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London - 14.Version - Referat
Welcome to my presentation about the wonderful city of London.
I have been to London two times and haven’t seen all of the interesting and wonderful sights yet. From my point of view London is one of the most impressive, biggest and of course one of the most beautiful cities in the world. And that's why I'm holding a presentation about London now.
First I will give you some general information about London, then I will talk a bit about the public transport and I will amplify some of the most important sights to you.
London, standing on the river Thames, is one of the oldest cities in the world and was found in the year 43. This time it was called Londinium. Today it is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is situated in the South East of England with a population of about 8.5 million people, which is about 12 percent of the whole UK population. London is also one of the world's leading business, financial, and cultural centres, and has influence on politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion and art. London has a temperate marine climate like much of the British Isles, so the city rarely sees extremely high or low temperatures, as we know from our Geography lessons. It is the world's most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the world's largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic. London also has got 43 universities from the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe.
Since 1965 Greater London has been divided into 32 London boroughs in addition to the ancient City of London, which is the main financial district, a city and ceremonial county within London.
The river Thames, which runs through the city, has a total length of 236 miles, which is about 380 km. So it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest river in the United Kingdom.
London has an extensive and developed transport network which includes both private and public services. Journeys made by public transport systems account for 25% of London's journeys while private services accounted for 41% of journeys. London's public transport network serves as the central hub for the United Kingdom in rail, air and road transport. Public transport services are dominated by the executive agency for transport in London: Transport for London (TfL). TfL controls the majority of public transport, including the Underground, Buses, Tramlink, the Docklands Light Railway, London River Services and the London Overground. Other rail services are either franchised to train operating companies by the national Department for Transport (DfT) or wholly operated by National Rail. TfL also controls most major roads in London, but not minor roads. In addition, there are several independent airports operating in London, including Heathrow, the busiest airport in the United Kingdom. The four main public transport services are: first of all the London Underground, which was found in January 1863. Its system serves 270 stations and has 408 kilometres of track, making it the longest railway in the world. Further there are the London buses (we all know the red double-decker buses!), the River services and the National rail.
As a result of many monuments and sights that you can find in London, the city has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. It has rich cultural history but at the same time London is regarded as one of the most modern cities in the world.
Now I want to show you some of the main tourist attractions of London….
London Eye
The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. Also known as the Millennium Wheel, its official name was originally published as the British Airways London Eye, then the Merlin Entertainments London Eye, then the EDF Energy London Eye. Since mid-January 2015, it has been known in branding as the Coca-Cola London Eye. With over 3.5 million visitors annually, the London eye is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom. The entire structure is 135 metres tall and the wheel has a diameter of 120 metres.
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament is where the two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (so the House of Commons and the House of Lords) meet for political purposes. The oldest part of the building dates back to 1907. Before that it has been destroyed by fire two times 1512 and 1834. On 5th November 1605 Guy Fawkes tried to assassinate the King and the parliament members in the Gunpowder Plot, by blowing up the House of Parliament but he did not succeed. The Houses of Parliament also contain the bell, called Big Ben, that strikes the quarter. Big Ben isn’t the clock on the tower, but just the bell inside it. People all over the world can hear its sound on the radio and TV programmes. It’s always right, never too fast or too slow.
Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British Monarch, so the Queen, located in the City of Westminster. When the flag is put up on the pole, it means that she is in the palace. It is also a famous tourist attraction because of the Queen’s Royal guard in front of the palace. Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms. These include 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. Buckingham Palace is 108 metres long across the front, 120 metres deep and 24 metres high. The total floor area of the Palace, from basement to roof, covers over 77,000 square metres. Like Windsor Castle Buckingham Palace is held by The Queen as Sovereign. Of course Buckingham Palace is not the private property of the Queen, but together with its art collection property of Great Britain.
They are perhaps the best known icons of Britain, and if you've ever been to London, you've probably seen them. They are the soldiers in bright red jackets or shining helmets, who stand outside Buckingham Palace, or in Whitehall. They are men who can stand absolutely still, even when tourists tell them jokes, touch them, push them, or try to make them move.The royal guard or The Queen's Guard is the name given to the contingent of infantry responsible for guarding Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace in London. The guard is made up of a company of soldiers from a single regiment, which is split in two, providing a detachment for Buckingham Palace and a detachment for St James's Palace. Every morning at half past eleven people all over the world come to see the changing of the guards: the captain of the Old Guard gives the Keys of Buckingham Palace to the captain of the New Guard.
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 until 1952, although that was not its primary purpose. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public records office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of England. Under the ceremonial charge of the Constable of the Tower, it is cared for by the charity Historic Royal Palaces and is protected as a World Heritage Site.
Tower Bridge, built between 1886–1894, is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England which crosses the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London and has become an iconic symbol of London. The bridge consists of two bridge towers tied together at the upper level by two horizontal walkways. The bridge's present colour scheme dates from 1977, when it was painted red, white and blue for Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee. Originally it was painted a mid greenish-blue colour. The bridge is 800 feet (244 m) in length with two towers each 213 feet (65 m) high, built on piers. The central span of 200 feet (61 m) between the towers is split into two equal bascules or leaves, which can be raised to an angle of 86 degrees to allow river traffic to pass, as you can see on the picture on my power point presentation. The bascules, weighing over 1,000 tons each, are counterbalanced to minimise the force required and allow raising in five minutes.
The last sight I want to talk about is my favourite sight of London: The Gherkin.
30 St Mary Axe (widely known informally as The Gherkin and previously as the Swiss Re Building) is a commercial skyscraper in London's primary financial district, the City of London. It was completed in December 2003 and opened in April 2004. With 41 storeys, it is 180 metres (591 ft) tall and stands on the former site of the Baltic Exchange, which was extensively damaged in 1992 by the explosion of a bomb placed by the Provisional IRA in St Mary Axe, the street from which the tower takes its name. The building has become an iconic symbol of London and is one of the city's most widely recognised examples of contemporary architecture. In my opinion it is a real architectural masterpiece. The left picture shows the sight on the top floor inside the building. And if you compare the building to a real gherkin or displace it by a real gherkin, you will see that the difference is hardly noticeable.
That was my presentation and I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for your attention!
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