which many prominent members of the English nobility were executed over the centuries, including the three queens - wives of Henry the Eighth. The last beheading on Tower Meadow took place in 1747.

Today this fortress in central London is open to tourists. They are invited to get acquainted with the exhibits on display in the Tower Museum and in the Armory. Among them, the British Crown Treasures are of particular interest.

On the territory of the castle there is also the oldest christian temple capital of Great Britain - St. Peter's Chapel, which is almost 1000 years old.

Tower Bridge in central London

Although this structure is considered by many to be medieval, it was only built in 1894. Tower Bridge, which adorns the center of London, is a drawbridge with two towers placed on intermediate supports. The total length of the structure is 244 m, and its height is 65 m. The pedestrian galleries of the bridge have been used as a museum since 1982.

Tower Bridge is still managed in the old fashioned way: it has a captain and a crew of military sailors. They beat the bells and stand watch.

Initially, the bridge was raised daily, but this moment this ritual occurs only a few times a week and crowds of tourists flock to watch it.

Palace of Westminster

When talking about the main attractions of London, one cannot ignore this majestic building in the neo-Gothic style, built in the mid-19th century, where the English Parliament sits today. The palace has 3 towers. The tallest of them reaches a height of 98.5 m. It is named after Queen Victoria of Great Britain. At the time of construction, the tower was considered the tallest secular structure in the world.

At the base of the building is the Sovereign's Entrance, which is a 15 m high arch surrounded by statues. The cast-iron pyramidal roof of the building is crowned with a 22-meter flagpole. The parliamentary archives for more than 500 recent years. They occupy 12 floors and contain almost 3 million documents of national importance.

In the northern part of the palace is located It is better known as Big Ben ( detailed information see below).

Another interesting building of the palace is the Central Tower. It is octagonal and has a height of 91 m. The tower is located in the middle of the palace building and rises above the Central Hall. The structure was originally designed as a chimney for 400 fireplaces located in different rooms palace However, it turned out that the architects made a mistake in their calculations and today the structure serves a decorative function.

In the middle of the western façade of the Palace of Westminster is St Stephen's Tower. Two more similar structures are located at the ends of the facade, which is located on the Thames side. These are the Speaker's and Chancellor's towers.

Big Ben

When London's top and most recognizable landmarks are described, the list often opens with the most famous tower Great Britain.

It was built as part of a new Royal Palace, erected after a fire in 1834, and is a majestic structure in the neo-Gothic style. The author of the construction project was Augustus Pugin. The height of the Big Ben tower with its spire is 96.3 meters. At its base there is a 15-meter concrete foundation with a thickness of 3 meters.

At the top of the tower, at a height of 55 meters, there is a clock with four dials with a diameter of 7 m made of smoked glass. At night they are illuminated from the inside. Above the clock there is a bell tower with 5 bells. The largest of them was called Big Ben. According to one legend, it was so named in honor of the construction manager of the structure, Sir Benjamin Hall.

Although Big Ben is one of the most recognizable landmarks on our planet, access to it is closed to tourists. This was done for security reasons. In addition, there are no lifts in the tower, so those few who are allowed to climb to the clock mechanism have to overcome 334 not the most comfortable steps.

Trafalgar Square

In response to the question about what square is located in the center of London, any person who has visited the British capital at least once will no doubt name Trafalgar Square.

This famous landmark is located at the intersection of Whitehall, Strand and Mall streets. Until the 19th century, the square bore the name of William the Fourth and received its modern name in 1805 after the famous naval battle that cost the life of Britain's best admiral.

In the center of Trafalgar Square rises. It is built of dark gray granite, has a height of 44 m and is a kind of pedestal for the statue of the famous admiral. The column is decorated with three-dimensional images made from Napoleonic cannons.

Other famous structures located in Trafalgar Square

If the Tower is the historical center of London, then Trafalgar Square is the geographical one. Along its perimeter are London National Gallery, the Church of St. Martin in the Fields, Admiralty Arch, as well as the buildings of several embassies.

Since the 1840s, the square has been decorated with 3 monuments installed at its corners. They represent statues of George the Fourth, as well as generals Charles James Napier and Henry Havelock. At the same time, a fourth pedestal was built on Trafalgar Square. It sat empty until 2005, when a sculpture of disabled artist Alison Lapper was installed. Four years later, the glass installation “Hotel Model” appeared in its place. Today, on the fourth pedestal of Trafalgar Square you can see a huge bottle, inside of which there is a model of the Victoria ship. It was on board that the admiral was mortally wounded, from which he died at the age of 47.

"London Eye"

This is one of the largest ferris spikes in Europe and was built from 1998 to 2004. It is located on south coast Thames. The authors of the project are David Marks and Julia Barfield. The total weight of the huge wheel with all mechanisms is 1,700 tons.

The London Eye has 32 booths shaped like huge eggs. Each of them comfortably accommodates up to 25 passengers, who can view the historical center of London, its outskirts and some suburbs from above for half an hour.

The rotation speed of the wheel is approximately 0.9 kilometers per hour. It does not stop to disembark passengers and “take on board” the next ones, and these operations must be carried out on the move. In good weather, visibility from the cabin is up to 40 kilometers.

Tourists and Londoners can ride the Ferris wheel every day. From September to March, passenger boarding is carried out from 10:00 to 20:30, and from April to August another half hour is added to the operating hours of the attraction.

Hyde Park

Royal or Hyde Park in central London (Rangers Lodge, W2 2UH, open from 5:00 to 24:00) is one of the most famous in Britain and covers an area of ​​1.4 square meters. km. It was founded before the conquest british isles Normans. However, it was only opened for Londoners to walk in the 17th century by order of King Charles II.

In addition, within the park there is the Serpentine Lake, where you can swim, and the gallery of the same name. By the way, open water swims took place on this reservoir during the London Olympics.

Serpentine Gallery

As already mentioned, this attraction is located on the territory of Hyde Park. It was opened in 1970 in a classic tea pavilion built in the mid-30s of the last century. At one time, Princess Diana was the patroness of the gallery. Today, at the entrance to the building that houses the permanent exhibition, you can see the work dedicated to it by Peter Coates and Ian Hamilton Finlay.

The Serpentine Gallery annually commissions the creation of new temporary pavilions from world-famous architects. They are happy to design unique structures within which art conferences, special film screenings, and cafes are held.

IN different years The Serpentine Gallery exhibited such world-famous artists and sculptors as Man Ray, Andy Warhol, Henry Moore, Alan McCollum, Paula Rego, Bridget Riley, etc.

Westminster Abbey

This majestic temple has been the traditional place of coronation, marriage and burial of British kings for many centuries. Westminster Abbey (address: 20 Deans Yard London SW1P 3 PA), or rather the Collegiate Church of St. Peter, began to be built in 1245, and acquired its final appearance only almost 5 centuries later after numerous reconstructions.

The main building of the temple has the shape of a cross. The greatest length, from the western door to the outer wall of the Chapel of Our Lady, is 161.5 m, and highest height Western towers - 68 m. total area premises - approximately 3000 sq. m. At the same time, the abbey can accommodate up to 2 thousand people.

At the very beginning of the central gallery of the abbey you can see images of all Christian saints by icon painter Sergei Fedorov. In addition, the abbey is a place of pilgrimage for lovers of English literature - Poets' Corner, which contains the graves of such famous writers of past centuries as Chaucer, Samuel Johnson, Tennyson and Browning.

Few people know that in 1998, statues of 20th century martyrs were installed above the portico of the western entrance to the temple. Among them are the fighter against racial discrimination Martin Luther King, the priest Dietrich Bonhoeffer, executed by the Nazis in the Flossenbürg concentration camp, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, thrown by the Bolsheviks into a mine near Alapaevsk in 1918, and others.

Globus theatre"

Many of those who buy tours to London definitely want to visit the Globe Theater, located on the south bank of the Thames. The building, where many of Shakespeare's plays premiered, was built in 1599. Unfortunately, it burned down 14 years later.

The modern Globe building (address: New Globe Walk, SE1), erected in 1997, is an exact copy of the historical theater. Some of the seats in his auditorium are located directly under open air, so you can attend performances by the Shakespeare troupe from mid-May to September 20.

To visit the Globe, it is best to take the metro and get to Cannon St or Mansion House stations.

Covent Garden

The Royal Theater in the London district of the same name was founded in 1732 and was extremely popular among residents of the British capital.

The current building (address: Bow Street WC2E 9DD) is already the third. It was erected in 1858. The auditorium of the Covent Garden theater seats 2,268 people.

Covent Garden is also called the Royal Opera House and stars of the first magnitude shine on its stage.

Compared to other London attractions, the building does not seem so impressive from the outside, but the design of its interiors makes an indelible impression on viewers.

Piccadilly Circus

Piccadilly Circus is located in Westminster. The square was built in 1819. For its construction, it was necessary to demolish the house with a garden that belonged to Lady Hutton and interfered with the connection of Regent Street with the important shopping street Piccadilly.

The main attraction of the square is the Shaftesbary Memorial Fountain. The building is located in the southwestern part. It is dedicated to the famous philanthropist Lord Shaftesbury. At the top of the sculptural composition is a winged figure of a naked archer, symbolizing Anteros, who is the “god of selfless love.”

The square is also home to the underground Criterion Theatre, founded in 1874, and the London Pavilion music hall, built in 1859.

At the beginning of the century, the building was connected to the Trocadero Center.

Tate Gallery

Located at Millbank SW1B 3DG, close to the Palace of Westminster, tourists can explore the famous National Collection of British Art. It represents the world's largest collection of works of painting, sculpture and graphics by English authors of the 16th-20th centuries. The collection was founded by manufacturer Sir Henry Tait. The gallery was opened to the public in 1897.

30 years later, a wing was added to the building, which housed works by foreign painters. In 1987, the Clore Gallery began operating, which displays one of the most extensive collections of Turner's paintings.

Now you know what interesting architectural landmarks adorn the center of London. In addition, every year the capital of Great Britain becomes the venue for various cultural, sports and other entertainment events of a global and European scale. They, like historical and architectural monuments, are one of the reasons for the popularity of tours to London.

First, let me explain the title of the article I chose. In my perception, Buckingham Palace, the Tower and Westminster Abbey are the main architectural symbols of London - symbols of “high flying”. And in general they are very impressive, as befits diamonds. And the diadem is a crown characteristic of the ancient Anglo-Saxon Kings. I will not describe these three diamonds in detail - for this there are a lot of special articles on the Internet that can answer all the questions of those who are deeply interested in a wide variety of historical and architectural details. I will tell you about those particulars that seemed interesting to me personally, were memorable, and made a special impression.

Buckingham Palace and surroundings

Admiralty Arch and Admiralty

Buckingham Palace is the official modern London residence of British monarchs. It was built in the 18th century, when kings and aristocrats were replacing their former castles with a predominantly military function with spacious palaces that were more concerned with displaying luxury. The palace became a royal residence during Victoria's reign. I was not inside, since the palace is open to public visits only in August - September, and I was in London in March.

The excursion towards Buckingham Palace began from Trafalgar Square, which I consider the central point of London. Running along the Thames from Trafalgar Square is Whitehall Street, which contains several notable sites. And the ceremonial street Mall leads towards Buckingham Palace from the square. At the junction of Whitehall and the Mall stands Admiralty Arch:

Outside the Admiralty Arch there is a statue of the famous English explorer Captain James Cook. And next to it - huge complex five British Admiralty buildings. Here is just a small fragment of it:

Royal guard

Not far from these triumphant hulks is the building at 10 Downing Street, which serves as the residence of prime ministers. By the way, the building is rather inexpressive. Tourists are more attracted to the house of the Royal Horse Guards:


Its appearance at the end of the 19th century:

Dismounted (precisely dismounted, not infantrymen themselves) and horse guards stand guard. I advise you to visit the Buckingham Palace area around 11 am, as the changing of the guard ceremony takes place at this time. The old watch is lined up on a large sandy area in front of the Admiralty House (the Guard House is to the right):

In red uniform - a unit of the Palace Cavalry, which is called the "Life Guards" regiment. It is the oldest regular military unit in Great Britain, dating back to 1660, when it was formed to protect the new King Charles II Stuart (this was shortly after the Restoration of the monarchy following revolutionary events, the civil war, the execution of the previous King Charles I and the republican regime).

A new watch is taking over - the Blues and Royals regiment in dark blue uniform:

This part arose a year later than Life Guards and is the result of a merger of the Royal Horse Guards (they are nicknamed the Blues) and the 1st Royal Dragoons (nicknamed the Royals).

The ceremony takes place calmly, without much fanfare. The small stature of the cavalrymen is noteworthy. There is no reason for ridicule. The fact is that these horse guards belong to the armored forces, where, of course, high growth is inappropriate. And, by the way, they are not tin soldiers, fit only for parade grounds. The Royal Guard has always actually participated in hostilities, including in Afghanistan.

Green Park and St James's Park

Next, the Mall runs between two parks - Green Park and St James's Park. Green Park is famous for the fact that it used to be a favorite place for duels of British aristocrats. And its name is supposedly explained by the following event. Once Charles II picked a lot of flowers here, made a lot of bouquets and gave them to many favorites (in Western Europe it was a gallant era with all the ensuing consequences). His wife got angry and ordered the roots and bulbs of all the flowers to be dug up overnight. And they are no longer there, but there is only green grass and trees. Whether this is true or not, I don’t know, since I didn’t go to Green Park. But I enjoyed looking at St. James's Park:


And another look at the pond away from Buckingham Palace (the Ferris wheel called the London Eye can be seen in the distance):

Changing of the Guard

We continue to slowly move along the Mall and see Buckingham Palace, towards which a stream of tourists flows:

Parallel to us, a guards band marches along the Mall:

and the shift watch of the infantry regiment is moving (there are five of them in the Royal Guard - Coldstream, Grenadier, Scottish, Irish and Welsh; I was especially pleased to see the regiment from Wales: their plume on their cap is white-green-white and the buttons on their uniform are arranged according to the pattern "five - space - five") in the famous bearskin hats:

Unfortunately, the British Ministry of Defense has not yet found an alternative to bearskins for these hats. The only consolation is that these hats last for almost a hundred years. In passing, I note that they are made from grizzly bear skins (for officers - from the more luxurious and polished skins of males, for privates - from more modest skins of females). The hats weigh more than 3 kg, and they must be worn at any time of the year and in any weather. The British adopted bearskin hats from the French grenadiers after the victory at Waterloo.

The ceremony takes place in a moderately solemn manner, without any kind of nerve-racking, typical for changing of the guards in some other countries. The musicians, by the way, performed the march of the Preobrazhensky Regiment.

At the facade of Buckingham Palace. Queen Victoria Monument

And finally, here is Buckingham Palace itself:

On the lanterns you can see boats, which, of course, reflect the naval power of Britain. And on the gate lanterns there are royal crowns:

I don’t understand why the word “Australia” is written on the column on the left. It seems to me that the names of different British possessions or dominions are written on different columns, which could reflect the enormous sovereignty of this country.

Well, the most striking thing is the monument-memorial to Queen Victoria:

With the veneration of Victoria in England, in my opinion, there is some overkill, but that’s their business. The face of the Victoria statue faces north-east, towards the Mall. On the other three sides of the pedestal there are statues of the Angel of Justice, the Angel of Truth and the Angel of Mercy standing in front of Buckingham Palace. At the top stands a gilded Victory. Mighty people with lions stand a little further from the main monument. I was perplexed by the figure of a strong-built woman in simple (peasant?) clothes and with a sickle in her hand. This is probably the peasant woman (I believe these figures symbolize different social groups of the population) - but what does the lion have to do with it? It is not very convenient to work with a sickle in the field and hold this beast with the other hand.

The memorial also has a marine theme: on it you can see sculptures and bas-reliefs of mermaids and mermen. They supposedly symbolize British supremacy at sea (bad symbolism in my opinion).

And there are also pictures of hippogriffs (unfortunately, due to the crowd, I couldn’t take a photo). Hippogriffs are mythical creatures: half-horses, half-griffins (the griffin itself is a cross between a lion and an eagle). Jorge Luis Borges in his “Book of Fictional Creatures” indicated that the creature was invented and first described by Ludovico Ariosto in the poem “Roland the Furious” (1532). In those days, there was a saying “to cross a horse with a griffin”, which owes its origin to Virgil and means the impossibility or inconsistency of something (a synonym for the expression “to cross a snake and a hedgehog”). A funny curiosity - I wonder what the creators of the monument put into the figure of a hippogriff?

Michael Fagan Incident

I’ll finish my story about Buckingham Palace with one more curiosity. Surely most people are sure that the residence of the British monarchs is protected as a holy shrine. This is not entirely true. In 1982, a 31-year-old unemployed father of four named Michael Fagan twice(!!!) penetrated the palace. The first time he climbed there was through a drainpipe. A maid noticed him and called security, but Fagan disappeared, and the security decided that the maid had made a mistake. Then Fagan returned through the uncovered roof window and spent half an hour eating cheese and biscuits and walking around the palace. He came across several alarm detectors, but they were all faulty. Fagan viewed the royal portraits and sat on the throne of the United Kingdom (!!!). He then went into the room where Diana of Wales kept gifts for her son William. Fagan drank another half bottle of white wine, then got tired and left the palace.

The second time Fagan broke into the palace, the alarm detector detected him, but security decided that the device had been activated by mistake. When Fagan entered the Queen's chambers, she woke up. According to legend, the head of Great Britain talked for ten minutes with an unemployed man sitting on the edge of her bed; however, in a 2012 interview, Fagan reported that she actually went out immediately looking for guards - and was unsuccessful. It subsequently turned out that during the incident, the police officer assigned to the door of the royal bedroom left his post to walk Elizabeth’s beloved corgi dogs. The Queen called the police twice, but no one showed up (they probably decided it was a prank). But the panic button didn't work.

The funny thing is that Fagan was then charged not with violating the queen’s security, but only with stealing half the contents of the bottle (of course, he was quickly dropped). Michael Fagan spent six months in a mental hospital. The essence of the legal conflict is that in England there is case law, but no precedent has been established in British law for entering the queen’s bedroom. Although back in the 19th century there lived in London a certain teenage maniac Edward Jones, who broke into Buckingham Palace three times and even stole items of underwear (either underwear or bedding) of Queen Victoria and her regimental sword. He was not tried, but was sent to some institution for mental correction.

In general, a lot of funny and absurd things are connected in my perception with Buckingham Palace, and in general I noted to myself that the works of Lewis Carroll could only have been written in England. This is why I sympathize with this country.

Fortress Tower

External inspection of the Tower Fortress

The Tower in my perception is not just a castle, but a fortress, a citadel. Moreover, the fortress was in some sense unique, it had to perform so many functions. In addition to its main military-defensive function, the Tower contained a royal treasury (it remains to this day), a prison, a place of executions, an observatory, and even a menagerie. By the way, executions were carried out here relatively recently - the last time was in 1941. In general, it is believed that at least one and a half thousand beheaded bodies were hidden in the basements of the Tower in the 16th–17th centuries. I won’t say that there is some kind of negative aura in the fortress, but I think that it’s still not worth behaving overly emotionally there.

First, a general view of the Tower, taken from the site near the moat:


I look back and see the Church of All Saints with a golden cockerel on the weather vane, against the backdrop of the architectural monsters of the City:

Next are several fragments of the Tower not far from its entrance. It’s interesting that next to it stands a full-scale model of a catapult (having seen it, I firmly associated the Tower with the word “fortress” in my mind):


Entrance to the fortress and the first models of animals (more to come):

The royal menagerie arose when Henry III received three leopards as a gift from his son-in-law in the 13th century. polar bear and an elephant. Over time, the menagerie was replenished with an even larger number of exotic animals and, under Elizabeth I, it was open to visitors, existing until the 1830s.

Behind the outer walls of the Tower. Replica Coronation Throne

After login excursion group I walked around some of the wards. Some parts of the Tower look really archaic:

In one of the chambers I remember a copy of the throne from the early 14th century, intended only for the coronation rite:

I will tell about this throne in the story of Westminster Abbey, for that is where its original is located.

You can get acquainted with the structural features of the Tower walls: for example, with the shape of the stones or bricks (interestingly, the bricks do not lie parallel to the floor, but at angles, interspersed with wooden beams). And I also remember that in one room there was something like a performance, led by a man in medieval clothes. I didn’t understand its meaning, but I could touch the weight of real chain mail. I think at least 6 kilograms.

Then we went outside and walked around the courtyards, looking at numerous sights:

The seagull above the White Tower is a sign of the proximity of the Thames (a hundred meters away).

Another animal (that is, a model), this time an elephant:

I really liked the luxurious cannon with the symbols of the Order of Malta:

Monkeys of the Tower (fortunately, models, because I would be seriously afraid of such monkeys in a living state):

Beefeaters

Next, I’ll tell you about an important element of the Tower Fortress, to which I devoted a lot of time in research after returning. This is the staff of the Tower, whose members are called yeomanry guards (also gatekeepers), or informally - "beefeaters". Yeomentry is a special class in old England; along with the gentry, they were landowners, only, unlike the nobles, they worked on the land themselves, and did not use the labor of farm laborers or tenants. The yeomen had the right to their own weapons, so they formed an extremely powerful part of the royal army from ancient times. The Yeomanry Guard of the Tower dates back to 1485, the beginning of the Tudor dynasty, which put an end to the bloody internecine war between the Scarlet (Lancaster) and White (York) Roses. The Yeomanry Badge features the Tudor Rose (red and white as a sign of reconciliation), the royal crown, the thistle (the badge of Scotland), the shamrock (the badge of Ireland), the motto from the British coat of arms "God and my right" (translated from French) and the monogram currently reigning monarch (now Elizabeth Regina):

They were nicknamed beefeaters because the guards' diet always included a lot of beef meat and broth (beef-eaters), which was not typical for the old days. So the build of the yeoman guards is quite decent (they are not fat, but dense, portly):

The guards have a special dress uniform, which is worn on holidays and for ceremonial processions (image late XIX century):

Crows

There is also a special gatekeeper called the ravenmaster. He is responsible for keeping the ravens. And it's special interesting story- of course, with a big legend.

The beginning of the legend dates back to the ancient times of the mythical king of the Britons, Bran the Blessed. His name means "crow", but later merged with raven. Bran bequeathed to bury his head under the hill on which the Tower was later built. It was a magical means of protecting Britain from its enemies. Then King Arthur decided that the power of the swords of himself and the Knights of the Round Table would be enough for protection, and ordered Bran’s head to be dug up. The head was dug up - Arthur was subsequently killed by his own son Mordred, and the Round Table disintegrated.

In later times, legend began to consider the Tower Ravens as the enemies of the Crown's opponents. In the 16th century, several such opponents (real and imaginary) were executed in the Tower, which attracted the attention of feathered scavengers (it’s unpleasant to write about this, but such are the customs of the era). By that time, the belief that ravens were symbols of the strength of the monarchy had already become stronger.

The further (seemingly more truthful) story of the Tower ravens goes back to XVII century, when they were the most common bird in London. In 1666, the Great Fire of London occurred, during which most of the city burned down. The crows left London, and when they returned, it turned out that their former nests were preserved mainly only in the Tower. Black crows literally besieged the castle, attacked people and fought fiercely with each other. These endless crow battles led to the fact that the Tower authorities decided to destroy them. At the time, King Charles II of the Stuart dynasty had only recently been restored to the throne. One of the courtiers reminded him of the legend. Either Charles II was a superstitious man, or his position seemed unstable to him (after all, his father was executed on the orders of the Cromwellian tribunal), but he ordered at least six ravens to be kept in the Tower forever for the safety of the monarchy.

In fact, there are now more than six ravens (usually eight, just in case), and during the Second World War the Tower and the monarchy were guarded by only one raven named Grip (the name means “grasp”, “power”), and his magical efforts quite enough. Ravenmaster takes care of the ravens' food (costing about £120 a month) and even trims their wings a bit to prevent them from flying away. Some of the most violent crows who attacked tourists were sent into dishonorable retirement. By the way, Ravenmaster assures that one of the ravens not only knows how to speak in the form of repeating human words, but seems to understand the meaning. For example, when a person, giving food, says to a raven “this is for you,” he replies “this is for me”!

Treasury

The last part of the excursion was devoted to visiting the Royal Treasury. You can’t take photographs there, so I don’t have anything to illustrate it with, and I won’t tell you much. Crowns, swords and other important regalia of British monarchs are kept there. The most valuable exhibits (crowns) are placed on a special stand, along both sides of which conveyor belts travel at low speed. Very convenient - no one creates congestion. There you can see the largest cut diamond in the world - the Cullinan I, which adorns the scepter of King Edward VII.

I have trouble distinguishing jewelry, and for me, for example, a piece of blue glass is almost identical in appearance to sapphire. But the history of some stones is interesting to me. For example, the story of the St. Edward's sapphire (in the center of the upper cross crowning the Crown of the British Empire). According to legend, the English King Edward the Confessor wore this sapphire in a ring. One day a beggar approached him with a request for alms; Since the king had already given away all the money he had, he took the ring off his finger and gave it to the beggar. Many years later, two pilgrims from the Holy Land returned the ring to the King, telling the following story: in the Holy Land they met an old man who claimed to be Saint John the Evangelist, that he had been wandering the earth for a long time in the guise of a beggar, and that one day the King gave him this ring. He blessed the King for his generosity and promised that they would soon meet in heaven. In 1066, the King died and was buried with a sapphire ring. When his coffin was opened two hundred years later, the body of Edward the Confessor was found perfectly preserved. Abbot Westminster Abbey He took the ring from the King's hand and gave it to the royal treasury.

When I learned this story, the attitude towards the Tower became not only respectful, but also warmer.

Westminster Abbey

Difference between Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral

Finally, the third one is exclusively important object in London, which is worth a visit to get acquainted with the history of England and its monarchy is Westminster Abbey (the name means “Western Monastery”).

I'll start by mentioning another place. The fact is that in London there is not only Westminster Abbey, but also Westminster Cathedral. I am writing about this just in case in order to prevent possible confusion. These are different buildings, and they are not located nearby. Therefore, if you are looking for an abbey in London and ask passers-by or taxi drivers for “Westminster Cathedral”, then you will be sent or taken to the wrong place. This is what the Cathedral looks like:

This is the main one catholic church England and Wales, built in a neo-Byzantine style, completely unusual for this country, with a high campanile. By the way, anyone who likes mosaics can find something interesting there - especially considering the fact that this type of art is not widespread in England.

Exterior of Westminster Abbey

I'll go back to the abbey. It is officially called the Collegiate Church of St. Peter in Westminster (but I suspect that not everyone in London itself knows this full name, so I will not use it anymore). The Abbey is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, which set a certain image of a religious building for the whole of England.



I will mention one small detail (it is really small, but under certain circumstances it can cause trouble for those who want to get into the abbey). There is almost always a long queue at the abbey - I stood for half an hour, and that doesn’t count for long. But that’s not the point, the point is that there are actually two queues, and you need to get into it right away. One line goes through the cash desk, where only credit cards, the other is cash only. If you do not have a full set of payment instruments, look where to go. By the way, admission ticket costs £18. Photography is not allowed inside. This is a little upsetting, because I would like to capture what is interesting to me personally, and not purchase the books and booklets offered, compiled according to someone else’s taste.

Tombs

The Abbey is the traditional place of coronation of British monarchs (since the 11th century) and their burials (in the 13th–18th centuries). In addition, 16 royals have been married here (including the 2011 marriage of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge). Many great people of this country are buried here (however, not only the great were buried, but also the rich, who simply bought themselves the honor of being buried in the main temple of London). I won’t give a list of them, because in full it would take up too much space, and I don’t want to single out anyone. Let me just give you an image of the tomb of St. King Edward the Confessor:

This monumental tomb was commissioned by Henry III by Italian craftsmen in the 13th century. The high base of the tomb is covered with smalt mosaics (a very rare example of mosaics for England), and the upper part, which was once golden, contains a sarcophagus.

Interiors

Someone in the Abbey is still secretly taking photographs, so I will show a couple of images of the interior taken from the Internet:


Interestingly, not far from the altar there are two large icons (Jesus Christ and the Mother of God), painted by the modern Russian icon painter Sergei Fedorov.

Coronation throne of Edward I

It is impossible to tell about everything that is in Westminster Abbey. I will pay particular attention to the coronation wooden throne of Edward I (1308). Let me remind you that its copy (and a noticeably improved one at that) can be seen in the Tower. To quote Mark Twain (The Prince and the Pauper):

We can also see a large platform covered with rich fabrics. In the middle of it, on a raised platform, to which four steps lead, there is a throne. In the seat of the throne there is an unhewn flat stone - the Scone Stone, on which many generations of Scottish Kings were crowned; custom and time have sanctified him so much that now he is worthy to serve the English Kings.

What is this stone? Externally, it is a rectangular piece of sandstone measuring 66x41x27 cm and weighing about 152 kilograms. According to legend, this is the same stone on which, according to the Book of Genesis, Jacob slept: “...And he came to a certain place and stayed there to spend the night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place, and set it for his head, and lay down in that place” (Genesis 28:11). The Lord appeared to him in a dream, announcing the future of Jacob and his descendants, “and Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone which he had set for his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on its top” (Genesis 28:18).

Having left the Holy Land, the stone came to Ireland in a roundabout way, where, with the blessing of St. Patrick, it began to be used at the coronation of the Irish Kings. Then they called it the “stone of fate” - they say that it moaned loudly if a legal representative of the royal family sat on it. If it was an illegal claimant, the stone was silent.

What happened to him next is not known exactly. According to one version, in the middle of the 9th century, Kenneth I MacAlpin, the legendary first King of Scotland, transported the stone from Ireland to Northern Scotland. They say, however, that the stone was transported from place to place several more times, but in the end it settled in Scone (near the Scottish city of Perth), in a monastery, after which it received its nickname - the Scone Stone.

For several hundred years, the kings of Scotland were crowned there. In 1296, the English King Edward I Plantagenet, nicknamed Longlegs, who demanded vassal obedience from the King of Scotland, invaded the lands of his northern neighbor, suppressed the uprising, and ordered the sacred Scone Stone to be transported to London. There it was embedded in the seat of the “throne of King Edward”.

Whether the current stone at the base of the throne is really Scone is now unknown. There are reasons to doubt this, but I think there is no need to delve too deeply into the authenticity or otherwise of the stone. Unfortunately, Edward's throne was badly defaced in the 18th and 19th centuries by some clueless visitors to the abbey who drew and carved their names on it (the infamous "N was here" practice dates back a long time). And at Christmas 1950, four Scottish students stole the Scone Stone to return it to their country. At the same time, the stone broke into two parts. Only in April of the following year the stone was found and returned to the throne, but was it the real Scone Stone?.. In 1953, Elizabeth II was crowned here, and whether there will be more coronations, time will tell.

Henry VII Chapel

And I also want to draw attention to the chapel of Henry VII in the northern wing of the apse of Westminster Abbey. This is one of the finest examples of late Gothic in England.

Since 1725, the chapel has been placed at the disposal of the Chapter of Knights of the Most Venerable Order of the Bath - one of the highest state awards in England. The name of the order comes from an ancient rite in which applicants were subjected to an all-night vigil of fasting, prayer and bathing on the eve of receiving knighthood. The Grand Master is the Prince of Wales. The chapter's banners are kept in the chapel:

This is what Henry VII's chapel looks like from the outside:

Outside there are many sculptures on the walls of the abbey, including a group of figures of 20th century martyrs. Among them is the Russian Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna (by the way, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria), killed by the Bolsheviks under Ural city Alapaevsky.

Neighborhood of Westminster Abbey

And finally, a few glances around Westminster Abbey. Building with a large round dome - Methodist House:

There is a good quick-service cafeteria here (sometimes this is essential for organizing pastimes).

The beige palace is the sanctuary (storehouse of valuables) of Westminster Abbey:

And I also remember the buildings Supreme Court. There are many interesting sculptures and bas-reliefs on it:

I even took a closer photo because I love epic scenes like this:


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

  • Tours for May Worldwide
  • Last minute tours Worldwide

Previous photo Next photo

The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster in London is known throughout the world as Big Ben. Meetings of the House of Lords and the House of Commons are held in the Palace of Westminster, in the many kilometers of corridors of the palace it is easy to lose the right direction, there is hardly a person who has visited all 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 most striking architectural symbols of the city.

The height of the tower is 96 meters, a narrow spiral staircase of 334 steps. After passing them all, you can get to a small open area where the famous bell Big Ben is located. It is he who strikes the time every hour, and 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 in height and 3 meters at the base. The dimensions of the watch are no less striking: its diameter is 7 meters, and the hands are 2.7 and 4.2 m long.

The clock was put into operation on May 21, 1859 (the tower itself was built a year earlier) and to this day is listed as the largest clock in the world. Their four dials are made of opaline glass, bordered by gilded frames and have a Latin inscription, which means “God save our Queen Victoria”. These watches also have global significance: officially New Year on planet Earth begins with the first stroke of Big Ben on January 1st.

It is interesting that Londoners living near the Palace of Westminster New Year's Eve hear the thirteen chimes of Big Ben: 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 concerns come first. But from time to time members of the press and various important guests of Great Britain get the opportunity to climb it. But even important guests are forced to climb 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.

Javascript is required to view this map

Big Ben is the largest of the six bells of the Palace of Westminster, located in, on the banks of the River Thames, in the area of ​​Westminster. In the world, this famous clock is usually associated with the “Elizabeth Tower”, renamed from the “Clock Tower” in the fall of 2012, while the mechanism itself and the Houses of Parliament have separate names. According to the most common versions, the great bell can be named both in honor of Sir Benjamin Hall, who supervised the work on its casting, and in honor of the famous heavyweight boxer Benjamin Count, who shone in the ring at the time when the tower was erected.

It was built in the neo-Gothic style in 1858, and the clock began counting a year later. The total height of the building including the spire is more than 96 meters, the diameter of the dial is 7 meters, and the length of the hands reaches 2.7 and 4.2 meters, respectively. For a long time, Big Ben was considered the largest clockwork in the world, and the tower of the Palace of Westminster is still a symbol of London. Over the years, many famous films were filmed here, and the structure was demonstrated from all possible angles and views. At one time, the tower was even a prison for particularly active parliamentarians, and in honor of the famous British woman Emmeline Pankhurst, famous for her public actions for women's rights, there is a memorial monument on the territory of the Palace of Westminster.

On all four dials of the tower, installed on each side, there are inscriptions in Latin, meaning “God save our Queen, Victoria I.” To the right and left of the mechanism, upon closer examination, another inscription is visible - “Praise the Lord.” It is known that London's Big Ben is famous for its accuracy, but at the same time, the operation of the mechanism is always corrected only by a simple 1 penny coin, capable of accelerating the movement of the pendulum by 0.4 seconds per day. At the very top of the clock there are many such coins. When some important events take place in the country, the sound of Big Ben can be heard in different areas, and at that moment the tower is shown in close-up on central television.

Today, clock tower is rightfully considered one of the symbols of the city, fitting perfectly into the urban landscape and standing out against the backdrop of the Thames. There are few tourists in the world who have visited the English capital and have not taken photos against the backdrop of the legendary Big Ben. Meanwhile, direct access to the tower is allowed only to British citizens, and then only with a special permit, which can be quite difficult to obtain. However, this does not diminish the popularity of the attraction at all, but only makes it even more mysterious.

 

It might be useful to read: