Palace of Westminster translation. Palace of Westminster: excursions, expositions, exact address, phone

The London Parliament Building is one of the most beautiful buildings in the UK. The Palace of Westminster is huge: it stretches along the banks of the Thames, and the total area of ​​​​its corridors exceeds 5 km.

But it is much more than a beautiful building in the neo-Gothic style, it is one of the symbols of the power of Great Britain, it is here that the chambers of the government of Britain are located, and the fate of the country is decided here.

History of the palace

The Palace of Westminster has existed for almost a thousand years (it began to be built in the 11th century), although it has been rebuilt many times and has expanded significantly since that distant time.

The first palace here was built for Canute the Great, king of England, Denmark and Norway. Half a century later, the building underwent reconstruction, it was then that the famous Westminster Hall was built, which has survived to this day.

Westminster Hall

This is the most elegant hall and the heart of the palace. A couple of centuries later, a new chamber was added to the hall, where the meeting of the first Parliament of England took place in 1265, and it sits here to this day. At first, members of the royal family also lived in the Palace of Westminster, and in the 16th century they moved to Whitehall, and the building was completely taken over by Parliament.

Everything went well, the palace grew, got upset and gained its grandeur ... until a fire broke out in 1834. Then the building was badly damaged, but, fortunately, the oldest part of it - Westminster Hall - was not touched by the fire. After that, the building was subjected to a global reconstruction, the restoration work was carried out by the architect Charles Barry, it is thanks to him that now millions of tourists and local residents admire this masterpiece of architecture.

Interesting facts about the Palace of Westminster

Fact #1. The Palace of Westminster has almost 5 kilometers of corridors, 1,100 rooms and 100 staircases.

Fact #2. In fact, Big Ben is not the name of a tower or even a clock, but a huge bell inside.

The bell was named after Benjamin Hall, the building curator. According to another version, it is named after boxer Benjamin Count.

Fact #3. The Elizabeth Tower (in which, in fact, Big Ben is located) had several names: the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, sometimes it was called the Tower of St. Stephen, and in 2012 it was renamed in honor of the 60th anniversary of the reign of Elizabeth II.

Fact #4. No animals are allowed in the Houses of Parliament, with the exception of guide dogs. So there are a lot of mice here. In special cases, horses and police dogs can be allowed in here.

Fact #5. Westminster Hall was part of an ancient building that burned down in 1834 and was where the royal family once lived.

Fact #6. The Palace of Westminster has its own restaurants, a library, a gym, a shooting range, souvenir shops and even a hairdresser's.

Fact #7. Many echoes of the past have been preserved in the building: for example, in some rooms there are still hooks designed for hanging swords, and here you can also see floor markings on which swords were placed.

Fact #8. The Royal Gallery is one of the largest rooms in the palace.

It hosts the official opening of Parliament, as well as receptions of dignitaries, important dinners and ceremonies. And once there was a room for trials.

Fact #9. In the sitting room of the House of Lords, all the furniture is predominantly red, and in the House of Commons - green.

It also has furniture from Commonwealth countries. By the way, the Commonwealth countries adhere to the same tradition: in Canada, Australia, India and New Zealand, the upper chamber is decorated in red, the lower - in green.

Fact #10. The area of ​​the Palace of Westminster is 112,476 square meters.

Fact #11. Elizabeth Tower is one of the most visited attractions in London.

Fact #12. The tallest tower in the Palace of Westminster is the Victoria Tower.

Its height is 98.5 meters. If the monarch is within the walls of the palace, then this can be recognized precisely by this tower: the official flag of the king flutters on its flagpole. On other days the British flag is raised.

Fact #13. The Palace of Westminster is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (together with Westminster Abbey and St Margaret's Church).

Fact #14. The construction of the Palace of Westminster in the XIX century was carried out for 30 years with periodic delays in funding and cost overruns. In addition, two leading architects died during this period. Interior decoration work continued into the 20th century.

Fact #15. During World War II, 14 bombs hit the Palace of Westminster.

Fact number 16. Within the walls of the palace, obscene swearing, which can offend the dignity of parliament, is officially prohibited. Members of Parliament also cannot insult their colleagues or accuse them of anything.

Fact #17. The only place where the Queen of Great Britain is not allowed is the House of Commons. This tradition dates back to 1642 when Charles I tried to arrest five members of the House for anti-royalist views.

Fact #18. Since the 17th century, it has been forbidden to smoke or drink alcohol within the walls of the palace.

Westminster is one of the centers of political life in the United Kingdom and a household name for the British government system. The Palace of Westminster has been renamed the Houses of Parliament since 1970 and has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. One of the palace towers, often named after its main bell, Big Ben, is an iconic landmark of London and the United Kingdom as a whole, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city, and an emblem of parliamentary democracy.

Modern appointment and management

The entire complex is the seat of the bicameral Parliament of Great Britain. The building is located on the north side of the Thames in Westminster, central London. The castle takes its name from the neighboring Westminster Abbey. The old medieval building was the residence and place of residence of the English kings. The Palace of Westminster has always belonged to the monarch by right of the crown and still retains its original status as a royal residence for ceremonial purposes. But the monarch does not appear here for long, and only on special occasions. The building is governed by committees from each parliamentary chamber, with reporting to the Lord Speaker.

old palace

The first royal castle has risen in this area since the 11th century and was the residence of sovereigns, until in 1512 a fire destroyed most of the complex. After that incident, Westminster serves as the meeting place of the English Parliament, which has sat there since the 13th century. Also the halls of the Palace of Westminster in London were used as the seat of the Royal Courts of Justice. The newly rebuilt premises were destroyed by the largest fire that hit the palace in 1834. Very few medieval buildings remained after that: Westminster Hall, dating from the construction of 1097; chapels of st. Stephen and St. Mary Undercroft, as well as the three-story Jewel Tower located separately.

New complex

In the competition held in 1836 for the reconstruction of the palace, preference was given to the architect Charles Barry. He proposed to create the appearance of a new building in the neo-Gothic style with a perpendicular configuration inherent in English buildings of the 14th-16th centuries. The remains of the old palace, with the exception of the Tower of Jewels, were organically incorporated into the new, much larger complex. It contains more than 1,100 rooms with a total area of ​​112,476 m 2 , located symmetrically around two rows of courtyards, and the facade on the Thames side reaches 300 meters. The authoritative Gothic architect Augustus Northmore Pugin collaborated with Charles Barry, who also designed the palace interior.

The construction of the Palace of Westminster of Great Britain began in 1840 and continued for 30 years with long delays and significant cost overruns. During construction, both leading architects died. Intermittent interior work also continued into the 20th century. After the Second World War, major repairs were carried out, including the reconstruction of the House of Commons, which was damaged after the 1941 bombing.

The unique appearance of the modern structure is created by the three main towers, which, according to the architectural design of Charles Barry and Northmore Pugin, dominate the building and are the most memorable elements of the complex.

The southwest corner of the Palace is occupied by the Victoria Tower, the highest (98.5 m) tower of the Palace of Westminster. The large square structure as a symbol of the legislature, with a royal entrance to the palace and a fireproof vault for the archives of parliament, was an iconic part of Barry's competition design. Initially, the architect planned to call the building the Royal Tower and redid the drawings several times. With each change in design, the structure's intended height gradually increased, and upon its completion in 1858, it was the tallest secular building in the world.

The tower is equipped with the Sovereign's Entrance - an arched castle gate designed for the arrival of the monarch's Palace of Westminster, who annually opens Parliament or heads other state events. The high 15-meter arch is richly decorated with sculptures, including statues of Saints George, Andrew, Patrick, as well as Queen Victoria herself. The Victoria Tower's main building houses three million documents from the Parliamentary Archives, stored on 8.8 kilometers of steel shelving located on 12 floors of the Victoria Tower. It contains the master copies of all Acts of Parliament since 1497 and important manuscripts such as the original Bill of Rights or the death warrant of King Charles I. The top of the pyramidal cast-iron roof is occupied by a 22-meter flagship spire, on which the Royal Standard develops during the presence of the sovereign in the palace . On all other days, the Flag of the Union is raised on the flagpole.

Elizabeth Tower

At the northern end of the palace rises Elizabeth Tower - the most popular and iconic building in London, better known around the world as Big Ben. The 96-meter-high structure is not much shorter than the Victoria Tower, but much sleeker and narrower. Designed in the Neo-Gothic style by the architect Pugin, the structure was erected after the death of its author. Until 2012, the building was known as the Clock Tower, and the current name was given to it in honor of the “diamond” 60th anniversary of the reign of Elizabeth II. The whole structure looks elegant and graceful.

Elizabeth Tower houses the Great Clock of the Palace of Westminster, built by John Dent and designed by amateur watchmaker Lord Edmund Denison. Put into operation since 1859, the mechanism impresses with its accuracy, which is considered impossible for a watch of the 19th century. The time is indicated by a 4.3-meter hour hand and a 2.7-meter minute hand on four 7-meter milk glass discs, which are backlit at night. The BBC, in a documentary about the Victoria Tower, compared the clock face to a giant rose whose petals are edged with gold.

Tower bells and lantern

Five bells hang above the clock in the bell tower. Four of them strike every quarter of the hour marked by the Westminster chimes. The largest, the Great Bell of Westminster, commonly referred to as Big Ben, rings every hour. The first bell with this name broke during testing and was recast. The current Big Ben has also acquired a crack over time, which gives the fight its characteristic sound. Weighing 13.8 tons, this bell is the third largest in the UK.

At the top of the Elizabeth Tower is Ayrton Light - Ayrton's lantern, named after the famous English politician. The purpose of the lantern refers to the interesting facts of the Palace of Westminster. It shines during the evening work of the Parliamentary Chamber and was installed in 1885 at the request of Queen Victoria so that she could observe the time of the Legislative Assembly from Buckingham Palace.

central tower

In the middle of the complex, directly above the Central Lobby, rises an octagonal tower, the shortest of the three. It was added at the urging of Dr. David Reed, who was in charge of ventilating the new Houses of Parliament, and was designed to extract the smoke from the palace's 400 fireplaces. However, since the structure itself provided an opportunity to improve the external design of the palace, Barry chose a spire shape for it to balance the massive side towers. As a result, the building did not fulfill its purpose at all, but became notable as the first time that mechanical services had a real impact on architectural design.

Excursions

If the exterior of the Houses of Parliament, especially Big Ben, is one of the most popular sights in London, then a clear view inside the Palace of Westminster is not available. Nevertheless, there are several options for visiting the premises, but even then access to the halls will remain very limited.

Residents of the UK can get a ticket from the MP representing their region and take a seat in the Observation Gallery of the House of Commons. Or one of the Lords has the right to grant a pass for the presence of a visitor in the gallery of the House of Lords. Citizens of the United Kingdom or British educational institutions may request a Member of Parliament or a Lord to give a tour of the premises of the Palace of Westminster during sessions. But still, only a very small part of the palace interior can be visited, and this system is temporarily suspended for foreigners.

You can take advantage of excursions, open to all comers, during the two summer months when Parliament is not in session and is on vacation. But a place for such a visit has to be booked in advance, since the number of people who wish significantly exceeds the number of places in excursion groups.

The Palace of Westminster in London (in English “The Palace of Westminster”) is the modern face of the United Kingdom, which is proud of its thousand-year history. If Buckingham Palace is the residence of the Queen, then the British Parliament sits in this place. The building fascinates with its grandeur and magnificent panorama that extends over the Thames. This Victorian gothic gem is a constant draw for tourists and Londoners alike. Each of them seeks to plunge into history and see the Palace of Westminster close by, where the main attractions of Great Britain are located: Big Ben, the Royal Gallery and Westminster Hall.

Panorama of the Palace of Westminster

History of the Palace of Westminster

Have you ever wondered why Westminster got that name? Its history goes back to the distant 11th century, when the Anglo-Saxons dominated these lands. They were the first to create a temple here, originally called the western church, that is, “west minster”. Over time, this name spread to the entire area located on the banks of the Thames.

In 1066, the first ever coronation of Duke William took place at Westminster. He turned the palace into his residence. Since then, all monarchs, except for Edward V and Edward VIII, held the ceremony here.

Since the 13th century, the palace has been the meeting place of the British government. And in 1512, after a massive fire in the building, King Henry VIII decides to completely transfer Westminster into the possession of the Houses of Parliament. Since then, the palace has become the center of the political life of the country. However, most of the solemn ceremonies continue to be held here.

Royal Gallery, where solemn ceremonies take place

During its existence, Westminster was repeatedly destroyed. In 1834, part of the palace was destroyed by another fire. The decision of the Parliament to stay in the building simply saved it from decline, because a partial reconstruction was carried out here so that the Chambers could continue to work.

Another fatal page in the history of the parliament building was World War II. The numerous bombings that London experienced could not but affect the condition of the building. However, Westminster was able to recover fairly quickly. Already in the 50s, the Palace of Westminster, the photo of which is given below, acquired its usual appearance.

House of Parliament after the 1950 war

Now the palace includes:

• westminster hall where celebrations and various exhibitions are held
• tower of royal jewels, where the hereditary jewels of the British royal dynasty are kept, and an exposition dedicated to the history of Parliament
• Church of the Intercession of St. Mary to which only parliamentarians have access. Here they are allowed to hold marriage ceremonies and baptisms.
• Corridor and meeting rooms separated for staff offices.

Another integral part of the Palace of Westminster is the towers located on its territory. Designed once as a chimney, the Central Tower now has over 400 fireplaces. The Victoria Tower continues to serve as the Parliamentary Archives, with over 3 million documents. Yet the most famous among them is the Elizabeth Tower, which flaunts the work of Sir Edward Beckett - Big Ben.

To the west of the palace is the famous Westminster Abbey. British kings, prominent scientists and politicians found their last refuge in it. Here marriages were born that continued the British royal line, and baptisms of the heirs of the crown were held, changing the course of history. The monastery was built over 500 years, starting from the 13th century, but the first mention of it dates back to the 7th. It is here that you can fully feel the atmosphere that reigned at the coronation of British monarchs. After all, this place has witnessed all the outstanding ceremonies since the 11th century.

View of Westminster Abbey

Tour of the Palace of Westminster

The Palace of Westminster inside surprises with its grandeur and size. It has 1100 rooms, 100 stairwells, and this despite the presence of only 4 floors, as well as almost 5 kilometers of corridors. The lower, so-called basement floor contains offices, dining rooms and bars. The first floor, which is also called the main one, includes the main halls of the palace: libraries, a meeting room, and a lobby. Two more floors are used for office space for parliament workers.

Every year in November, the opening ceremony of Parliament takes place in Westminster. The monarch is always present on it. During the opening, it passes through the Royal Stairs, the Normandy Veranda, the Royal Gallery, the Prince's Chamber and completes it with the House of Lords. Despite all the destruction that the palace had to experience during the Second World War, and numerous examples of art, in particular wall paintings, destroyed after fires, its modern appearance attracts crowds of amazed tourists. Lush decor, stucco and wooden decoration of the halls, chandeliers that captivate attention - the interior of the parliament is not inferior to the royal residences. Externally, the building looks no less magnificent, its monumentality is breathtaking: sharp spiers, tall walls with stained-glass windows, wide archways. The palace in Westminster, towering over the Thames, really has something to charm the eyes of its guests.

House of Lords in the palace

Interesting facts about Westminster Abbey and Palace

Since Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster are some of the most historical sights not only in the United Kingdom, but in the whole world, most of the facts about them are no longer new to the British and even people who have never been here. However, we still found interesting facts for you in the history of the Palace of Westminster.

1. Although Westminster Abbey is known as such among visitors, its real name is St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Westminster.
2. During World War II, the coronation chair was sent to Gloucester Church for preservation, and the stone was buried under Westminster Abbey.
3. Big Ben is not really Big Ben. The tower is called the Elizabeth Tower, and the clock inside is called the Great Clock of Westminster. The origin of the name Big Ben is still unknown.
4. Westminster Hall is the oldest part of the castle from when the palace was built, and its roof is the oldest medieval structure in Britain.
5. The decoration colors of the palace actually carry a hidden meaning: gold is the color of the monarch, red is the color of the House of Lords and green is the color of the House of Commons. Their hierarchy is also followed here - gold on top, red in the middle, and green on the bottom.

The surrender of Parliament over the Thames

Where is the Palace of Westminster located: address, opening hours

You can get to the Palace of Westminster using the underground. The nearest station is Westminster. You can buy entrance tickets on the spot by ordering by phone or online, you can also print them here. Entrance prices range from £18 to £28, depending on whether you use a guide or audio guide. Children under 5 years old are entitled to free admission. Tourists with disabilities can, if necessary, be provided with an escort to move around the territory. Tours are also offered at the Palace of Westminster for groups of 10 people or more.
Please note that tours are held in April, May and August, similar to Buckingham Palace, but it is better to check the exact dates and times on the Internet.

Night panorama of Westminster

Hanna Koval

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In official documents, the Houses of Parliament is still referred to as the "Palace of Westminster" or "New Palace of Westminster" and has the status of a royal palace.
When the court left the Palace of Westminster, which housed the Royal Court from the time of Edward the Confessor until the reign of Henry III, and moved to Whitehall Palace, two most important inhabitants remained in Westminster - parliament and the judiciary.


The courts held their meetings in Westminster Hall, and Parliament had to huddle in two rooms: the House of Commons occupied the chapel of St. Stephen, and the House of Lords - the former premises of the Court of Motions, dissolved in 1641.
Old Westminster Palace(in the background - Westminster Abbey) from the side of the River Thames.

From the end of the eighteenth century until the accession of William IV, there was talk that Parliament needed a new building; Sir John Soane, the architect of the Bank of England building, presented his project for discussion, other architects followed his example, but the conversations turned out to be in vain.

But one night in 1834, the problem was resolved in just a few hours. Someone sent to burn the wooden plates from which the treasury notes were printed, overdid it a little, keeping the fire going; the flames fanned by a sharp October wind engulfed the park and ancient buildings in the twinkling of an eye, from which soon only smoking firebrands remained.

Fire brigades rushed to the scene of the fire, but the flames were too strong for them to cope with it. However, the descendants are still indebted to the valiant London firefighters who saved Westminster Hall that terrible night.

When the young Victoria ascended the throne, she was surprised to find that her Parliament had no home. It took several years to clear the area after the fire and to hold a competition among architectural designs; There was only one condition for the contestants - the new building should be in the Gothic or Elizabethan style.

victoria tower(view from the cloister of Westminster Abbey).

Since the construction of St. Paul's Cathedral in England, no larger and more magnificent building has been erected; its extended river façade, with the elegant Victoria Tower above the main building at one end and the Clock Tower at the other, is an architectural masterpiece immediately recognized worldwide as "quintessentially London".

No other view of London, even with St. Paul's Cathedral, has been so often depicted on the canvases of foreign artists. Preference was given to the design of Charles Barry.

Square on Parliament Square, Parliament House and Westminster Hall (left), Victoria Tower (right).

Clock tower, also known as Big Ben, was officially renamed Elizabeth Tower in honor of the reigning Queen of Great Britain Elizabeth II. Big Ben, by the way, is not a clock, but a large bell, named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who served as the chief commissioner for public works in those years when the bells were hung on the tower. Its special, low and rolling rumble (associated, as they say, with a crack in the metal) penetrates literally into every corner of the globe.

A narrow spiral staircase of three hundred and seventy-four steps leads up; if the bells begin to ring as they rise, the stone slabs tremble.

westminster hall- what remains of the old Palace of Westminster.

It is believed that the colossal oaks from which this majestic ceiling is made, sprouted from acorns no later than the sixth century. If this is true, then the ceiling of Westminster Hall is one of the oldest and most respected architectural details not only in England, but throughout the world.

Acorns sprouted in England, shrouded in the mist of the Dark Ages. It was the time of Celtic saints and tiny monasteries like Iona and Lindisfarne, the time of Viking gangs fighting their way to the ruins of ancient Roman settlements; this was England, in which the ringing of the bell to call to prayer and the cry of the seagull were often drowned out by the cries of the rabble in horned helmets, who sailed to rob and kill, fill the dragcars with booty and return home across the North Sea.

For centuries, the Saxons and Normans drove deer, hunted wild boars and wolves on the very spot where Westminster Hall now rises; here they made love and had feasts. Meanwhile, the oaks grew, becoming thicker in girth and casting an ever denser shadow, and the world around was changing, the Middle Ages came, and in 1397 the gamekeepers of King Richard II came here, looking for the oldest oaks in Sussex, in order to restore the roof of the royal hall in Westminster . They cut down mighty trees - the very trees that were called old already in the reign of Alfred the Great (the Anglo-Saxon king).

Parliament Square- a large square in the center of Westminster, created in 1868 in order to streamline traffic near the Palace of Westminster. Parliament Square has a symbolic layout and represents all branches of government. On the east side, the legislative power is represented by the Houses of Parliament (Palace of Westminster), on the northern side, Whitehall serves as the embodiment of the executive power, on the western side, the judicial power is personified by the building of the Supreme Court, and on the south, Westminster Abbey is the seat of spiritual power.

Methodist Central Hall- Westminster Central Hall or Methodist Central Hall in Parliament Square - a public building intended for holding meetings of the Methodist Church. It was built in 1912 in the French Renaissance style. The Great Hall is crowned with a huge dome; this room is considered the second largest in the world in terms of capacity; at the same time, 2352 people can be in it.

Building to the right of Westminster Abbey.

Buckingham House- the official London residence of the British monarchs - became the royal palace, so to speak, involuntarily; this is a perfect illustration of the typical English reluctance to build palaces on a grand scale.

The area on which Buckingham Palace stands was occupied by mulberry plantations during the reign of James I; Yakov believed that sericulture "is able to save the people from idleness and the vices generated by it." However, this theory died with Jacob, and a roadside inn appeared on the site of the plantation, to which the gentlemen of Charles II brought their ladies and treated them to mulberry pies.
In the etchings of the time of Queen Anne we see a pretty square house of red brick in the Dutch style; two semicircular colonnades connect it with the stables and outbuildings. In front of the house there is a wide courtyard with a fountain, an iron fence and a wrought iron gate, decorated with the crown and coat of arms of the Duke of Buckingham - the garter and St. George.

Looking out of the upstairs windows, the duke saw the avenue of elms and lindens that is now the Mall. In the distance rose the dome of St. Paul's, surrounded by the spiers of the churches of the City, and a little closer and to the right, beyond the meadows and the park, could be seen the bell tower of Westminster. When looking at the Mall, the duke had a view of a long canal and a duck pool, dug out by order of Charles II; today it is a lake in St. James Park.

Speaking about the new house in a letter to a friend, the duke said that under the very windows there was a patch of forest where thrushes and nightingales are found. Immediately after the coronation, Victoria moved to this palace, and she also rebuilt it; The Queen's first directive was to install a grand throne at Buckingham Palace.

The crowd waiting for the rehearsal of the parade dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Now let's just walk around London. As I mentioned before, until you are near a famous landmark, you will not realize that you are in London. This is a very green city.

Although, no doubt, the spirit of a kind of aristocracy reigns here, that you still won’t be deceived :)

The whole city (as well as all other cities in Great Britain) is decorated with flags dedicated to the anniversary of the Queen's coronation.

One evening we went in search of King's Cross station, from which Harry Potter left for Hogwarts from the magical platform 9¾. There is a more remarkable building near this station st pancras station(Station of St. Pankratius).

Architecturally, the station consists of the main building - a landing stage, enclosed in the facades of the neo-Gothic building "Midland Grand Hotel" (now the Renaissance Hotel).

But here we go to Kings Cross station(King's Cross - "Crossroads of Kings").

On the top floor of the station, under the station clock, there is a giant bronze sculpture of a young couple "Meeting Point".

On the banks of the Thames. Connects to Trafalgar Square by Whitehall Street.

The first palace on this dream was built almost a thousand years ago as the residence of the English kings. Construction began in 1042 on the initiative of King Edward the Confessor, as a replacement for the Tower, a palace-fortress in the old part of London. By that time, the Tower was surrounded by urban development, he found himself in the midst of the life of the London poor, among the poverty and overcrowding of the common people.

So, the English monarchs decided to move to a more secluded place.

Solitary turned out to be a swamp on the banks of the Thames next to the Benedictine monastery. The swamp was drained and in 1042 a new royal residence was erected. Forty-five years later, Westminster Hall was built for William II the Red, the second son of William the Conqueror, where meetings of the Supreme Court of England and coronation banquets were held. It was the most elegant building in Europe.

At the end of the 14th century, Westminster Hall was rebuilt. The talented London mason Henry Yevel laid out the walls. The royal carpenter Hugh Erland was involved in the construction of the famous wooden floors.

This is one of the most grandiose medieval halls known in the architecture of Western Europe. The area of ​​Westminster Hall is 1800 square meters. Its height is 28 meters. The wooden roof does not have any supporting pillars. The span of the hall, 21 meters wide, is covered with open carved oak rafters, which rest on a complex system of wooden brackets that are strongly extended forward.

In Westminster Hall one is surprised by the impeccability of proportions, the integrity of the composition and the beauty of the lines of the carved pattern. The wood of the floors has darkened over the centuries, and now they seem to be immersed in a mysterious twilight. The space of the hall is flooded with silvery-purple light penetrating through the colored stained-glass windows of the gothic lancet windows. The British say that in any weather it blows cold from the walls. Everything reminds of the antiquity of the hall, of the events that once took place in it.

From the 14th to the 19th century, for five hundred years, Westminster Hall served mainly two purposes: it was the hall where the Supreme Court of England sat, and the place for coronation banquets. Its history is closely connected with the history of England. All the major trials of these five centuries took place here. In this hall, the death sentence was pronounced for Charles I, Thomas More, Guy Fawkes, who led the "gunpowder plot". In Westminster Hall in 1653, Oliver Cromwell was proclaimed Lord Protector of the English Republic, and eight years later, after the restoration of the monarchy, Cromwell's remains were removed from the grave, and his head was put on the roof of the same Westminster Hall.

Westminster Hall ceased to be the center of the turbulent events of London life already in the 19th century. Merchants of cloth and books were forever expelled from the hall, whose trays at the end of the 17th century brought noisy fuss into the walls of the hall. A courthouse was built in the City, and the last coronation banquet was held in this hall in 1832.

And this hall has survived to this day. He is almost a thousand years old! Westminster Hall in London is the best and most expressive monument of medieval secular architecture.

It connects with the parliament building, built already in the 19th century, the portal of St. Stephen.

Until 1529, English kings lived in the palace. Already in the first centuries of its existence, the building began to perform another function. It all started with the fact that eighteen barons, who were in opposition to royal power, in 1215 forced the English king John Landless to sign the Magna Carta, which laid the foundation for the English constitution. A few years later, one of the leaders of the opposition, Baron Simon de Montfort, convened the first English Parliament. Parliament for a long time did not have its own residence: meetings had to be held either in Westminster Hall, or to share the Chapter Hall of Westminster Abbey with the monks. Only after the Palace of Westminster ceased to be a royal residence, the English Parliament in 1547 received its permanent seat in the palace in St. Stephen's Chapel.

This was not very convenient, since the entrance to the chapel lay through Westminster Hall, where the Supreme Court of England sat. Despite these inconveniences, until the fire of 1834, the House of Commons met in St. Stephen's Chapel.

The fire of 1834 almost completely destroyed the palace. Only Westminster Hall and the Tower of Jewels survived, which was built in the 14th century to store the treasury of Edward III.

It was decided to build a new palace on the same site. According to legend, this decision was largely determined by the location on the banks of the Thames, since the parliament building, in the event of popular unrest, cannot be surrounded by a revolutionary crowd.

Of the ninety-seven projects submitted to the competition, ninety-one were made in the Gothic style. The project of the architect Charles Barry (1795-1860), a young architect who had already attracted attention with a number of buildings, was recognized as the best.

Only the preparatory work before the start of construction took three years - they had to build terraces along the Thames. The construction of the palace was carried out by the architect in 1840-1888. together with Augustus Welby Pugin, building a neo-Gothic parliamentary complex. The British Empire built for its parliament a building of rare splendor and size even according to the tastes of that time.

The building of the Palace of Westminster, which is now simply called the Parliament, is currently one of the largest buildings in the world. The following figures amaze the imagination: 3.2 hectares of area, 1,200 rooms, 5 kilometers of corridors, 100 stairs.

Despite its size, the Parliament building does not overwhelm with its enormous size. The correctly found proportionality of the main volumes of such a significant structure deserves admiration. From a distance, the wide scope and almost classical austerity of its facades make a great impression. The Parliament is especially beautiful in the evenings, when its towers and spiers are clearly visible in the dark sky, bathed in the light of searchlights. The unique originality is given to it by two towers, asymmetrically located in the northern and southern parts of the palace. The mighty, square in plan, Victoria Tower and the huge clock tower, together with a small turret with a spire, placed above the central hall, not only decorate the palace, but also balance the huge length of its facades with their height.

In many respects, the architect Charles Barry owed his success in the construction of the Palace of Westminster to cooperation with O. Pugin, an enthusiast and connoisseur of English Gothic. Being an excellent draftsman, passionately in love with the art of the Middle Ages, O. Pugin also participated in the development of the details of the facades of the palace. It was thanks to his inventive imagination that the facades of the Palace of Westminster and its towers were decorated with intricate stone carvings.

The most famous is the tower, often called Big Ben. In fact, this is the tower of St. Stephen. And Big Ben is the name of the bell specially cast for the tower. As often happens, later the tower itself, which became the hallmark of London, began to be called “Big Ben”.

This tower was conceived as a clock, and it was decided to install a clock and a bell on it, which would be the largest in the world.

Seven years elapsed between the moment such a decision was made and the start of work. A number of projects were considered over the years, and in the end the commission settled on the design of Edmund Beckett Denison, who promised that all requirements would be met. The clock and bell, created according to his project, for a long time remained the largest in the world.

The tower is equipped with a clock mechanism, which is highly accurate.

When creating the Big Ben clock, the commission set a condition: the advance or lag of the clock mechanism should not exceed one second per day. Most watchmakers argued that this requirement, with the current development of technology, is unrealistic. However, Edmund Beckett Denison was able to produce such a mechanism in five years. Its weight is 5 tons, and the accuracy was required until the Second World War. During the war, due to bombing, the violation of accuracy increased to 2 seconds per day. With the help of a coin of one penny, which is placed on a four-meter pendulum, they guessed to adjust the movement of the mechanism.

The clock of the tower of St. Stephen is sometimes called the “main clock” of the state. With four 9-meter dials, the clock was arranged under the direction of the famous astronomer Erie. Time is beaten off by the hour bell, which weighs almost 14 tons. This is the famous Big Ben!

True, the bell, due to the pursuit of weight, began to fulfill its functions only on the third attempt. Cast by Edmund Beckett Denison using the latest technology from the latest alloy, the 16-ton bell broke after the first blow. Two months later, the bell cracked due to the tongue being too heavy. And only from the third time, when all the parameters were taken into account, the bell began to perform its functions. The fight of Big Ben is constantly broadcast by English radio stations. Its sound is heard by millions of people every hour on the radio.

Where did this name come from - Big Ben, or "Big Benjamin"? There are as many as three versions to date.

Most often, the origin of the name is associated with Benjamin Hall, the construction superintendent. His height was great.

According to the second version, the bell was named after the then popular boxer Benjamin Count. His fists were big.

According to the third version, Benjamin Hall, nicknamed Big Ben, was the name of the chairman of the parliamentary commission (there is an option that this was the name of the Minister of Public Works). The discussion on the topic "How to name the bell" is too long. After a long speech by Benjamin Hall on this subject, no one understood the essence of his proposal. At the end of the speech, while the speaker was taking a breath, one of the listeners, in order to save the day, suggested calling the bell "Big Ben"! Those present, overjoyed at the unexpected rescue, applauded.

Big Ben is not the highest tower of the palace - its height is 96.3 meters, while the height of the Victoria Tower is 102 meters (according to other sources - 98.45 meters).

During the construction of the Victoria Tower, it was taken into account that its purpose was to store the documents of Parliament. Its external and internal structure had to be fireproof. It was necessary to take into account the sad experience of the events of 1834, when all documents were burned in a fire, except for those in the Jewels Tower. The construction of the walls was quite bold for those times - a cast-iron frame in the thickness of the masonry. The foundation stone of the tower was laid by Queen Victoria herself.

The Victoria Tower marks the royal entrance to Parliament. During the session, the British national flag is hoisted on it.

Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The northern part of the building, with the Victoria Tower towering above it, is occupied by the House of Lords and the premises associated with it by parliamentary ceremonial.

The monarch ascends the Royal Staircase to the Norman Portico and from there enters the Hall of the Royal Robe. The Royal Robe Hall is still adorned with paintings by William Dick, which depict historical scenes from the reign of King Arthur. Passing further, through the Royal Gallery, where statues of English rulers are installed - from King Alfred to Queen Anne - the monarch passes into the Prince's room with a sculpture of Queen Victoria, and then solemnly enters the House of Lords.

The House of Lords is the most ornate room in Parliament. Decorative techniques found in the interior decoration of the entire palace reach their climax here. Carving on stone and wood, many frescoes and paintings - the best masters worked to fill this hall, for many years, turning into centuries. The ceiling is completely covered with images of heraldic animals, birds, flowers, etc. Colored stained-glass windows are inserted into the windows. A royal throne with an inlaid canopy, rows of benches covered in bright red leather, eighteen bronze statues of barons who obtained Magna Carta from King John, standing in niches between the windows - you will see this when visiting the famous hall. In the House of Lords, parliamentarians are divided into two categories - Lords Secular and Lords Spiritual.

The majority in the chamber in past centuries belonged to the spiritual lords - representatives of the Anglican Church. At present, the preponderance is on the side of secular lords who bear the title of baron or baroness. As in the old days, the speaker - the Lord Chancellor - sits on a wool sack. This tradition recalls the time when England, being the world's main producer of wool, exported this valuable commodity. An interesting fact is that recently wool from other Commonwealth countries has been added to the bag.

In the southern half of the palace, which is crowned by Big Ben, is the hall of the House of Commons. It is decorated much more modestly than the House of Lords. The walls are finished with red oak, above - balconies for spectators and the press. Benches upholstered in green leather are provided for deputies. To the right of the speaker are representatives of the ruling party, and to the left of the opposition. Not far from the entrance is the speaker's chair surrounded by iron bars. Red lines are drawn between rows of benches. The distance from line to line is two sword lengths. This is also a tradition, the distance is such that respectable parliamentarians do not get each other's blades. Crossing the line is considered to have attacked the opponent.

During World War II, German aircraft destroyed the House of Commons. The new reconstruction was led by Gil Gilbert Scott. The restoration of the palace was a difficult and costly process, as the highest quality wood was required. During the restoration work, the general Gothic character of the architecture was preserved. But the decoration details carved in stone and wood, and many items of decoration that previously constituted a single stylistic complex with the entire room, were not repeated. The artistic integrity of the appearance of the hall was even more violated by the introduction of lighting spotlights of modern forms. Restoration dragged on until 1950.

Between the House of Lords and the House of Commons there are several halls and corridors. The Hall of the Peers is decorated with the coats of arms of six royal dynasties. From here you can get into the Central Hall, which has an octagonal shape. As in the Royal Gallery, there are sculptural portraits of the royal family. In the center of the palace is the oldest part - Westminster Hall.

In addition to the main halls, the palace has many rooms for commissions and committees.

The Palace of Westminster has been open for tours since 2004. During the tour, you can see the royal gallery, the royal dressing room, the debate chamber and, at the end of the tour, Westminster Hall, the one that was built in the 11th century. Here, visitors can see an exhibition dedicated to the history of parliamentary democracy in England and visit the gift shop. Such an excursion can only be made from August 6 to September 16 of each year, during the holidays of parliamentarians.

But you can get to the meetings of the House of Lords or the House of Commons throughout the year, every day, except weekends. After checking, you will be given a memo with a list of what you should never do: read during the discussion, applaud and look at the parliamentarians through binoculars.

Many traditions are associated with the English Parliament.

In 1605, Guy Fawkes, who led the Gunpowder Plot, attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Since then, the guards, dressed in ancient costumes, with lanterns and halberds, search the cellars and back streets of the palace on November 5 every year, although everyone knows in advance that they will not find any barrels of gunpowder in these rooms. This tradition of searching for intruders continues in the new building of the palace, built two and a half centuries after the "gunpowder plot".

Another tradition is also interesting, which is observed if the meeting of the House of Commons ends late at night. At the end of the meeting, under the vaults of the palace and in our time, you can hear the exclamation: “Who is going home?” The dark streets of London were far from safe in ancient times, and parliamentarians tried to return home in large groups. And although the Palace of Westminster and the surrounding streets are now flooded with bright electric light, and MPs are waiting at the entrances of comfortable cars, "Who's going home?" still sounds like centuries ago. And there are a great many such traditions in the Palace of Westminster today. And the most important of them is the annual, magnificent and elaborate ceremony of the grand opening of the parliamentary session with the participation of the queen, all members of the government and deputies of both chambers.