The defense of the United Kingdom: 10 interesting facts about the Tower of London

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The Tower of London — The oldest building in Britain and its main fortress. For his almost millennial existence, he survived a lot and keeps a lot of interesting stories. About what jewels the Tower is rich in and what legends envelop the fortress — read in our material

The Tower of London — one of the oldest buildings in England. Its foundation is attributed to William the Conqueror in 1066, and in 1190 the first prisoner was imprisoned. The Tower of London remained until the middle of the 20th century.

During its history, the Tower of London was a fortress, a palace, a repository of royal jewelry, an arsenal, mint, prison, observatory, zoo, a place that attracted tourists. (Duke of Edinburgh)

During the reign of Elizabeth I in the Tower was a zoo. For the entrance visitors had to either pay a penny, or bring a dog or a cat, which was sent to feed the lions. In addition to lions, there were tigers, kangaroos and ostriches. The menagerie was closed in 1835, and the animals were moved to the London Zoo.

The defense of the United Kingdom: 10 interesting facts about the Tower of London

Photo: commons .wikimedia.org

The fortress is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Guarding the Tower of London bifitters — the guards of the fortress were named since the middle of the 15th century, although officially they are called Yomeni guards. The nickname took root in times of famine, when the Londoners were undernourished, and the fortress guard received rations of beef meat. Formally, bifitters are responsible for protecting royal regalia, but in fact they simply conduct excursions and are themselves a tourist attraction. Each uniform is valued at 7,000 pounds, because it contains a gold thread.

Defense of the United Kingdom: 10 interesting facts about the Tower of London

Photo: attractiontix.co.uk

The Tower is still the official residence of the monarch. On its territory there is The Queen's House, in which Elizabeth II could live if she wanted to.

The fortress holds the jewels of the British Empire, the total value of which is estimated at 20 billion pounds. The most expensive stone is — "Cullinan", it costs 250 million pounds and is the world's largest cut diamond.

Defense of the United Kingdom: 10 interesting facts about the Tower of London

Photo: devriannwhitworth.blogspot.com

Every evening, at exactly 21:53, the key ceremony takes place in the Tower. Soldiers of the Royal Guard make a detour throughout the territory to lock the gates. Then the guard asked the convoy: "Who goes?" & Raquo; — to which the answer is: & laquo; Keys & raquo ;. & laquo; Whose keys? & raquo ;. "The keys of Queen Elizabeth & raquo ;, — answers the convoy. This procedure has been going on for hundreds of years and is the oldest military ceremony in the world.

There are six ravens in the Tower of London, whose names are given in honor of the Scandinavian and Celtic gods, as well as mythical characters: Hugin, Munin, Thor, Branwen, Gwillum and Baldric. According to legend, when the crows leave the Tower, the fortress, and with it the entire British monarchy, will collapse. To avoid this, crows regularly cut their wings.

The defense of the United Kingdom: 10 interesting facts about the Tower of London

Photo: en.wikipedia. org

The white tower, the central part of the fortress, is built of stone imported from France.

The 12-year-old uncrowned King of England Edward V and his younger brother Richard were imprisoned in the Tower by their cunning uncle Richard III, who wanted to ascend to the throne, getting rid of pretenders to the throne.

Defense of the United Kingdom: 10 interesting facts about the Tower of London