Big Ben

Big Ben is a famous clock installed on the tower of the London Parliament, at an altitude of about 100 meters above the embankment of the River Thames. The tower is part of the Palace of Westminster and is the most famous part of it. This palace used to be a haven of kings. It has 1,200 rooms and halls with spacious corridors. Big Ben is officially called the "Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster" or also as the "St. Stephen's Tower".

It includes the tower building together with the clock and the bell.

This clock tower is the third tallest in the world. A 13-ton bell is installed inside it, after which the clock tower was named. The clock is positioned on four sides in order to know the time from any viewing point.

When the construction of Big Ben began in 1837, the task was set to establish the largest and most accurate clockwork mechanism with the heaviest and most sonorous bell.

This task was made a reality in 1859 by masters Dent and Edmund Beckett Denison. On May 31, the clock was set in motion. From that time to the present day, they have not stopped even once.

The most accurate time sounds every hour, and the bell can be heard from all over England. Big Ben plays a melody from "Messiah" by George Frideric Handel. It sounds completely every hour and partially every half hour and every 15 minutes. 4 smaller bells help the big bell, they play back quarters of the time.

The watch is installed at a height of 55 meters from the surface with a glass dial diameter of about 7 meters. An inscription in Latin is engraved on the underside of the four dials, meaning "God save Queen Victoria I." A mechanism weighing up to 5 tons is installed inside the tower.

The accuracy of the mechanism is constantly monitored and monitored. It is checked and missed every two days. In case of the slightest inaccuracy, an old–fashioned coin, an English penny, is placed on the pendulum. This coin brings great benefits – with its help, fractions of seconds of time are accelerated or decreased.

Big Ben is the hallmark of London and the whole of England, and its image is used when referring to England. And the saying "Precision is the politeness of kings" is very relevant for England. This place is also the center of New Year's celebrations, with its chime they begin to celebrate the coming of the New Year.

There are also smaller replicas of him, located at the intersections of the city, and they also sell souvenirs for tourists - replicas of Big Bens.