London_-_a_Changing_Metropolis

London, a Changing Metropolis 1) The history of London[1] • ROMAN LONDON (LONDINIUM) The Romans founded London in about 50 AD. Its name is derived from the Celtic word Londinios which means “the place of the bold one”. (die Mutigen/Kräftigen) • LONDON IN THE MIDDLE AGES William the Conqueror built a wooden tower to stand guard over London. Later, it was replaced by a stone tower. That was the beginning of the Tower of London. The population of London may have reached 50,000 by the middle of the 14th century. At least a third of the people died when the Black Death struck , but London soon recovered. Its population may have reached 70,000 by the end of the Middle Ages. • LONDON IN THE 21st CENTURY At the beginning of the 21st Century London continues to grow rapidly. The London Eye was opened to the public in 2000. The 2012 Olympics will be held in London, confirming its status as one of the world's greatest cities. Today the population of London is 7.2 million. 2) The sights of London[2] • THE BRITISH MUSEUM The British Museum, Europe’s most famous museum and London’s most popular attraction, is a must see for any visitor to London. There are ninety four galleries of archaelogical finds, prints, coins, antiquities and more. • MADAME TUSSAUD'S Madame Tussaud brought her collection of waxworks from Paris in 1802. The people's fascination with wax dummies has continued ever since. The collection is regularly updated with new pop stars, politicians and those in the limelight . The highlight is a fantastic ride called ’The Spirit of London’ which takes visitors on an animated ride through London’s history. The model architecture evolving through the centuries, finishing up with a snapshot of Carnaby Street in the 60’s followed by modern London and some paparazzi wax models taking your photo. • THE LONDON EYE The London Eye is one of London’s newest landmarks. It was specially built to open the 21st century, although it was not open for the New Millennium celebrations. At 135 meters, this is the tallest wheel of its kind, and it sits on the South Bank of the River Thames, opposite the Houses of Parliament. Rotating at a speed of 1 mph, it takes 30 minutes to go through a complete 360° turn. • THE MILLENIUM DOME Situated in the Docklands, the Millenium Dome is one of London’s most recognizable and controversial landmarks. Designed by Richard Rogers and funded by successive UK governments, the Dome was constructed as part of London’s Millenium celebrations, along with the Millenium Bridge and the London Eye. When the Dome opened to the public in the year 2000, it was divided into zones which included ’Faith’, ’Body’, ’Money’, ’Mind’ and ’Learning’ as well as a central staging area. Here the Millenium was welcomed by the music of Peter Gabriel, by a team of more than 150 acrobats, and a specially made short film about a time-travelling Blackadder was shown throughout the year in an on-site cinema. 3) Living in London A woman talks about living in London. She says, that she enjoys living in a skyscraper. She likes it very much that her neighbours are so nice and that they exchange greetings whenever they see somebody. Another thing she loves is that she can see the city and the sights of London from her balcony. The only thing she dislikes about living in a skyscraper on the 15th floor is, that she is afraid of the height and that she had to walk 14 floors upstairs when she was pregnant because of an electric power cut. There are also poor people in London. Most of them live in the eastend area of London. There are many immigrants and very poor people who don't have a place to live. Most of them are prostitutes or alcoholics. Now they the costs of living in this area are rising so the poor people who live there have to leave this area. 4) Young People in London Young people in London go missing often. Most of them are under the age of 17. They have to live on the street because of poverty and they do not have a home or parents. The pressure on the kids gets higher every year and there are also more kids every year that go missing. Many of the young people who come to London do so because London is a big city and young people think that this means freedom, excitement, success and adventures. But if they stay there for longer than a holiday, they are going to see that London or any other big city is not like in their imagination. 5) London a cosmopolitan city There are a lot of immigrants who come to London. Most of them are from former British colonies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean. They think life is better in London than in their own city. But they are mistaken! Life in London isn't better just because this is a big city. There are so many problems in such a big city, for example prostitution, poverty and similar things. In 1991 there were over three million people in Britain who described themselves as belonging to an ethnic minority group. Now there are more of them and they are going to increase over the next few years. In Inner London, more than 180 languages are spoken at home, because of residents' diverse former home countries. ----------------------- [1] Quelle: http://www.localhistories.org/london.html [2] Quelle: http://www.londononline.co.uk/Sights/