April 2015
Last week I traveled to England and attended the Northumbria University Educational Agents Conference. The university is located in Newcastle, and here I would like to talk about the city itself.
Newcastle is the historical center of the North East England region, it stands on the north bank of the Tyne River, which flows into the North Sea, not far from the mouth. Locals say that here seagulls fly the farthest from the coast into the interior of the country compared to other seaside cities. On the south bank of the Tyne is the city of Gateshead, at the moment, in fact, one of the districts of Newcastle.
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The first known settlement on this site was founded by the Romans and was called Pons Elius, that is, "Hadrian's bridge" (Publius Aelius Trajan Hadrian, emperor). The Hadrian's Wall, built in the 2nd century BC, also passes through the city. n. e. to protect the lands controlled by the Romans from the Pictish raids. It is considered the most outstanding monument of antiquity in Great Britain.
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In the Anglo-Saxon period of history, the city bore the strange name of Monkchester.
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Finally, in the eleventh century the son of William the Conqueror built a castle here, which at that time, of course, could be called new. The construction gave the name to the whole city - Newcastle, that is, the New Castle, or, one might say, Novoverdynsk, Novocitadelnoye, Novobashenka. Interestingly, if at first the city was named after the castle, now the castle is named after the city - Newcastle Castle, that is, the castle of the New Castle, that is, the Novozamksky Castle. Its central structure, the donjon, is said to be the oldest building in the city.
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Note the rusty basketball hoop and other medieval equipment.
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In subsequent centuries, Newcastle was located on the northern border of the English lands, more than once withstood the siege of the warlike Scots, and sometimes it passed from hand to hand. It was here that the Scottish king William the Lion was imprisoned, the captured William Wallace and the captured Skoon Stone were brought through the city.
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With the beginning of the industrial revolution... Although, in fact, without Newcastle, there probably would not have been any industrial revolution. The city was the largest coal mining center. In English, the expression "carrying coal to Newcastle" (about meaningless labor) has even stuck. Interestingly, the eccentric American entrepreneur Timothy Dexter, contrary to popular wisdom, brought a batch of coal here, following the advice of rogue competitors. However, it happened that the shipment arrived in the midst of a coal strike, and Dexter made a substantial profit. The industrial period in the history of the city is illustrated by a stunning stained-glass window in the local Catholic Cathedral, the beauty of which cannot be conveyed by any photograph, especially by me.
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Many important inventions are associated with Newcastle. Among other things, these are the Davy lamp for working in mines, the Stephenson engine "Rocket", the Armstrong cannon, the incandescent lamp of J. Swan and the Parsons steam turbine. In 1850, in the presence of Queen Victoria, the world's first indoor railway station was opened here.
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Robert Stephenson built the High Bridge between Newcastle and Gateshead - the world's first railway ... now they would say "road", but then it was a horse, carriage, pedestrian, in short, simple road bridge. Here, such a double bridge, the first in the world, wow!
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In general, it seems to me that the city can be called the bridge capital of the world. It has many bridges, and each is interesting in its own way, each is an original work of engineering. It even hosts a festival of bridges. This one, red, in the foreground, is the Swivel Bridge. Its middle part can turn horizontally and become along, and not across the river, thus passing ships.
