Where is the Tower of Elizabeth (UK)?

Few people know, but until 2012 in the UK there was no building called the Tower of Elizabeth. At the same time it was built much earlier - back in 1834. How did this happen? The fact is that until 2012 the tower had a completely different name - it was all the famous Big Ben. By the 60th anniversary of the reign of the Queen of Great Britain, the most famous landmark of the country was decided to be renamed. Since then, it has become known as the Tower of Elizabeth.

A little bit about the history

The first building of the clock tower was erected in 1288, it stood for more than 5 centuries, but in 1834 it was almost completely destroyed by fire. In its place, it was decided to erect a new tower. The architect was Charles Barry, whose work is also the project of the Westminster Palace.

The height of the new building was 96.3 meters. The diameter of each of the four dials, located on the sides of the square in the plan of the tower, is 7 meters. The first hands of the watch were made of cast iron, but they were too heavy, and they had to be replaced with lighter ones made of alloy. This helped improve the accuracy of the mechanism. The creator of the watch itself was Benjamen Walami.

The world's largest four-way clockwork was launched in May 1859, and since then its work has never been interrupted. Even a bomb in the tower during the Second World War could only slightly reduce the accuracy of the clock, but not stop them.

Beyond the walls of the tower hangs the famous bell, which is called Big Ben. Its diameter is about 3 meters, and its weight is almost 14 tons. No New Year in the UK can not do without the dimensional battle of the world-famous bell.

Where is the Tower of Elizabeth?

Many have seen pictures of this building, but not all represent where it is located. As mentioned above, the Elizabeth Tower was designed by an architect who is also the author of the Westminster Palace. Part of this palace is the clock that used to be called Big Ben.

The area in which the palace is located and crowning its northern part of the tower is also called Westminster and is on the left bank of the Thames. This is the central part of London, most of all attracting tourists. Here are attractions such as Buckingham Palace, the famous St. James Park, Westminster Abbey , etc.

You can get to the Tower of Elizabeth in various ways. If the taxi does not suit you, use the subway. You need to leave at the station "Westminster". And from there it will remain only a few tens of meters to the place where the Tower of Elizabeth will appear before you in all its grandeur. Another option is a bus. You can reach the necessary place on the routes following Trafalgar Square or Victoria Street.

What is the famous tower?

Direct and square in terms of the Tower of Elizabeth is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. Even a person who is little familiar with the culture of Britain, easily recognizes in this watch the famous Big Ben. Being a fine example of Western European Gothic architecture, it not only attracts attention, but is also memorable, even though the shape of the Tower of Elizabeth is very simple. With a square plan, elongated rectilinear facades create familiar parallelepipeds to all of the geometry lessons. Only in this case it is decorated with a pointed roof, spiers, a lot of gothic decor and 7-meter dials on each side. Their glass is made of Birmingham opal.

The clock mechanism, located at an altitude of 55 meters, weighs about 5 tons. Below it - a 300-kilogram pendulum having a length of 4 meters. Despite the huge size, the clock on the Tower of Elizabeth is the most accurate in the country. Their error, which occurred after the bomb hit, is no more than 2 seconds.

Why was it called Big Ben?

There are many myths about the origin of the old name of the Tower of Elizabeth. But all of them converge in one thing: the bell gave the name to the building. But why he was called that way, now hard to say.

The simplest version explains this fact by the characteristic sound of the bell, reminiscent of the sound of the word "Big Ben". The rest of the opinions are related to the names of those or other Englishmen. For example, it is believed that the name of the bell was given to Sir Benjamin Hall, who took an active part in its creation. According to another version, the name of the famous at that time heavyweight boxer Benjamin Kaunta gave the nickname of the London sights.

Interesting Facts

Even if you know perfectly well where the Tower of Elizabeth is, you probably do not know some interesting facts from its history. It is difficult to imagine, but for several years it was used as a prison for parliamentarians. At present, of course, the tower does not carry such a function.

Under each of the four dials is the inscription "God save Queen Victoria." Another phrase, shorter, runs along the perimeter of the tower and says "Praise be to the Lord."

The tower's position changed after the subway line was under it. Deviation was only 22 millimeters in the North-West.
Of interest is also the fact that the minute hand, which is 4.2 meters in length, travels 190 kilometers a year. By the way, the length of the hour hand is 2.7 m.

Where else can you see the Tower of Elizabeth?

Mention of the most famous watches of Britain can be found in literature, cinema and even animation works. Often this sight of London gets a very unenviable role - it is fights, it is looted and even blown up. For example, in the movie "Mars Attacks!" Aliens destroy the top of the tower, in "V - means vendetta" is also an explosion. Even the fantasy characters did not ignore the famous clock. In the film "The Power of Fire" the tower, together with the palace, is destroyed by dragons.

In whatever movie there is a UK, the Tower of Elizabeth will definitely be there. For London, it is the same identification mark as the Eiffel Tower for Paris. Even in some games, such as "Call of Duty" and "Mass Effect 3", you can also see Big Ben.