London is the largest city and capital of the UK. London was founded by the Romans in 43 AD. In the second century Britain was divided in two parts. London became the capital of Upper Britain.
Later the Romance build a wall around the city. The wall had stayed 1600 years and defined the perimeter of modern London. After the fall of the Roman Empire London was in decline.
Only at the beginning of the seventh century, the city begins to recover. Around 604 was built the first stone cathedral - St. Paul's Cathedral. The medieval history of London began from 1066, when William the Conqueror became the king of England. Because of him, London became the largest and richest city in the Kingdom.
In 1176 was built the first stone bridge in London, which was the only one in the city until 1739. In 1599 appeared the Globe Theater, in which most of Shakespeare's plays were staged.
But in 1666 a lot of buildings were destroyed by the Grate Fire. In 1830 in front of Buckingham Palace appeared the Trafalgar Square, then the National Gallery and the famous tower of Big Ben were built.
In 1863 the first line of the London Underground was already opened. And in 1906, along the lines of the London Underground launched the first electric train.
Fascist bombing during the Second World War destroyed a large number of buildings of Victorian London. At the turn of the XXI century, Millennium Dome in Greenwich was built. It was not popular among Londoners.
Other projects, marking the end of the millennium, was more fortunate. One of them is one of the largest wheel - London Eye, which was built as a temporary structure, but has become an integral part of the city.
Today London is the capital of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. July 6, 2005 London won the bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. London became the first city, which hosted the Games for the third time. The Olympic Games featured 32 world records in 8 sports.
