Birmingham
Birmingham is a large metropolitan area west of the geographical centre of England on the Birmingham Plateau. It ranks as the second most populous city in the United Kingdom after London .
Although Birmingham is today still known to many people as an industrial center and labourers town, it has layed off this rather dark image and converted into a humming business town. For example two of Britains biggest banks were founded in Birmingham and Jaguar runs a plant in Castle Bromwich. Today Birmingham has a lot to offer to its inhabitants and to visitors of the city.
Birmingham was the town to build one of the first purpose bulit exhibition halls, which is still in use for conventions today. The people of Birmingham are called "Brummies" and their dialect is known as "Brummagem". This dates back to the time when the town was still called Bromwicham.
Today Birmingham is consisting of an interesting mixture of old and protected buildings from the times of the industrial reovolution and more modern architecture like the Selfridges building.
One of the city's main places is the Victoria Square. Birmingham has also a lot of cultural heritage to offer.
The Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery which hosts the largest collection of Edward Burne-Jones works, a pre-raphaelite Birmingham painter who lived in the late 19th century.
Other smaller museums include the Aston Hall , Blakesley Hall, Museum of the Jewellry Quarter, Soho House and the Sarehole Mill which is toay a famous place to visit for 'Lord of the Ring' fans. The author of the books J.R.R. Tolkien lived about 300 yards from the Mill when he was a child.
Birmingham has also a lot to offer for nature friends. The Sutton Park covers about 2,400 acres making it one of Europes largest nature reserve in populated urban areas.
The St.Philip's cathedral dates back to the early eighteenth century which was extended in 1905 from a church to a cathedral.
The seat of the roman catholic province of Birmingham can be found in the Basilica of Saint Chad which was built in 1534 and became consecrated as a church in 1841 by Pope Pius IX.
Probably the best known church is the St Martin in the Bull Ring, a victorian church that was rebuilt in 1873. The picturesque Saint Pauls Church on the Saint Pauls Square is also worth a visit.
An annual event in Birmingham is the St.Patrick's Day parade, one of the largest after Dublin and the Heritage Festival in August wich resembles a bit of a Mardi Gras event. Other festivals include Moseley Folk Festival, the Birmingham Jazz festival and the Comedy festival.
The Premier League Club Aston Villa is one of the main sport clubs of the city.
Public transportation in Birmingham is secured by bus, local trains and trams.
