The capital of Great Britain is famous for its amazing sights, which can conditionally be distinguished into groups: palaces, churches, parks, museums, galleries, bridges. It is impossible to cover all the interesting places in London in one article, so we will dwell on the history of only one unusual building.
London Bridge is the name of a specific building that connects the right bank of the Thames and the City, the business district of the city. Bridges have always stood at this place, dating back to the time of the founding of London. They successively replaced each other as destruction. The fact that the London bridge had to be rebuilt often was reflected in the well-known children's song London bridge is fallen, where it is proposed to rebuild it from brick, iron, and in the last couplet, from gold. This building was really ready to be restored, using any, even the most expensive materials, because it was the only crossing in the city across the Thames until 1750.
The very first bridge was built by the Romans in the middle of the first century AD. It was wooden, so it often collapsed during wars, storms and fires. So, in 1014 it was completely destroyed by the Danish conquerors, in 1091 it was demolished by a severe storm, and in 1281 it was destroyed by ice. In the fires he "died" in 1136, 1212 and 1633. Then the Londoners took enhanced fire measures, so in the ill-fated 1666, only one third of the bridge could be destroyed by fire.
Since the London Bridge was intensively built up with houses, it was also the only opportunity to cross from one shore to another, the traffic on it was extremely intense and difficult. Traffic jams even began to occur. And this is in the 18th century! Therefore, in 1722 a law was passed allowing only left-hand traffic on the bridge. Actually, it was this decree that laid the foundation for widespread left-hand traffic on the roads of Britain. And the houses, which so strongly hindered the free movement of the bridge, were completely demolished in 1760.
The London Bridge, in addition to its functional purpose, played an important political and symbolic role in the life of the capital. From the 14th to the 17th century at its South Gate the heads of executed criminals and traitors were exposed. In particular, this fate befell Thomas More, Oliver Cromwell, William Wallace, John Fisher.
Here the historical events that were crucial for the country were unfolding, for example, it was this way that Charles II went when he arrived in London to return the throne of his father in 1660, during the restoration of the Stuart dynasty.
The Old London Bridge also influenced the general character of the city’s development : the largest number of houses were built in the immediate vicinity of the bridge, on the north bank of the Thames. And the southern coast was less densely built up, the structures there diverged in the form of a fan along the river and to Southwark.
The penultimate bridge construction was erected around 1830. She was stone, five-arched and served more than a hundred years, but eventually began to settle. In 1967, they decided to build a new bridge, and not to destroy the old London bridge, but to sell it. Those wishing to purchase it were found very quickly. This "largest antiques in the world" was bought by American oil tycoon Robert McCulloch for $ 2.5 million. For three years, it was carefully dismantled, numbered and packed every stone to send to the States. There, the building was neatly assembled, and now it has become the main attraction of Lake Havasu City in Arizona, attracting many tourists.
New London Bridge was built in just a few years. It was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II in 1973. On the first day, about 90 thousand people passed through it. The bridge is made of steel and concrete and by its design looks the most unpretentious of all similar structures in the capital. There are no decorations on it, but it is reliable and has the highest throughput thanks to three lanes in each direction. The sidewalks on it are wide and comfortable for walking, and in winter they are additionally heated so that the cold does not become an obstacle for excursions in this amazing historical place.