The Big Ben in London
Known as Big Ben, the famous clock of the Houses of Parliament has become one of the most famous images of London, and one of the main symbols of the city.
The tower, built in 1858 by the new Palace of Westminster, is a peculiar building 106 meters high built in a Gothic style which houses four huge clocks located on their faces.
Although usually when we talk we mean Big Ben Clock Tower of the Parliament Building in London, this term is not entirely accurate, as the Big Ben really is a huge 14-ton bell which is within the tower.
The clock tower of Big Ben, a clock composed of 7 meters in diameter at each of their faces, was launched in May 1859. Today it has become a symbol of the nation and its chimes are transmitted daily by the radio station of the BBC.
At the time Big Ben was one of the most technologically advanced watches, spent a fortune on your machinery and construction. The four clocks of each face of the tower are located at a height of 55 meters. Today’s Big Ben is synonymous with London.
This is one of the most reliable watches that exist, as it is able to withstand the elements as snow or wind, and even endured the Blitz during World War II, keeping intact their punctuality.
While few occasions when Big Ben has suffered incidents in his punctuality, British citizens can not forget the New Year’s Eve 1962 in which came with 10 minutes late in the new year due to some technical faults produced in the Big Ben.
Currently, the Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament can be visited as they open their doors to the public from late July to early October. The Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament were built in the mid nineteenth century. Before he was here the medieval Palace of Westminster, home for 400 years was real until the time of Henry VIII. In 1834, one October night the palace was burned almost completely.
There are some replicas of this watch as Little Ben (near Victoria Station) and also in other places like Paris or Canada. In August 2007 the clock remained stopped for six weeks for the first time in 51 years. The reason the clock was mute for maintenance. He was stopped at 08:00 in the morning, when workers began their cleaning.