The City and its sights

The City extends over an area of about 2.6 square kilometers in the heart of London. About half a million people work in the City but only less than 6000 live here. It is the financial centre of the UK with many banks, offices and the Stock Exchange. There is the bank of England and the Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London. Every morning you can see clerks with high white collars who are hurrying to their work. They are dressed in tight trousers and black coats and look very much like characters from Dickens’ books.

From the end of the Fleet Street, the centre of British newspaper industry, you can see St. Paul’s Cathedral, one of the greatest English churches, built by the famous English architect Sir. Christopher Wren. St. Paul’s Cathedral with its huge domes and rows of columns is considered to be a fine specimen of Renaissance architecture. It is 110 meters high and it has one of the largest bells in the world, called Great Paul, weighing about 17,5 tone. Nelson and other great men of England are buried in the Cathedral. Sir Christopher Wren was buried there too. There are such words on his tomb: “reader, if you seek his monument, look around!”

The Tower of London which is found here as well was built in the XIth century (William the Conqueror). It has been a citadel, a prison, a mint, a royal palace, even a royal Zoo once and now – a museum. The Tower of London consists of 13 towers. The most beautiful is the White Tower. It’s 90 feet high with 15 feet thickness. It was the usual place for the medieval royal families to live. From Norman days the Tower has been a state prison: it has been a place of torture and of execution. Thomas More was once of those who were executed there. Arms and armour have always been stored in the Tower and today it contains the National Collection. The most popular sight here is the room in which the Crown Jewels are displayed.

All the traditions and ceremonies are kept up in the Tower of London, everything is left there as many centuries ago. One of the known ceremonies is the Ceremony of the Keys. When the Guard is changed at every gate there is the cry: “Halt. Who goes there?” Then the guard replies: “The key” “Whose keys? – Queen Elizabeth’s keys. – Pass Queen Elizabeth’s key. All’s well.” The Tower is guarded by the Yeomen – warders dressed in traditional medieval clothes.

Near the Tower of London there’s Tower Bridge, a marvel of engineering skill. It was built in the XIXth century. It links South and East London. Fourteen bridges (Westminster Bridge, London Bridge) cross the Thames and Tower Bridge is the finest. On the Victoria Embankment stands Cleopatra Needle, an ancient Egyptian obelisk brought here in the XIXth century.

But the City is also a market for goods of almost every kind, from all parts of the world.