Christchurch (Dorset)

Christchurch is a city with the status of a borough in the county of Dorset in England. It is part of a conurbation, which also includes the towns of Bournemouth and Poole. Christchurch traditionally part of the county of Hampshire, but is now managed by Dorset from. In the urban area is the Bournemouth airport. There are twinned with Christchurch in New Zealand, Aalen in Germany, Saint- Lô in France and Tatabánya in Hungary.

According to the census of 2001, Christchurch has 44 869 inhabitants; not less than 33.1% of them are over 60 years old, since many retirees spend their retirement here because of the mild climate. Located in the Eastern District Highcliffe has with 70% the highest proportion of older people in the total population throughout the United Kingdom.

Christchurch was originally an Anglo-Saxon settlement called Twyneham what "settlement between two rivers " means. The rivers Avon and Stour flow into the Christchurch Harbour. This natural harbor is surrounded by a vast salt marsh, almost completely separated by a sandbar from the English Channel and is a bird sanctuary. During the time of the Anglo-Saxons, this port was one of the most important at all; Boats, who came from the European continent could reach across the River Avon to Salisbury. For centuries the harbor was used by smugglers. The city center is dominated by the monastery church of Christchurch Priory, an existing since the 11th century and partially decayed into ruins of the Augustinian monastery.

The existing today administrative district was formed on 1 April 1974 and evolved from the merger of the original Borough of Christchurch with part of Ringwood and Fordingbridge Rural District.

Sons and daughters of the city

  • Shaun Wallace ( born 1961 ), British cyclist

Twinning

  • Germany Aalen, Germany
  • New Zealand Christchurch, New Zealand
  • France Saint- Lô, France
  • Tatabánya Hungary, Hungary
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