ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 409.

THE BRITISH MUSEUM

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

Buckingham Palace is the London home of the Queen. When the Queen is here the royal standard flutters over the palace, and the changing of the Guard is a military cere­mony which takes place daily in the forecourt of the palace. Many tourists come to see the ceremony and the royal guardsmen in their parade uniform — the red coat, white trousers and a bear-skin Tudor hat.

The British Museum was founded in 1753. It is famous for its various collections which illustrate every aspect of the progress of civilization. In the first place the British Museum is a great library, which contains five or six million books; secondly the British Museum is a great scientific institution, generally known as Natural History Museum. It comprises the National Museum of Archeology and. Ethnology (coins and medals, Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek and Roman Antiquities, British and Medieval Antiquities, Oriental Antiquities). The Museum contains an enormous collection of manuscripts ranging in date from the most ancient papyri to modern political papers.

St. Paul's Cathedral is the masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren, England's great architect.

The Cathedral was built between 1675 and 1710 to replace the old Cathedral that was largely destroyed during the Great Fire of 1666. From far away you can see the huge dome with a golden ball and cross on the top. The inside of the Cathedral is very beautiful. After looking round, you can climb the steps to the Whispering Gallery, which runs round the dome. It is called so, because if someone whispers close to the wall on one side, a person with his ear close to the wall in the other side can hear what is said. Then if you climb another 118 steps you will be able to stand outside the dome and look all over London. And if you want to see still farther you can climb more steps, right up to golden ball.

Among the great cathedrals of the world St. Paul's is unique in that it was conceived by one man and built under his supervision during his life time. For thirty-five years the building of St. Paul's Cathedral went on, and Wren was an old man before it was finished. As far as
Christopher Wren is concerned he found his acknowledgement and fame only after his death. He was buried in the cathedral. His tomb carries now an inscription in Latin which in English reads: 'Reader, if you seek his monument look around you'. But during his life after completing the main part of the Cathedral Christopher Wren was slandered and removed from work. He was not even paid the money he had earned.