Great Britain 
At last, the deep booming of artillery told that the King and his grand procession had arrived at last; so the waiting multitude rejoiced. Now the dressed and mitred great heads of the church, and their attendants, filed in upon the platform and took their appointed places; these were followed by Lord Protector and other great officials, and these again by a steel-clad detachment of the Guard.There was a waiting pause; then, at a signal, a triumphant peal of music burst forth, and the little king, clothed in a long robe of cloth of gold, appeared at a door, and stepped upon the platform. The Archbishop of Canterbury lifted up the crown of England from its cushion and held it out over the king's head".Another old historical building in London is the Tower, the oldest fortress-prison in this city and in the whole Europe. London was always the first important place to be seized when enemies invaded the land, and the site of Tower was seen by all soldiers to be the best for defence. They say that Julius Caesar has built a fortress at this place. London was often burnt and pillaged -- it was once so ruined by the Danes that the whole city was desolate, with no one living in it, for thirty years. But when people returned and the wars died down, they always gathered about the Tower as a place of defence and strength. Alfred the Great was the founder of modern London, and he is said to have built another great fortress where the Romans had first built the tower.But it was William the Conqueror who began the Tower which is so famous today. And who do you think he got to built the Tower for him? It was a monk. His name was Gundulf, and he was bom in Normandy in 1024, and was forty-six when William called him to England to begin this great work.He founded the Tower. He made a strong fortress for his king who rewarded him by letting him build Rochester Cathedral and become the first bishop of Rochester.He built first a great watch-tower, or barbican. That old tower is now the Hall Tower, or as it is commonly called, the Jewel Tower. In it the King keeps his crown and all the state jewels.Another tower which Gimdulf built was the White Tower.Afterwards the English kings taxed the people without mercy to continue the work of building the Tower. It was a strange and savage age when the Tower was rising to strength and size. An old writer says that the mortar in which the stones were set was mixed with the blood of beasts. Blood enough of human beings flowed in the Tower to make the blood of beasts unnecessary. Most of the terrible deeds of which we read in the history of England were done in the grim Tower. When we speak about London of late middle ages we must, of course, remember Mark Twain's charming book "The Prince and the Pauper". The story of changing the Prince and the Pauper in only the author's imagination, but to write the story he had to read many historical books and chronicles. And here is his description of London of the period when Edward VI had to change Henry VIII, and it is indeed very truthful."London was fifteen hundred years old, and was a great town -- for that day. The streets were very narrow, and crooked, and dirty, especially in the part which was not far from London Bridge. The houses were of wood, with the second story projecting over the first, and the third sticking its elbows out beyond the second. They were skeletons of strong criss-cross beams, with solid material between, coated with plaster. The windows were small, glazed with little diamond-shaped panes, and they opened outward, on hinges, like doors". And now we shall remember the description of the London Bridge which was a town itself within London. The Bridge was a sort of town to itself; it had its inn, its beer-houses, its bakeries, its haberdasheries, its food markets, its manufacturing industries, and even its church. Children were bom on the Bridge, were roared there, grew to old age and finally died without ever having set a foot upon any part of the world but London Bridge alone. Men born and reared upon the Bridge found life unendurably dull and inane elsewhere. In the times of which we are writing, the Bridge furnished "object lessons" in English history, for its children -- namely, the livid and decaying heads of renowned man impaled upon iron spikes atop of its gateways.” (Mark Twain, "The Prince and the Pauper", chapter XII). What is in London today? There we can see: Trafalgar Square It's the heart of visitors' London, beating with tour buses, cameras and flocks of persistent pigeons. On the square's northern edge is the cash-strapped National Gallery, which has one of the world's most impressive art collections. Also in the vicinity are the National Portrait Gallery, a place to see lots of faces from the Middle Ages to modern times, and St Martin in the Fields, with an adjoining craft market and a brass-rubbing centre in the crypt. Westminster Abbey The resting place of the royals, Westminster Abbey is one of the most visited churches in the Christian world. It's a beautiful building, full of morose tombs and monuments, with an acoustic field that will send shivers down your spine when the choirboys clear their throats. In September 1997, millions of people round the world saw the inside of the Abbey when TV crews covered Princess Di's funeral service. Houses of Parliament The building includes the House of Commons and the House of Lords, so the grandeur of the exterior is let down only by the level of debate in the interior. Tate Britain The Tate Britain is the keeper of an impressive historical archive of British art. Built in 1897, the Tate is currently undergoing an ambitious programme of expansion. The Tate Modern displays the Tate's collection of international modern art, including major works by Bacon, Dali, Picasso, Matisse, Rothko and Warhol, as well as work by more contemporary artists. The building is as exciting as the art. Buckingham Palace This is the official residence of the Queen. Not far off and definitely worth a stroll is St James's Park, which is the neatest and most royal of London's royal parks. St James's Palace is the only surviving part of a building initiated by the palace-mad Henry VIII in 1530. Just near the park's northern edge is the Institute for Contemporary Art, a great place to relax, hang out and see some cutting-edge film, dance, photography, theatre and art. Covent Garden Once a vegetable field attached to Westminster Abbey, Covent Garden became the low-life haunt of Pepys, Fielding and Boswell, then a major fruit and veg market, and is now a triumph of conservation and commerce. British Museum The most trafficked attraction in Bloomsbury, and in the entirety of London, is without a doubt the British Museum. It is the oldest, most august museum in the world, and has recently received a well-earned rejig with Norman Foster's glass-roofed Great Court. Bloomsbury is a peculiar mix of the University of London, beautiful Georgian squares and architecture, literary history, traffic, office workers, students and tourists. Its focal point, Russell Square, is London's largest square. St Paul's Cathedral The venerable building was constructed by Christopher Wren between 1675 and 1710, but it stands on the site of two previous cathedrals dating back to 604. Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria & Albert Museum, on Cromwell Rd in South Kensington, has an eclectic mix of booty gathered together under its brief as a museum of decorative art and design. Also on Cromwell Rd, the Natural History Museum is one of London's finest Gothic-revival buildings. Camden Markets The markets include the Camden Canal Market (bric-a-brac, furniture and designer clothes), Camden Market (leather goods and army surplus gear) and the Electric Market (records and 1960s clothing). After Camden Market, the colourful Portobello Market is London's. It's full of antiques, jewellery, ethnic knick-knacks, second-hand clothes and fruit and veg stalls. Hyde Park It is now a place of fresh air, spring colour, lazy sunbathers and boaters on the Serpentine. Features of the park include sculptures by Jacob Epstein and Henry Moore and the Serpentine Gallery, which holds temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. Kew Gardens Kew Gardens, in Richmond, Surrey, is both a beautiful park and an important botanical research centre. It's one of the most visited sights on the London tourist agenda. Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery can't be beaten for its Victorian Gothic atmosphere and downright eeriness. Kensal Green and Brompton cemeteries are also Victorian delights, complete with catacombs and angels. Holland Park Holland Park is both a residential district, full of elegant town houses, and an inner-city haven of greenery, complete with strutting peacocks and scampering bunnies, the restored remnants of a Jacobean mansion (now set aside for the world's backpackers), two exhibition galleries and formal gardens. Nearby, the Arabesque splendour of Leighton House is full of pre-Raphaelite paintings of languorous, scantily dressed Grecian ladies slipping their hands into the milky waters of public baths. Great Britain is one of the most interesting and picturesque countries of the world. It is impossible to describe all of its sight. I think, that it is better to see all by the eyes! 2. Great BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Btitain and_northern Ireland is situated off the Northwest coast of Europe. The UK consists of four parts. They are: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK lies on the British Isles. There are some 5.500 islands. The two main islands are: Great Britain and Ireland. They are separated from the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. The west coast of the country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea, the east coast is washed by the North Sea. The area of the UK is some 244,100 km2. Its population is over 57 million people.English is the official language, but it is not the only language which people speak in the country.Britain has been many centuries in the making. The Romans conquered most part of Britain, but were unable to subdue the independent tribes in the West and .in the North. Other invaders were Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Vikings and Normans. For many centuries this country was known simply as England. It had a strong army and navy. It waged numerous colonial wars. In the modern world England was the first country, where capitalism was established.Geographically Great Britain is divided into Lowland Britain and Highland Britain. Lowland Britain comprises Southern and Eastern England. Highland Britain includes Scotland, Wales, the Pennines and the Lake District. The highest mountain -- Ben Nevis -- is in Scotland. The flora of the British Isles is much varied and the fauna is similar to that of the north-west of Europe. The country is not very rich In natural resources.There are many rivers in Great Britain. The Severn is the longest river, the Thames is the most important one.London is the capital of the UK. The largest cities of Great Britain besides London are: Birmingham, Glasgo, Liverpool, Manchester, . Sheffield, Bristоl, Leeds, Edinburgh.Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy. The powers of the British Queen are limited by Parliament. The British Parliament consists of the sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.Throughout British history religion has been closely connected with kings, queens and politics. England was a Roman Catholic country until 1534. Why did this change?In 1525 King Henry VIII decided to divorce his queen, Catherine of Aragon who, at the age of forty, was five years older than Henry. Also, she had only given him a daughter, and Henry wanted a son. He fell in love with Anne Bolleyn who was younger, but when Henry asked the Pope for permission to divorce Catherine, he refused. Henry was so angry with the Pope that he ended all contact between England and Rome, divorced Catherine of Aragon without the Pope's permission and married Anne Boleyn. In 1534 Parliament named Henry head of the Church of England. This was the beginning of the Anglican Church. This quarrel with Rome was political, not religious. The Anglican Church did not start as a Protestant Church and Henry certainly did not regard himself as a Protestant. In fact, the Pope had given Henry the title of "Defender of the Faith" in 1521 for words he wrote attacking Martin Luther, the German Protestant. (British kings and queens still have this title, and you can see the letters FID DEE or F. D. on British coins today. However, the Protestant movement in Europe was growing very strong at this time. When Henry quarrelled with Rome and ordered the Bible to be translated into English, the way was open for Protestantism to spread in England. Over the years many people changed to this new religion.By the way son Генри VIII was Edward VI.This English king (prince at the beginning) was meant Mark Twain when he wrote his "The Prince and the Pauper". Of course, the boy did not change clothes with a pauper boy just before his father's death and did not brood through his country in rags, this is the author's fancy. I think that his father was not so fond of him as he is described in the book, because Henry VIII was not the like person to be attached to somebody -- but, however, "The Prince and the Pauper" is a fiction book and the author had his right to show the circumstances just as he imagined them, as he was close to the historical truth in main things and in details.In reality Henry the Eighth had made a will, appointing a council of sixteen to govern the kingdom for his son while that latter was under age, and another council of twelve to help the first one. The most powerful of the first council was the Earl of Hertford, the young King's uncle, his late mother's brother, who lost no time in bringing his nephew with great state up to Enfield, and thence to the Tower. It was considered at the time a striking proof of virtue in the young King that he was sorry for his father's death.There was a curious part on the late King's will, requiring his executors to fulfil whatever promises he had made. So, the Earl of Hertford made himself Duke of Somerset (in Mark Twain's book Tom Canty did it!), and made his brother Edward Seymour a baron. To be more dutiful, they made themselves rich out of the Church lands, and were very comfortable. The new Duke of Somerset proclaimed himself Protector of the kingdom, and was, indeed, the King, as the chief power was all in his hands. He was an ardent Reformer and very soon introduced great changes, not in Church government, but in doctrine and ritual. The young Edward the Sixth had been brought up in the principles of the Protestant religion, and all the Protestants therefore knew that their day of triumph had come, they committed all manner of excesses, breaking images and otherwise insulting the majority of their countrymen. The Act of the Six Articles was repeated, and violent hands were laid on church property.These religious changes, sufficiently unpopular with the majority of Englishmen, were accompanied by social evils not altogether unconnected with them.} The new landowners, selfish and grasping, keener on enclosing common lands than on providing work for the rural population, compared badly with their predecessors, the monks. Devon and Norfolk rose in revolt, and although the Duke of Somerset, who understood the causes of the rising well enough to symphathise with them, more or less succeeded in restoring order, the Council was able to put the blame for misgov-ernment upon him, and ordered his imprisonment. His successor, the Duke of Northumberland, ambitious and unscrupulous, did all in his power to further the Reformation as the best means to wealth and power. But while he and his friends grew rich the country at large grew poorer, and some helped to overthrow the government with the help of Somerset.
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