The UK

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United Kingdom

General information, geography

• UK is the short name for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is situated in the Northwest of Europe.

• The UK consists of 4 countries: England (London), Wales (Cardiff), Scotland (Edinburg) and Northern Ireland (Belfast).

• There live over 67 million people in the UK.

• The British are proud of their currency and they didn’t accept the Euro. They pay with pounds. One pound has 100 pence.

• Most common language is English

• The British Isles are surrounded (obklopený) by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, and the Irish Sea.

• The highest mountain in the UK is Ben Nevis in Scotland (1343 m).

• Longest river in the UK is Severn

• Great Britain is the largest island of the British Isles

• Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland (Dublin). The capital city of Northern Ireland is Belfast.

Places of interest

• Lake District- is a mountainous region and national park in North West England full of lakes

• Stonehenge - a complex of stone circles, probably the oldest known calendar

• London

  • Tower Bridge- bridge that can be open by mechanism, under the bridge there is the Themes River (Temže)

  • Big Ben is the large bell on the Clock Tower on the corner of the Houses of Parliament

  • the London Eye - a giant wheel located in the Jubilee Gardens on the South Bank

  • The Palace of Westminster - is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords (commonly known as the Houses of Parliament)

  • Buckingham Palace- is royal residence.

  • 10 Downing Street- the seat of Prime minister close to House of Parliament

• Oxford and Cambridge – very famous university cities

Political system

• UK is a constitutional monarchy.

• The head of state is Charles III. And he just represents the state because he does not have almost any power.

• The flag of the United Kingdom is known as the "Union Jack” and it is made of crosses.

• The national anthem (hymna) of the United Kingdom is "God Save the King", with "King" replaced with "Queen" in the lyrics whenever the monarch is female.

• Almost all responsibility (zodpovědnost) is deferred (přenesena) to the government (vláda) and both Houses of Parliament (obě sněmovny) (House of Lords, House of Commons)

History

• A rich history going back thousands of years culminated in 1536 when an Act of Union brought England and Wales together. England and Scotland were politically unified and called Great Britain in 1707. Ireland joined in 1801 and the four countries became the United Kingdom. In 1922 the Irish Free State (after Irish Civil War) was founded. Northern Ireland chose to be a part of the UK.

Famous people

• Queen Victoria, her reign as Queen lasted 63 years (1837 – 1876), the period is known as the Victorian era. Her reign was a period of stability and economic growth.

• Winston Churchill in 1940 became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and led Britain to victory against Nazi Germany.

• Elizabeth II is the Queen of the UK and sixteen independent states and their overseas territories. Elizabeth married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.