Визначні пам'ятки Лондону: Тауер

The Tower of London

The Tower of London is London’s oldest landmark.  It was begun by William the Conqueror in 1078. The Tower of London served as a fortress, a palace, a zoo, a royal mint and a prison. Today it is a national monument and a museum.

Many people have been locked in Tower (the boy-king Edward V and his brother, the Duke of York;  Anna Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII; Elizabeth I when a Princess). Spies were imprisoned here.

Some prisoners could live in comfortable rooms and receive visitors. Others were locked in freezing cells and tortured. There have been some successful escapes from the Tower. 

The Crown Jewels are kept in the Jewel House at the Tower. The collection includes Saint Edward’s Crown, used for the coronation ceremony, the Imperial State Crown, containing 3000 jewels, and the biggest cut diamond in the world, “The Star of Africa”.

The Beefeaters guard the Tower. They used to be the monarch’s private bodyguard. "Beefeater” was a nickname for well-fed servants. They wear a Tudor-style uniform of blue or red.  A group of ravens live at the Tower. The tradition goes that if they disappear the building will collapse.