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Dibrova Sophya

Is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at

the north end of the Palace of Westminster in

London, and often extended to refer to the clock

and the clock tower , officially named Elizabeth

Tower , as well. Elizabeth Tower holds the largest

four-faced chiming clock in the world and is the

third-tallest free-standing clock tower. It celebrated

its 150th anniversary on 31 May 2009, during

which celebratory events took place. The tower

was completed in 1858 and has become one of the

most prominent symbols of both London and

England, often in the establishing shot of films set

in the city.

The dial of the Great Clock of Westminster. The hour hand is 9 feet (2.7 m) long and the minute hand is 14 feet (4.3 m) long

The clock and dials were designed by Augustus Pugin . The clock dials are set in an iron frame 23 feet (7.0 m) in diameter,

supporting 312 pieces of opal glass, rather like a stained-glass window. Some of the glass pieces may be removed for

inspection of the hands. The surround of the dials is gilded . At the base of each clock dial in gilt letters is the Latin inscription:

“ DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM ”

Which means O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First .

The clock has become a symbol of the United Kingdom and London, particularly in the visual media. When a television or film-maker wishes to indicate a generic location in Britain, a

popular way to do so is to show an image of the tower, often with a red double-decker bus or black cab in the foreground.

In 2008 a survey of 2,000 people found

that the tower was the most popular

landmark in the United Kingdom. It has

also been named as the most iconic film

location in London .

The Tower has appeared in many films, most notably in the 1978 version

of The Thirty Nine Steps , in which the hero, Richard Hannay ,

attempted to halt the clock's progress by hanging from the minute hand

of its western dial. In the fourth James Bond film, Thunderball , a

mistaken extra strike of Big Ben on the hour is designated by criminal

organisation SPECTRE to be the signal that the British Government has

acceded to its nuclear extortion demands.

It was also used in the filming of Shanghai Knights

starring Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson , and was

depicted as being partially destroyed in the Doctor Who

episode " Aliens of London ". Big Ben was also

featured in the closing scene of James McTeigue 's film

V for Vendetta in which a futuristic depiction of Guy

Fawkes succeeds in blowing up parliament, and the

tower's bells and pendulum are sounded with a final

screech at the beginning of the explosion.

Is the official London residence and principal workplace of the

British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a

setting for state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focus

for the British people at times of national rejoicing and crisis.

Originally known as Buckingham House , the building which forms the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1705 on

a site which had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was subsequently acquired by George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen

Charlotte , and known as "The Queen's House". During the 19th century it was enlarged, principally by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, forming three

wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace finally became the official royal palace of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.

The last major structural additions were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the East front which contains the well-known balcony on

which the royal family traditionally congregates to greet crowds outside. However, the palace chapel was destroyed by a German bomb in World War II; the Queen's Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of

art from the Royal Collection .

The original early 19th-century interior designs, many of which still survive, included widespread use of brightly coloured scagliola and

blue and pink lapis , on the advice of Sir Charles Long. King Edward VII oversaw a partial redecoration in a Belle Époque cream and gold colour scheme. Many smaller reception rooms are furnished in the Chinese regency style with furniture and fittings brought from the

Royal Pavilion at Brighton and from Carlton House . The Buckingham Palace Garden is the largest private garden in London.

The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public each year for most of August and September, as part of the

Palace's Summer Opening.

(Вuilt 1886–1894) is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in

London, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of

London, from which it takes its name. It has become an iconic

symbol of London.

The bridge consists of two towers tied together at the upper level by means of two horizontal walkways, designed to withstand the horizontal forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers. The vertical component of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of

the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower. The bridge's present colour scheme dates from 1977, when it was painted red, white and blue for the Queen Elizabeth II 's silver jubilee . Originally it was painted a mid greenish-blue

colour

Tower Bridge is sometimes mistakenly referred to as London Bridge,

which is the next bridge upstream.

The nearest London Underground station is Tower Hill on the Circle and

District lines, and the nearest Docklands Light Railway station is

Tower Gateway.

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.

The bascules, weighing over 1,000 tons each, are counterbalanced to

minimise the force required and allow raising in five minutes.

The two side-spans are suspension bridges, each 270 feet (82 m) long, with the suspension rods anchored both at the abutments

and through rods contained within the bridge's upper walkways. The pedestrian walkways are 143 feet (44 m) above the river at

high tide.

Wellington Arch , also known as Constitution Arch or (originally) the Green Park Arch , is a triumphal arch located to the south of Hyde Park in central London and at the

western corner of Green Park (although it is now isolated on a traffic island).

The arch, and Marble Arch (originally sited in front of Buckingham Palace ), were both planned in 1825 by George IV to commemorate

Britain's victories in the Napoleonic Wars . The Wellington Arch was also conceived as an outer gateway to Constitution Hill and

therefore a grand entrance into central London from the west. The presence of a turnpike gate at this point had led, in the 18th century,

to a strong perception that this was the beginning of London (reflected in the nickname for Apsley House as "No 1, London")

and the arch was intended to reflect the importance of the position.

The Wellington Arch was built between 1826-1830 to a design by

Decimus Burton . Much of the intended exterior ornamentation was

omitted as a cost-saving exercise necessitated by the King's

overspending on the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace , which

was underway at the same time. The arch originally stood almost

directly opposite the Duke of Wellington 's, Apsley House , a short

distance from, and at a right-angles to, its present location. It faced

the screen, also designed by Decimus Burton, and still in its original

location, which forms the Hyde Park Corner entrance to Hyde Park.

It was intended to form part of a grand ceremonial route towards

Buckingham Palace.

In 1846 the arch was selected as a location for a statue of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, soldier and Prime Minister. The bronze Wellington Statue by Matthew Cotes Wyatt which eventually crowned the arch was at 40 tons

(40.62 tonne ) and 28 feet (8.53 m) high, the largest equestrian figure ever made. It generated considerable

controversy and ridicule at the time. Motions were put in place to move it to a different location but as this could have be seen as insulting to Wellington it was left in place on the

orders of the Queen and remained there throughout the remainder of the duke's lifetime.

In London played a major role in the history of astronomy and

navigation , and is best known as the location of the prime meridian .

It is situated on a hill in Greenwich Park , overlooking the River

Thames.

The scientific work of the observatory was relocated elsewhere in stages

in the first half of the 20th century, and the Greenwich site is now

maintained as a tourist attraction

The observatory was commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II , with the foundation stone being laid on 10 August. At this time the king

also created the position of Astronomer Royal (initially filled by John Flamsteed ), to serve as the director of the observatory and to "apply himself with the most exact care and diligence to the rectifying of the tables of the motions of the heavens, and the places of the fixed stars,

so as to find out the so much desired longitude of places for the perfecting of the art of navigation." The building was completed in

the summer of 1676. The building was often given the title "FlamsteedHouse".

Was founded in AD960 as a Benedictine monastery. This was when most European Christians were Roman Catholic, but following the

Reformation in the 16th century the Church of England was formed. Many traditions remain in the Abbey but services are conducted in

English, and not Latin. Westminster Abbey is the nation's Coronation Church and also the

burial and memorial place for historical figures from the last thousand years of British history.

Westminster Abbey is still a working church

Is a museum in London dedicated to human history and culture.

Its permanent collection, numbering some eight million

works, is amongst the largest and most comprehensive in

existence and originates from all continents, illustrating and

documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings

to the present.

The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the

collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane . The museum

first opened to the public on 15 January 1759 in Montagu House in

Bloomsbury , on the site of the current museum building. Its expansion

over the following two and a half centuries was largely a result of an

expanding British colonial footprint and has resulted in the creation of

several branch institutions, the first being the British Museum (Natural

History) in South Kensington in 1887. Some objects in the collection,

most notably the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon , are the objects of

intense controversy and of calls for restitution to their countries of origin

Until 1997, when the British Library (previously centred on the Round

Reading Room ) moved to a new site, the British Museum was unique in that it

housed both a national museum of antiquities and a national library in the same building. The museum is a non-

departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and

Sport, and as with all other national museums in the United Kingdom it

charges no admission fee. Since 2002 the director of the museum has been Neil

MacGregor.