Greenwich is ... A detailed review of the term

Many people ask themselves what is Greenwich. Periodically you can hear this word when it comes to time zones. However, "Greenwich" is a term associated not only with time. He has several meanings about which it will be interesting to learn. And yet, most often people associate Greenwich with a time point. Now it is worth considering all the meanings of this unusual word.

Greenwich is ... What does the word "Greenwich" mean?

So, let's proceed to a detailed study of this term. As already mentioned above, one of the interpretations of the word "Greenwich" is the place from which the time zone begins to count on the whole planet. The average time in Greenwich Mean Time (or Greenwich Mean Time) is the mean value of the solar time of the meridian, which passes through the place where the Greenwich Royal Observatory was previously located. It was located not far from London. Greenwich time was designated as GMT, which means Greenwich Mean Time. Until 1972, GMT time was taken as a reference point for other time zones.

Other meanings of the word "greenwich"

So we considered the question of what Greenwich is. However, the treatment associated with time zones - this is not all information about this place. There is also a historical suburb in London, which is called the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is worthwhile to talk more about what it is. This place is rightly considered the "sea gate" of the city and has a fairly rich history, since long ago it is connected with the British fleet. Now Greenwich has earned the title of one of the most prestigious districts of London. If we talk about the place where Greenwich is located, it is important to note that it is located in the historic district in south-east London, on the right bank of the River Thames. This place is famous not only for its rich history, but also for the fact that it is here that the longitude reference point is located and, as already mentioned above, time zones. Of the attractions in the area you can see the Royal Greenwich Observatory, Royal Maritime Hospital, Greenwich Park and even a monument to Yuri Gagarin. It is interesting that this area is also the Greenwich Peninsula, which should be discussed separately.

The Greenwich Peninsula

It turns out that Greenwich is not just a district of London, but even a whole peninsula. This peninsula belongs to the same-named district in South London. Its dimensions are about 1,500 by 900 meters. The highest point above sea level is 17 meters. The peninsula appeared in the 16th century. It is especially interesting that it was created artificially, by carrying out a drainage operation. It was produced by Dutch engineers. The purpose of this transformation was to create a field for pasture. In the middle of the XIX century, several factories for the production of guns, the manufacture of chemicals and the smelting of steel operated here. Later, in the 20th century, a large gas station operated on the peninsula. For a long period of time it was considered the largest in Europe. However, natural gas reserves were discovered in the North Sea, and the station was closed as unnecessary. As of 2014, it can be noted that the peninsula is completely put in order, new roads were built here, as well as residential buildings and office buildings were built. The main attractions of the peninsula are the Greenwich Meridian, the famous sculpture "Quantum Cloud" and the Dome of the Millennium.

The Royal Greenwich Observatory

It is worthwhile to talk about such an interesting facility as the Royal Greenwich Observatory. Asking the question, what is Greenwich, people often remember about this observatory. As you know, this is the main astronomical organization of Great Britain. It is on state financing. The observatory was founded in the distant 1675, during the reign of King Charles II. It served, mainly, to clarify the important coordinates for seafarers.

The Royal Greenwich Observatory operated for many centuries, but in 1953 most of it was moved to Hearstmonso Castle. Now in the buildings of the Greenwich Observatory there is a museum of navigational and astronomical instruments. Here you can see many interesting exhibits. Also here you can get acquainted with the history of the development of various time measuring instruments that were used in astronomy and maritime navigation. Summing up, we can conclude that Greenwich is not only the place from which the countdown begins, but also the region, the peninsula, which has great historical and scientific significance.