London

From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change

London
The Palace of Westminster on the River Thames
London shown within UK
Coordinates: 51°30′28″N 00°07′41″W / 51.50778, -0.12806
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	Greater London
Districts	City & 32 London boroughs
Settled by Romans	as Londinium ca. AD 50
Government
- Regional authority	Greater London Authority
- Regional assembly	London Assembly
- Mayor	Boris Johnson
- HQ	City Hall
- UK Parliament  - London Assembly  - European Parliament	74 constituencies 14 constituencies London constituency
Area
- City	1.00 sq mi (2.6 km²)
- Greater London	609 sq mi (1,577.3 km²)
Elevation [1]	79 ft (24 m)
Population (mid-2006 est)
- Urban	8.5 million (Greater London Urban Area)
- Metro	12–14 million
- City of London	9,200
- City of London Density	8,215/sq mi (3,172/km²)
- Greater London	7,512,400
- Greater London Density	12,331/sq mi (4,761/km²)
Time zone	GMT (UTC0)
- Summer (DST)	BST (UTC+1)
Website: http://www.london.gov.uk

London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, and also the largest city. It is in the South-East of England, on the River Thames. It is also known as Lunnainn in Scottish, Llundain in Welsh, Londain in Irish, Londen in Dutch, Londyn in Polish and Londres in French.

In history, London is only the area of the City of London, but now people say London more generally to mean the whole city of Greater London.

People started living in the city 2,000 years ago, and today about 7.5 million people live there. This means it is the city with the most number of people in Europe. People in London come from many different countries, and speak more than 300 different languages. There are also many religions and cultures.

London is an important place for business, finance, and culture. It also has a big influence on world politics, entertainment, media, fashion, and art. It has many famous museums, churches, and popular places for tourists to visit.

Contents 1 Events 2 History 3 Monuments 4 Twinnings 5 See also 6 Other websites 7 References

[change] Events

• 1381 - Peasants' Revolt - the first poll tax riots
• 1605 - Gunpowder Plot stopped
• 1665 - The Great Plague of London - many people die
• 1666 - The Great Fire of London
• 1780 - Gordon riots
• 1851 - The Great Exhibition held at The Crystal Palace
• 1908 - The Olympic Games take place in London.
• 1948 - The Olympic Games take place in London for a second time.
• 1940-41 - London was bombed by Germany during World War II. This is known as The Blitz.
• 1966 - The Football World Cup took place in London. It was won by England.
• 1990 - The Second Poll Tax Riots
• 2000 - London opened the Millennium Dome to celebrate the new millennium.
• 2005 - 07/07 Bombings - 52 die and over 700 injured.^[2][3]
• 2012 - The Summer Olympic Games will take place in London for a third time.

[change] History

The Romans built a city called Londinium on the River Thames in AD 43. The name Londinium (and then 'London') came from the Celtic language of the Ancient Britons. In the year 61 AD, Queen Boudica (a British Celtic queen) and her army destroyed the city. Boudica killed herself when Romans trapped her and the Romans then rebuilt London. London became an important trading city. After the Romans left Britain, no-one lived in the city for a long time because the Anglo-Saxons liked living in the countryside. In the 9th century, people started living there again. It became the largest city in England, but it did not become the capital city of England until the 12th century.

After that, London grew very big. Greater London has 33 London Boroughs and a mayor. The old City of London is only a square-mile in size but has its own Lord Mayor.

Another famous old part of Greater London is Westminster, which was always a different city from the City of London. Westminster has Westminster Abbey (a cathedral), The Palace of Westminster (the Houses of Parliament, with Big Ben), and 10 Downing Street (where the Prime Minister lives).

[change] Monuments

• Big Ben
• Buckingham Palace
• Millennium Dome
• London Eye
• Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square
• Tower Bridge
• London Underground

[change] Twinnings

London has twin and sister city agreements with these cities:

• Sister cities:
  • Berlin, Germany (since 2000)^[4]
  • New York City, USA (since 2001)^[5]
  • Moscow, Russia^[4]
  • Beijing, China (since 2006)^[4]

• Partner cities:
  • Paris, France (since 2001)^[4]
  • Rome, Italy

London also has a "partnership" agreement with Tokyo, Japan.

[change] See also

• London Underground

[change] Other websites

• London City
• WorldFlicks in London: Photos and interesting places on Google Maps
• London Map - Sights & Hotels

[change] References

Greater London • London • City of London

London Boroughs: Barking and Dagenham • Barnet • Bexley • Brent • Bromley • Camden • Croydon • Ealing • Enfield • Greenwich • Hackney • Hammersmith and Fulham • Haringey • Harrow • Havering • Hillingdon • Hounslow • Islington • Kensington and Chelsea • Kingston • Lambeth • Lewisham • Merton • Newham • Redbridge • Richmond • Southwark • Sutton • Tower Hamlets • Waltham Forest • Wandsworth • Westminster Sui generis: City of London (Exclaves: Inner Temple • Middle Temple) See also: Greater London Authority • London Assembly • Mayor of London

v • d • e Capitals of Europe

European Union countries Amsterdam, Netherlands · Athens, Greece · Berlin, Germany · Bratislava, Slovakia · Brussels, Belgium · Bucharest, Romania · Budapest, Hungary · Copenhagen, Denmark · Dublin, Republic of Ireland · Helsinki, Finland · Lisbon, Portugal · Ljubljana, Slovenia · London, United Kingdom · Luxembourg City, Luxembourg · Madrid, Spain · Nicosia, Cyprus · Paris, France · Prague, Czech Republic · Riga, Latvia · Rome, Italy · Sofia, Bulgaria · Stockholm, Sweden · Tallinn, Estonia · Valletta, Malta · Vienna, Austria · Vilnius, Lithuania · Warsaw, Poland Other European countries Andorra la Vella, Andorra · Ankara, Turkey1 · Belgrade, Serbia · Bern, Switzerland · Chisinau, Moldova · Kyiv, Ukraine · Minsk, Belarus · Monaco-Ville, Monaco · Moscow, Russia · Oslo, Norway · Podgorica, Montenegro · Reykjavík, Iceland · San Marino, San Marino · Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina · Skopje, Republic of Macedonia · Tirana, Albania · Vaduz, Liechtenstein · Zagreb, Croatia NOTES: 1. Partially in Asia.

v • d • e Members of the Hanseatic League
Wendish and Pomeranian circle	Lübeck*† · Hamburg† · Kiel · Lüneburg · Rostock · Stade · Stettin · Stralsund · Wismar
Saxony, Thuringia, Brandenburg circle	Brunswick* · Berlin · Brandenburg an der Havel · Bremen† · Erfurt · Frankfurt an der Oder · Goslar · Halle · Magdeburg
Poland, Prussia, Livonia, Sweden circle	Danzig (Gdańsk) · Breslau (Wrocław)  · Dorpat (Tartu) · Fellin (Viljandi) · Elbing (Elbląg)  · Königsberg (Królewiec)  · Kraków  · Reval (Tallinn) · Riga · Stockholm · Toruń (Thorn)* · Visby
Rhine, Westphalia, Netherlands circle	Dortmund*† · Bochum · Breckerfeld · Cologne† · Deventer · Duisburg · Groningen · Haltern · Hamm · Hattem · Hasselt · Kampen · Münster · Oldenzaal · Osnabrück · Recklinghausen · Roermond · Soest† · Unna · Werl · Zutphen · Zwolle
Principal Kontore (counting houses)	Bryggen (in Bergen) · Hanzekantoor (in Brugge (Bruges)) · Steelyard (in London) · Peterhof (in Novgorod)
Subsidiary Kontore	Antwerp · Berwick · Boston · Damme · Edinburgh · Hull · Ipswich · King's Lynn · Kaunas · Newcastle · Polotsk · Pskov · Yarmouth · York