Blackpool
Blackpool [ blækpu ː l] is an English coastal town on the Irish Sea. Traditionally, Blackpool was part of Lancashire, but was on 1 April 1998 independent - free area - body ( Unitary Authority).
Blackpool has three piers, the north was built in 1863, the average in 1868 and the southern 1893 The Blackpool Tower was built in May 1894 and is a 158 meter high replica of the Eiffel Tower represents the outer skin was gold plated, after the building be 100. - was able to celebrate anniversary.
Along the beach promenade of the city pass (museum ) trams that - after the abolition of the regular trams in the 1950s and 1960s - a long time were the only ones in the British Isles. Since the late 20th century, however, tram networks in many British cities to be expanded again. To date, unique in Europe, the double -decker trams in Blackpool.
Blackpool is known as the headquarters of the sports car manufacturer TVR and as a production facility of the company Jaguar. In addition it is home to a football team, FC Blackpool. The association succeeded in 2010 after 39 years to rise again in the top league in the country.
From the 19th century the city was a special holiday destination of the northern English working class. With the cheapening in the tourism industry in the 1960s, the Mediterranean region has been the most popular holiday destination. The theme park Blackpool Pleasure Beach is one of the largest in Europe.
Outside the holiday season more political conferences and meetings are held in Blackpool's Winter Gardens. In particular, the Labour Party of Great Britain has here usually their party conference.
A major sporting event is the annual Blackpool Dance Festival in beautiful Empress Ballroom in the Winter Gardens, the most important and biggest dance sport festival in the world.
History
Blackpool is one of the birthplaces of modern mass tourism. Towards the end of the 18th century, the place profiled initially as a seaside resort for the wealthy people of Northern England. The proximity to the textile towns of the nearby Lancashire caused but early a focus on broader visitors layers. Even before the railway reached 1840 Blackpool, there was organized excursions of workers' savings associations to Blackpool, whose participants were named after the town of Padiham something disparaging " Padjammer ". This excursion guests were accommodated in catastrophic mass accommodation. Nevertheless, Blackpool was also the " Nobel audience " until well get into the 19th century - the first pier ( Dating from 1863, today the North Pier ) aimed at this more affluent audience, during which opened in 1868 second (now the average ) Pier soon as a dance platform for the textile workers should serve. 1842 spoke a group of Sunday School teachers at the located at that time in trouble P & W line for a 50% special discount for the Sunday outing their union to Blackpool before - this journey of 3 July 1842, one of the first examples of modern organized mass tourism in the form of Company trip. Such Sunday outings at half price were shortly to a formula for success of the British railway companies. Through the creation of the four Bank Holidays so-called 1870-80, there was a huge swelling of the streams of visitors Blackpool and the corresponding Vergnügungsetablissements, as of 1872 opened dance palace Raikes Hall, who was also famous for his patriotic fireworks. In September 1879 Blackpool occurred for the sake of saving a weak economic tourism season as a pioneer of electric lighting - the autumnal illumination has since become a hallmark of the resort. Other tourist attractions were the existing today to Blackpool Tower (1894 ) and until 1928 the existing ferris wheel.
Traffic
In Blackpool the M55 motorway ends.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Tony Ashton, British rock musician
- David Atherton, English conductor
- Peter Chelsom, British film director
- Ian Christie, jazz clarinetist and author
- Keith Christie, jazz trombonist
- Dennis Crompton, British architect and author
- John Evan, British musician
- Eddie Harvey, British jazz musician
- Cynthia Lennon, John Lennon's wife
- William Lyons, founder of Jaguar car brand
- Tania Mallet, British model and actress
- Nick McCarthy, British musician, guitarist of Scottish band Franz Ferdinand
- Graham Nash, English singer and songwriter
- Wes Newton, darts player
- Robert James Smith, British musician, founder of The Cure
- Andy Summers, British musician
- Frank Swift, British football goalkeeper
- David Thewlis, British actor and author
- Derek Thomas Whiteside, English historian of mathematics
- Trevor Wilkinson, a British automobile designer and entrepreneur
- Jenna -Louise Coleman, British actress
Twinning
The town of Blackpool has been twinned with Bottrop (North Rhine -Westphalia).