Big Ben: description, history, excursions, exact address. London, Big Ben: description, history, interesting facts When Big Ben was built

Moyan Brenn / flickr.com John Morgan / flickr.com View of Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster from Westminster Bridge (Kosala Bandara / flickr.com) View of Big Ben from the London Eye (Linus Follert / flickr.com ) Norbert Reimer / flickr.com Big Ben Dial (Phil Dolby / flickr.com) Hernán Piñera / flickr.com Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament (Naz Amir / flickr.com) Ben Cremin / flickr.com Davide D'Amico / flickr .com Matt Machin / flickr.com Never House / flickr.com View of Big Ben from the London Eye (Miguel Mendez / flickr.com) Nikos Koutoulas / flickr.com Stròlic Furlàn - Davide Gabino / flickr.com

Big Ben is the main symbol of London and the whole of Great Britain. This attraction has been known all over the world for many years. It is located in the center of London.

Big Ben indicates the official time of the New Year along the Greenwich meridian. England and other countries located along the prime meridian celebrate the holiday first.

Big Ben is the legendary clock tower of the capital of Great Britain, which is one of the buildings Palace of Westminster. Why exactly and after whom is it named? Answers to this question vary.

There is a main version that the bell was named after Benjamin Hall, who was supervising the construction and a man of large build. In another version, Big Ben is named after the famous heavyweight boxer, Benjamin Count.

There are other names for this object, for example, the media mentioned it as St. Stephen's Tower. Since 2012 official name attractions – Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster.

Construction of Big Ben

It all started in 1837, after a fire it was necessary to restore the Palace of Westminster. It was planned to build a whole complex of buildings. The tower design was chosen.

View of Big Ben from the London Eye (Miguel Mendez / flickr.com)

The honor of becoming an architect fell to Charles Berry. He asked for funds to make a clock on St. Stephen's Tower. The neo-Gothic style, which gives the charm of Big Ben, was implemented in the design of the tower by Augustus Pugin.

The clock tower was built in 1858. The bell for the tower itself was made in 1856, when there were no clocks yet. Its creator was Edmund Denison, who was entrusted with the important task of surpassing all the bells in Great Britain in terms of sound volume and creating a bell that weighs as much as no other bell in the kingdom has weighed before.

The first bell weighed 14.5 tons, however, it could not withstand the blow of an overly heavy hammer and split due to Edmund Denison's mistake. After this event, a second bell weighing 13.7 tons was cast, which later became known as the Big Ben bell.

Big Ben Clock Tower (John Morgan / flickr.com)

The clock for the tower was designed by the kingdom's astronomer George Airy together with watchmaker Edmund Denison. The astronomer needed high accuracy not only of the clock mechanism itself, but also for the bell to chime the hours exactly to the second.

To do this, it was necessary to check hourly by telegraph with the Greenwich Observatory, so there must always be a caretaker in the tower who monitors the time the clock shows.

To achieve accuracy, a reliable design was also needed that would last for many years. During the installation of the hands, it turned out that they were too heavy, as they were made of cast iron, after which they were remade.

The clock on the tower began operating at the end of May in 1859, and the bell was installed in midsummer. The watch has a double three-stage movement, which makes it very accurate. Their weight is about 5 tons.

Appearance

The size of Big Ben is quite impressive. The height of the clock tower together with the spire is 96.3 meters. The clock mechanism itself begins at an altitude of 55 meters. The Big Ben clock can be seen from four sides.

Big Ben Dial (Phil Dolby / flickr.com)

The length of the clock pendulum is 4 meters and weighs 300 kilograms. The stroke of a clock pendulum is 2 seconds.

The diameter of the dial, made of 312 pieces of opal glass, is 7 meters. It is inscribed in a gilded steel frame.

The length of the large arrow is 4.2 meters, the small one is 2.7 meters. The hour hand is cast iron, the minute hand is made of lighter metal - copper. The roof is made of brick and covered with limestone, and there is a spire on it.

Under each of Big Ben's four dials is the Latin inscription "God Save Queen Victoria the First".

Big Ben as a landmark has many interesting features:

The clock tower is the second largest in the world in size.
For a short time, Big Ben was a prison. In its entire history, only one prisoner was imprisoned in this tower - Emeline Fankhurst.
Another interesting fact is that it is estimated that the large minute hand of the clock on the tower rotates 190 kilometers per year.
The watch is very accurate and the time it shows is the reference. Although, like any other mechanism, errors sometimes occur. But they are small and amount to 1 or 2 seconds in one direction or another.
The accuracy of the clock is achieved using an old 1 penny coin. It needs to be placed on the pendulum and then the mechanism accelerates by 0.4 seconds per day.
Big Ben in London strikes every hour and time is counted from it in other countries. His fight is broadcast hourly on BBC radio.

Big Ben is visible on the map as part of the Palace of Westminster on the banks of the Thames. The entire complex of buildings is located next to Parliament, Buckingham Palace and other attractions. Full information about where it is located can be found in tourist guides.

It's no secret that the famous London clock is a landmark that has been very popular for many years. This building is striking in its size and is an integral part of old London.

Detailed description of Big Ben in London, its history, Interesting Facts, as well as colorful photographs, are available in almost every tourist guide in the world, because it is truly a unique structure. To begin with, it should be noted that the clock tower, which is commonly called Big Ben, is not such. In fact, this name belongs to one of the 6 bells located in it.

History of creation

First architectural structure It was built on the site of present-day Big Ben in 1288. The tower was located on the territory of the Palace of Westminster, but was not part of it. Construction was carried out by Ralph Hengham, who headed the panel of the Supreme Court at the royal court.

In the autumn of 1834, the surroundings of the Palace of Westminster were engulfed in a severe fire, unable to withstand which the old buildings were completely destroyed. The tower itself was severely burned and could not be restored. Restoration work began almost immediately. The architectural project, of which the tower of St. Stephen's Tower, also known as Queen Victoria's Tower, was designed by the architects Charles Berry and Augustus Pugin.

The tower was originally conceived as a clock tower. Its neo-Gothic style could not have been more compatible with the surrounding environment. The size of the structure is 98 meters high and another 15 meters deep. This is not the tallest building in modern London, but it is certainly one of the most famous and popular among tourists. In addition, miniature Big Ben towers are found in many places around the world, decorating park areas and attractions.

Name

There is no reliable information about why the bell that triggers the clock mechanism is named Big Ben in the surviving historical sources. The most likely version was the name of the bell in honor of Benjamin Hall, a rich and noble lord, whose speech regarding the choice of a suitable name for the new landmark allegedly prompted other lords to support the idea of naming the bell in his honor.

The lord was broad-shouldered, tall, and could compete in strength with the heaviest fighters, for which he was nicknamed Big Ben.

Phil Dolby/flickr.com

According to another version, Benjamin Hall is just a foreman who supervised the construction work and delivered Big Ben to London, which gave him the right to go down in history.

A less popular version is that the name of the bell is associated with the name of one of the then strongmen - Benjamin Count.

How does the clock work?

The Big Ben Clock Tower is square, with huge dials on each side, allowing everyone nearby, regardless of their location, to see the time shown. The clock is located at a height of 55 meters from the surface of the earth.

The dial consists of 312 individual elements smelted from glass opal, some parts of which can be freely removed, cleaned, or replaced with new ones. The edges of the watch are covered with steel; its mechanism was first started on May 21, 1859.

The development of the clock mechanism was in charge of Benjamin Valyami; later the project was transferred to another master, who, to better separate the pendulum and the clock mechanism, invented a double three-stage movement, which increased the weight of the clock to 5 tons. The master managed to place a pendulum weighing 300 kilograms and 3.9 meters long under the clock room.

The pendulum moves every 2 seconds, and is protected from the negative effects of its environment (rain, snow and wind) by a special box. To reduce the overall weight, the minute hand was cast from copper, and the hour hand from cast iron.

The Big Ben bell was cast in 1856. It weighed 16 tons and was delivered in a carriage with 16 heavy horses harnessed to it. The casting of the bell was carried out by a private company, which was no longer news in those days. After delivery to London, Big Ben's clock and the bell itself waited a long time for completion of construction.

After the first start of the clock, a crack appeared on the bell. Experts found that the cause of the breakdown was an overly heavy hammer. The bell was repaired, the hammer was replaced with a lighter one, but this did not help.

Ultimately, it was necessary to reduce the weight of the bell to 13.5 tons, but this did not help; the crack still appeared in the same place. Further reduction in his weight could cause hours of loss of volume. You could hear their fight from any part of London. To prevent this from happening, the bell was turned over to the other side and the crack was sealed.

No less pressing was the issue of watch accuracy; Benjamin Valyami believed that due to the complexity of the mechanism, it would not be possible to achieve sufficient accuracy. Royal astronomer George Airy managed to refute this statement. The scientist and the master argued for over 5 years, which resulted in the entrustment of the project to a certain E. Dent, who designed the clock mechanism with the required high degree of accuracy.

So that the time could be seen not only during the day, but also at night, the hands were illuminated using gas jets. With the advent of electricity, electric lamps replaced horns.

Camilla Carvalho/flickr.com

On December 31, 1923, the fight issued by Big Ben became available to radio listeners. From now on, the chimes sound at the beginning of every hour on all radio stations broadcasting programs on English language.

Video: Big Ben, London.

There are many legends and myths around London's Big Ben, but there are also some more reliable and interesting facts. So, all Englishmen are well aware that:

On each side of the tower, directly below the clock, there is an inscription in Latin meaning “God save our Queen Victoria.”
The inscription “Praise the Lord” is engraved along the perimeter of the tower.
The tower and the huge bell that crowned it became the last project in the architectural career of Augustus Pugin. Soon after the construction was completed, he went crazy and died, never regaining his sanity.
Big Ben is the largest bell, with the help of which it was possible to make the clock beat the rhythm. At the same time, the tower itself is the only structure on which a four-sided clock is located, capable of not only showing the time, but also notifying the district about the arrival of each hour.
The tower's location almost in the center of the Greenwich meridian allows Londoners to be the first in the world to change the clock from December 31 to January 1.
During the war years, both World War I and World War II, the dial was darkened at night. Due to the security measures taken, the chimes were not struck for over 2 years.
The watch broke down several times, the most significant breakdown occurred on August 5, 1976, the mechanism resumed operation only in May 1977.
Since the tower was built without taking into account possible underground work in this area (meaning the laying of a metro line), its angle of inclination shifted by 2.2 centimeters.
There is no free access to the tower; only British citizens who have received a special pass can visit it; tourists are forced to watch from the outside.
There are 334 steps inside the building, which you can climb to view the outskirts of London from a height of 62 meters.
To prevent the clock from falling behind, which began immediately after installing the heavy mechanism, a coin of 1 penny is placed on one of the hands (the coin slows down the movement of the pendulum by 0.4 seconds and speeds up its movement by 2.5 seconds per day).
The annual path of Big Ben's minute hand is 190 kilometers.
To verify the accuracy of the clock, a telegraph message was used, in addition, Big Ben was connected to the Greenwich Laboratory, which made it possible to obtain the most accurate information for reconciling clocks.
During World War II, Big Ben was bombed, which had a significant impact on the operation of the mechanism and caused it to regularly lag.
In 2012, the tower received a new name - “Elizabeth II Tower”. The renaming took place on the birthday of the Queen, beloved by all the English.
Big Ben and the smaller bells surrounding it tap out a rhythm that forms a phrase from the Bible, the exact wording of which can be found in any reference book.
The clock strikes down to the second, and the chimes continue throughout the first second of the hour.
If there is a regular session in parliament, the tower is illuminated with additional floodlights.
For some time, the clock tower was a place of detention for disobedient parliamentarians.
The length of the minute hands is 4.2 meters, the length of the hour hands is 2.7 meters.
The watch mechanism is checked regularly to ensure the exact time. Usually, reconciliation occurs at least once every 2 days; one of the watchmakers was almost fired from his honorary position after receiving news that the chimes were significantly behind by at least 10 minutes.
The British call copies of Big Ben Little Bens; the most famous one is installed at Victoria Station.

The special design of the bell and clock mechanism makes the sound that the Big Ben clock makes in London unique. To admire and listen to them, just ask a London taxi driver to take you to Parliament Square or take the tube and get off at Westminster station. You definitely won’t be able to miss such a magnificent structure; the tower is visible from almost all corners of London.

Hernan Pinera/flickr.com

Unfortunately, as mentioned above, tourists cannot admire the bell itself, but they have a chance to see an equally outstanding structure, which is located on one of the towers of St. Paul's Cathedral. The bell, cast for this cathedral in 1881, weighs about 17 tons.

If you hear “Big Ben”, then most likely you imagine the most famous symbol of Great Britain in the world. The photo below is exactly what you think is Big Ben.

This tower is usually called Big Ben

Some people call this the tetrahedral clock tower built in the northern part of the Palace of Westminster. Others say it is the name of the watch itself. But in fact, Big Ben is the name of the largest bell inside the tower.

We can say that Big Ben is a 3-in-1 attraction. Moreover, all three are quite interesting and practically inseparable from each other. Therefore, in this article we will take a detailed look at not only the bell, but also the clock tower. We will apply the name “Big Ben” not only to the bell.

Where is Big Ben

The most famous symbol of Great Britain is located in the center of London, 1300 meters east of Buckingham Palace. Nearby is Westminster Bridge over the Thames.

Geographic coordinates 51.500800, -0.124770

Tower

Elizabeth Tower (originally Elizabeth Tower) is what it has been officially called since 2012. This name was given to her in honor of the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Elizabeth II. Before that it was called “Clock Tower”. And during the reign of Queen Victoria, even St. Stephen's Tower.

It was built in 1859 in the Gothic style. The architect was Augustus Welby Pugin.

Interesting fact - the Big Ben Tower was the last project in Augustus's life. He later went mad and died soon after.

The total height including the spire is 96.3 meters. This is taller than the Statue of Liberty in the USA. To climb to the level of the bell tower, you will have to overcome a staircase with 334 steps.

Interesting fact - Although the tower has become London's most famous tourist attraction, access inside is closed to tourists. True, exceptions are occasionally made for VIPs and journalists.

The tower rests on a square foundation with sides 15.2 meters long. The base is filled with concrete 3 meters thick. The internal volume of the tower is 4650 m3.

The tower has a northwest inclination of 0.26 degrees. It would seem not much, but the deviation from the axis in the upper part is already 43.5 centimeters. Of course, it is far from it, but it cannot be called perpendicular either. Experts believe the deviation will not affect the building for the next 4,000 years.

In addition to the inclination, the tower also fluctuates annually by several millimeters in the direction from east to west. This occurs due to the thermal effects of expansion and contraction.

Fireworks at Big Ben

Watch

The clock on the tower of Big Ben became the third largest four-sided striking clock on the planet.
They started working on May 31, 1859. At that time it turned out to be the largest and most accurate four-sided clock on Earth.

Clock in numbers

Dial diameter – 7 meters
The length of the minute hand is 4.2 meters
The length of the hour hand is 2.7 meters

The circumference of the dials is covered with gold plating. Each of them has a Latin inscription that translates as “God save our Queen Victoria I.” Plus, on the sides of the clock there are also inscriptions in Latin, which translate as “Glory to God.”

Clockwork

The clock mechanism contains a pendulum placed inside a windproof box. Its length is 4 meters and its weight is 300 kilograms. The pendulum stroke is 2 seconds.

It is worth noting interesting feature clock adjustments.
The pendulum has space for... coins. These are 1 penny coins. They are placed in a pendulum, and each coin speeds up the clock by 0.4 seconds per day.

The total weight of the entire watch mechanism is 5 tons.

When did the clock stop?

Despite the high accuracy and reliability of the watch, it stopped periodically. Here are the most famous cases.

On the night of June 4, 1941, the clock stopped for exactly 12 hours (from 10:13 pm to 10:13 the next morning). This happened after the person working on the dial left the hammer too close to the mechanism
On August 12, 1949, the clocks were 4.5 minutes slow. The culprit was a flock of starlings that sat on the minute hand
On August 5, 1976, the largest breakdown occurred. For the first time in 117 years, the clock stopped due to natural fatigue of the mechanism. The restoration lasted 9 months. During this period, the clock did not work for a total of 26 days. On May 9, 1977 they started working again. This turned out to be the longest interruption in work since their installation.
Before the New Year 1962, the clock slowed down due to ice adhering to the hands. Because of this New Year arrived 9 minutes late
On May 27, 2005, the clock stopped due to the heat
On August 11, 2007, renovation work began. For the first time since installation, the bearings in the dials and the Big Bell were replaced. It was assumed that after this the clock would not need repairs for at least another 200 years. But in fact, just 10 years later, repairs were needed again

It is noteworthy that during work on the mechanical part, the clock was driven by a special electric motor.

It is worth noting the non-standard work of Big Ben on July 27, 2012. On the morning of this day, the clock struck 30 times in 3 minutes in honor of the opening of the 30th Olympic Games.

There are a total of 5 bells in the tower. So the heaviest of them is called Big Ben, or simply “Big Bell”.
This giant weighs 13.7 tons. It was cast in 1958 and installed on the tower in 1859. At that time it was the heaviest in the whole of Great Britain.

That's exactly what it's called Big Ben

Big Ben held the championship among heavyweights for only 23 years. In 1881, it was supplanted by the Big Paul bell, weighing 17 tons. It is installed in St. Paul's Cathedral.

Note that the bell was cast before the tower was completed. Therefore, he was temporarily placed in the Palace of Westminster.

During the tests, the bell cracked, and a new one had to be hastily cast. On April 10, 1858, it was ready. The bell's height is 2.29 meters and its diameter is 2.74 meters.

Interesting fact - It took 16 horses and 18 hours to deliver the Big Ben bell and install it in the tower.

The second bell suffered another setback - it also cracked. It turned out that the hammer was significantly heavier than the calculated parameters. I had to repair it. The crack was restored by removing a small square part of the body, and the bell was turned around. To this day it is virtually cracked. Naturally, Big Ben's original sound has changed.

In addition to the giant Ben, there are 4 more bells. They call every 15 minutes.

Why Big Ben?

Where this name comes from is not known for certain. There are two versions on this matter.

According to the first, the name Big Ben appeared in honor of Benjamin Hall. He supervised the installation of the bell. Rumor has it that he himself jokingly suggested calling the bell Big Ben.

The second version claims that the name was given in honor of the English boxing champion - heavyweight Benjamin Count.

It is said that the Great Bell was originally named Victoria (appropriately in honor of Queen Victoria). But information about this has not been preserved.

When was Big Ben silent?

Bells did not sound for 2 years during World War I
On January 30, 1965, they fell silent during the funeral of the legendary British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
On 17 April 2013, the bells were not rung as a sign of respect during the funeral of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

On August 21, 2017, repair work began on the tower. They will last 4 years.
During the renovation, it is planned to add an elevator and repaint all four dials.
During the work, Big Ben will be silent, with the exception of the New Year and Christmas holidays.
The total cost of restoration work is 61 million pounds sterling.

Big Ben in tourism

This is perhaps the most iconic landmark not only in London, but throughout the UK. In fact, it is a symbol of the country.

The image of Big Ben appears wherever it is necessary to demonstrate that something belongs to English culture.

Big Ben (tower, clock and bell) became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

In the era of rapid development of the virtual world, Big Ben has become an integral part of it. He has his own account on the social network Twitter. Every hour there are entries in the “BONG” format. The number of these BONGs naturally depends on time. Moreover, more than 460,000 people follow his account.

Big Ben is a symbol of that London where old ladies drink tea at five o'clock in the afternoon and it always rains outside. Even for the thousandth time, when I look at this monumental tower, I feel awe!

I even get the feeling that the Queen might walk nearby at any moment in her crazy hat, because she also really likes looking at this typical London landscape.

Where is Bin Ben and how to get to it

The closest metro station to the Bean Ben tower is Westminster, as well as the bus stop of the same name. By the way, there is another stop nearby: Parliament Square. You can get there by buses No. 3, 11, 12, 34, 53, 87, 88, 148, 159, 453, 748, 750, 751, 758, 786, 788, 789, 790, N2, N109, N155, N381.

Stops from which you can quickly walk to Big Ben are marked on the map.

Nearby is Westminster Abbey, St. James's, royal treasury (Jewel Tower).

Parking is quite difficult to find in this part of the city, so it's easiest to book a taxi if you don't want to use public transport. Just ask the driver to take you to Big Ben - everyone knows where it is, and it is easily recognized on all maps. But I always prefer the metro or walking from the center.

History of the Great Tower

I'll tell you a little about the history of the tower itself, the bell and the clock.

Elizabeth Tower

The Clock Tower has been named after the Queen's Tower since 2012, when the Queen's Diamond Jubilee was celebrated.

The first tower was built back in 1288 during the reign of Edward I. It was located at New Pace Yard in the northern part, and also had a bell and a clock. I read that the tower was first called Great Edward, and then renamed Great Tom.

The tower was replaced in 1367 and featured England's first striking clock for public use. But already at the beginning of the 18th century, the new structure was in poor condition and was demolished. A sundial was placed at this place. It seems to me that it’s hard to imagine without Bin Ben now, isn’t it?

During a fire in 1834, much of the Palace of Westminster was destroyed. This prompted the state to reconstruct and install a new bell tower. Ser Charles Barry's final design was approved two years later.

Elizabeth Tower was built from the inside, so the work on the outside was not visible to others. Copper, Yorkshire and Norman stone and Cornish granite were brought down the river, and iron slabs for the roof were brought from Birmingham.

Now visitors to the city are greeted by a tower of 11 floors, and 334 steps lead to the Big Ben bell.

Bell Big Ben

It is the bell that is called Big Ben. It was interesting for me to learn that it was previously called Great Bell, but the name was changed in honor of the Minister of Public Works, Ser Benjamin Hall, a famous Welsh engineer and politician. He was a respected man and was above average in height, which is why he was sometimes called Big Ben.

I'll tell you a secret that the bell didn't work out on the first try. At first, the casting was carried out by Warners of Norton, and in 1856, 16 white horses solemnly carried it through the city from the port. The bell was hung in New Pace Yard and was tested daily until October 17 the following year, until a 1.2m crack appeared. They blamed the designer Denison, who insisted on increasing the volume to 660 kg.

For the second time, George Miars was involved in casting the bell, and Charles Barry designed it. It already weighed 2.5 tons less than before, and in 1858 it was delivered to the Elizabeth Tower. In July of the following year it rang for the first time, but in September it cracked again and was silent for more than four years.

Ser George Airey, the royal astronomer, was able to find a way out of the situation. The bell was turned over so that the strikes fell on a different place. The hammer was replaced with a lighter version, and a small square was cut into the bell to prevent further expansion of the crack.

As a result, all the work on the bell cost £22,000, which today would be about 100 million rubles!

Watch

The construction of the tower clock was undertaken by Benjamin Lewis Villamy and Sir George Airey. They sought to set the time in the most accurate way so that every hour the city residents would hear the bell ringing.

Telegrams from the Greenwich Observatory were supposed to arrive twice a day. Such high standards led to a delay in completion of the work, which lasted seven years. For this reason, in 1852 the design was changed to the version proposed by Denison. It was his design that became a kind of standard for making tower clocks.

Installation took place in 1859. External ornaments were suggested by Augustus Valley Pugin and Ser Barry. Under the clock you can see the inscription Domine Salvam fac Reginam nostrum Victoriam primam, which means “God save our Queen Victoria I.”

In the summer of 2007, a team of technicians began cleaning the watch. Such work is repeated every five years. That is, the last time this happened was in 2012, and very soon, in 2017, it will be possible to observe this again.

Visit to Big Ben Tower

I'm sorry to upset you, but only UK residents can visit the tower. In doing so, they need to write to a Member of Parliament or a member of the House of Lords asking them to sponsor their visit to Big Ben. Perhaps a letter should be inspiring!

For those lucky enough to have British citizenship, tours will only begin again in 2020 due to restoration work being carried out on the tower.

However, you can visit the Houses of Parliament and order an audio guide in English. You can also view the tower from the inside on a virtual tour. This will not replace a real visit to the tower, but still, this option, it seems to me, is better than nothing.

Conclusion

Taking a photo with Big Ben in the background is a must for every tourist. There is something truly London about this tower, part great history Foggy Albion. I didn't manage to sneak in, like many other tourists, but to be honest, it's enough for me that I can come and say hello to my friend Ben any day. Then it's like I become part of London! Come here to remind yourself what an amazing place you are in.

What is it impossible to imagine good old England without? The legendary five o'clock tea, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London and, of course, the famous Big Ben. It has long become something more than just a tourist symbol - the meaning of this seemingly “just a landmark” for tourists and local residents difficult to overestimate.

A nice bonus only for our readers - a discount coupon when paying for tours on the website until December 31:

AF500guruturizma - promotional code for 500 rubles for tours from 40,000 rubles
AFTA2000Guru - promotional code for 2,000 rubles. for tours to Thailand from 100,000 rubles.
AF2000KGuruturizma - promotional code for 2,000 rubles. for tours to Cuba from 100,000 rubles.

The Travelata mobile app has a promotional code - AF600GuruMOB. He gives a discount of 600 rubles on all tours from 50,000 rubles. Download the application for and

There are many interesting facts and stories associated with Big Ben, which some people are not even aware of. Even tour guides often do not have time to mention all the unusual and fascinating moments.

1. The world-famous name Big Ben is not an official one. If you believe official documents, then until 2012 the tower was called the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster, and in 2012 it was renamed the Elizabethan Tower. The British themselves often call Big Ben St. Stephen's Tower.

2. The total height of Big Ben, from the base to the end of the spire, is 96.3 meters. This means that she is taller than even the New York Statue of Liberty.

3. The ringing of Big Ben was heard at a distance of 8 kilometers. Due to the design features of the structure, this sound is unique.

4. The chimes continued to sound even during wars; they were “silent” only during the restoration of 1983-1985 and the planned repairs carried out in 2007 (of course, not counting cases of unexpected breakdowns, which were repaired quite quickly). On August 21, 2017, at 12-00, the bell struck for the last time - until 2021, Big Ben is closed for major restoration.

5. “Silence” is also associated with tragic events in the life of England. For example, Big Ben was “silent” during Margaret Thatcher’s funeral.

6. In 2012, Big Ben went “off schedule.” On the morning of July 27, the bell struck 40 times at once. In honor of the opening of the Olympic Games.

7. Statistics buffs have calculated that the minute hands of Big Ben travel a considerable distance of 190 kilometers in a year.

8. Big Ben has official significance not only for England, but for the whole world. Officially, the New Year on the planet begins with the first strike of the bell on January 1. Interestingly, those who live in the area Westminster Abbey, thirteen blows are heard that night. This is because radio waves travel faster than sound.

9. For some time, there was a prison in the Big Ben tower, where unwanted members of parliament were imprisoned.

10. In the 21st century, when technological progress reigns all around, the caretaker of the Big Ben clockwork was almost fired for not noticing a lag of 1 second. Another failure, for as much as 4 minutes, was recorded in 1949. It was caused by birds landing on the arrow.

And finally, one more interesting fact. Big Ben is the only attraction that has its own Twitter account. The tower doesn’t “speak” much, its only word is “BONG” (the number of “bongs” depends on the time of day), but every hour. Thus, any Internet user, no matter where he is, becomes a listener of Big Ben without any problems.

Central Park Hotel

Located less than 100 meters from Hyde Park

16,411 reviews

Booked 227 times today

Book

Hotel Edward Paddington

Minutes from Paddington Station and Hyde Park

4,056 reviews

Booked 60 times today

Book

DoubleTree by Hilton London – Docklands Riverside

Located on the Thames embankment