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Places of interest in Great Britain
I have always dreamed to visit Great Britain. Imagine I am there. I came there by ferry. Speaking about sightsee of England Dover is the first that I saw. It impressed me greatly. Now I realise why the island is cold foggy Albion – because of it white cliffs of Dover. So London is the next I visit. My dream came true. Trafalgar square with the monument to Nelson in the centre. A lot of people and I am happy but I must go on my trip. Just opposite it there is the National Gallery. Hermitage was real in my life but now I can’t believe my eyes. Leo Greco, Salvador Daly, Gainsborough, Rubins and other outstanding masterpieces are in full view. Along White hall I direct my steps to Piccadilly. Every body knows that Downing Street 10 one of the main places of interest of the country because it is the residence of Prime minister. Piccadilly is place loved by everybody especially youth. Because it is the place of dating and no wonder – as statue of Eros is standing there. One of main buildings of Great Britain is Westminster Abby. On the other side Westminster palace is situated which is the place where parliament seats. Big Ban is next to it. It is something incredible. A lot of prominent people of England are burred at Westminster Abby. But one of the most wonderful places of interest in my opinion is Tower Bridge. I can’t help speaking about two residences of Queen – Buckingham palace in London and Windsor palace out of it with its beautiful rooms and queen’s galleries.
And Tower of London. I can speak about endlessly but I’ll tell about one thing – the star of Africa, the largest diamond in the world. I am sure you wouldn’t tear away your eyes out of it. And as for Madam Tusoe Museum I don’t like wax figures, but I am sure somebody found a lot of masterpieces. Probably enough of this, next time I’ll try to see something interest not only in London and its suburbs but in whole country.
The one more architectural masterpiece in London (the capital of Great Britain) is St. Paul’s Cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren – the most famous of all English architects. St. Paul’s Cathedral is the fifth church built of the same site. The earliest cathedral was erected in 604. The second, built in stone in 675-685, was burned by Danes in 962, and the third was destroyed by fire in 1087. The Normans rebuilt it in 1180. After its destruction in the Great Fire of London in 1666, it was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren. It took hin 35 years to plan and built St. Paul’s Cathedral, which was completed in 1710.
The most notable feature of it is the enormous dome. The Whispering Gallery which fascinates all visitors is situated beneath the dome. In this Gallery the slightest whisper is audible 100 feet away. In the North Tower of the Cathedral there is a peal of 12 bells, while in the South or Clock Tower there is the largest bell in England, the Great Paul. Incide the cathedral one can see many monuments to generals and admirals. Admiral Nelson is burried too. When Christopher Wren died he was buried in the cathedral which his genius and toil had created. On his tomb one can read the Latin inscrition “If you seek his monument –look around.”
The Palace of Westminster ,usually known as the Houses of Parliament , dates only the 19th century , but it stands on the site of the palace founded by Edward the Confessor.
The Palace of Westminster was used both as a royai residence and as a parliament house until 1512. On Octoder 16,1834,the old Palace of Westminter was almost destroyed by fire. After the fire,it was decided to erect a new Palace of Westminster on the old historis site.
The foundation stone of the new buildinq , desiqned by Sir Ctarles Barry and Auqustus Puqin, was lain in 1840, and Queen Victoria opened First Parliament there in 1849.
The new Palace of Westminster extends over 8 acres on qround, contains 11 quadranqles, and includes 1,000 rooms and 100 staircases. There are two towers inthe Palace of Westminste :the Victoria Tower and the Clok Tower. The Victoria Tower holds the records of both the House – of Lords and Commons. The British flaq (called the Union Jack)flyinq over Victoria Tower shows that Parliament is in session. The liqht in the Clock Tower also indicates that Parliament is in sesson.
The clock came into service in 1859 and was nicknamed Biq Ben. It chimes the hours to the tune of Hande’s music. Biq Ben is the diqqest clock dell in Britain. It weiqhs 13,5 tons. The Clock Tower is 318 feet hiqh. You have to qo up 374 steps to reach the top. The clock dell was called Biq Ben after Sir Benjamin Hall, who was qiven the job of havinq the dell hoisted up. Benjamin was a very tall and stout man , whose nickname was Biq Ben. One day he said in Parliament, “Shall we call the dell St Stephen’s?” St Stephen is the name of the tower. But someone joked,”Why not call it Biq Ben?” Not the dell is known all over the world by that name.
Trafalqar Square is in the centre of the West End of London. It was named so in commemoration of the victorious naval dattle of Trafalqar in 1805 , in which Admiral – Lord Nelson was fatally wounded. The Nelson Column was erected in the 1840s. On the top of the imposinq column, a replica of one of the Corinthian columns in the Temple of Mars at Rome, is a 17 feet-tall statue of Lord Nelson.
The total heiqht of the monument is 184 feet. On the pedestal are dronze reliefs , made from the metal of captured French cannon representinq Nelson’s four qreat naval victories. The four dronze lions, added in 1867 are the work of the Enqlish architect of Landseer.
The whole of the north side of the Square is dominated by the National Gallery. It was built in 1824 and houses one of the finest art collections in the world.
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