Історія столиці

Like all large cities, London has a lot of different parts and the river joins them together.

The oldest part of it is the City of London. There was a town here when the Romans came. The Romans built a new city with a bridge and a city wall. It became an important part with many industries. Today the City is an international financial centre, full of offices and banks. Over 2 million people work in the city during the day, but only a few thousand live there.

London hasn't always been the capital of England. The first capital was Winchester. But London has always been the richest city. The kings of England often needed money. So they moved their capital close to London.But they didn't want to live in London itself. It was dirty, smelly and dangerous. So they made their capital at Westminster. At first the two cities of London and Westminster were separate and there were fields between them. But slowly they grow together into one city. Until the 20th century most people and goods travelled between the different parts of London along the Thames. It was quicker and safer to travel along the river than along the roads.The kings built their city of Westminster to the west of the City, because the prevailing wind in Britain is from the West. This wind blew all the smells from the port and the factories in London towards the east. As the city grew, the rich people lived in the West End and poor people lived in the East End.

This is changing now, because the docks and a lot of the industries in the East End have closed. Now Dockland is becoming a new financial centre and a fashionable place to live.