Cornwall is a holiday region which is absolutely worth seeing. Imagine: 525 km of a great coastline, some of the most beautiful beaches with a incredible, blue sea and beautiful golden sand; steep rocks; small bays, famous harbours, historical towns and very nice fishing villages, wide bogs, high tors, modern hotels & shops - old and new. For many centuries it has got its own Celtic culture and a subtropical climate. It's in the southwest of England and it has got its own language: Cornish . The number of people who can speak it today is still quite small - perhaps 2,000 - but it grows continually. There are perhaps 40-50 fluent speakers. Over 479 000 people live there and it has an area of 3546 km². The two Cornish coasts have forked the land in two countrysides: In the north is the frugal, rough coastline, which had to hold the wild storms. The south coast is from the Tamar (river) to Land's End , the most western point of England and that shows a very nice soft picture: The cliffs are deeply fissured and the vegetation is varied about the soft influence of the Canal. The biggest bays are Whitsand, St.Austell, Veryan, Falmouth and Mount's Bay. The contrast is very impressing between the cliff near Widemouth Bay on the north coast and the soft bays of rivers Fowey, Fal and Helford in the south. Economy and industry: Cornwall has got a close relationship to sea and ships which is shown by many painted harbours. Fishing is still an important source of employment and service, tourism, farming, mining and ship mashine writing are important, too. This industry is in the less big towns like Falmouth, Truro ( the capital of Cornwall) and Penzeance. Tin, caolin and granite were soon mined in the Middle Ages, later there came copper, clay, lead, silver, and porcelan. This special combination of mineral resources is singular in Europe and ever had printed the rythm of life in this Celtic culture. The economy of meadow reaches down from east to west. Historical events... The first Romans came with Gaius Julius Cesar (55 bc Chr- 410 ad Chr) then the conquest of the islands began by the Angels and Saxons with many bloody battles. Here is where the legend of King Arthur in Cornwall started. The myths in Cornwall are visible, like Land's End, for example. A prehistorical, stony ring "Men-an-Tol", which is supposed to have been magical and in the Middle Ages, children were taken through its round aperture to protect them from illness and bad luck. Old traditions are still used. Some other prehistorical stony monuments remind of of the early settlement in the Bretagne. In the 5th century Christianity was introduced by the Celts from Ireland and Wales. Cornwall was the last region which is captured by the Saxons in the 11th century. From 1337 Cornwall has been the country of the "Prince of Wales". The people of Cornwall believe in the methodogical religion of the 18th century. worth seeing - sehenswert; incredible - unglaublich; fishing villages - Fischerdörfer; subtropical - subtropisch; continually - fortlaufend; fluent - flüssig; to fork - sich gabeln; frugal - karg; rough - rau; deeply fissured - zerklüftet; varied - abwechslungsreich; relationship - Verhältnis; source - Quelle; tin - Zinn; copper - Kupfer; clay - Lehm; lead - Blei; resources - Vorkommen; conquest - Eroberung; visible - sichtbar; aperture - Öffnung; monument - Denkmal; to capture - festnehmen; methodogical - methodistisch; Trevethy Quoit : a prehistorical crypt; Or Cromlech a huge plate of granite, six vertical stones: King Doniert's Stone reminds of the dark Middle Ages, like the church St. Neot, a holy source in St. Cleer were attributed the energy to cure the insanity. Most notably they built Tintagel Castle on the remains of a Dark Age palace which according to the 12th century Geoffrey of Monmouth, was the birthplace of King Arthur. Mine engine houses can be seen throughout the Cornish landscape from Land's End to Gunnislake. These are witnesses of a time when the hills echoed of the din of the industrial revolution and dominated the tin and copper markets of the world. Prehistorical stone circle in a bog at Minions. The legend tells you that they show some young men,who did their favorite sport on a Sunday and so they were turned into stones. What you can visit in Cornwall....Castles in Cornwall:Now, we want to tell you something about castles in Cornwall: Tintagel Castle is a place where you can see the place of dreams, romances and legends. For 800 years people have known that Tintagel Castle was the birthplace of King Arthur. In a cave he lived with his father (the Magician Merlin) and his mother (Queen Igerna) under this fortress, where the cave is protected from evil. When you want to visit the island you have to climb the steep path where you have got a beautiful sight of the cave. The ruins of this castle are from the 13th century and this were the headquarters of the Earls of Cornwall . The Tintagel Island is a place with an unusual regional beauty, because of the narrow rocky path. Besides it's the most famous castle of Cornwall. Of course you find more castles in Cornwall. For example Pendennis Castle . It was built for 450 years ago to guard the mile-wide entrance to the Carrick Roads. The castle was attacked by Parliamentary forces during the Civil War. It was itacte and it has reminded during the Napoleonic Wars and both World Wars. Today, the honey-coloured stones make it an attractive peaceful place to visit with especially a nice sight of the mouth of the river Fal. On the opposite of Pendennis Castle is St. Mawes Castle . It's a pretty fishing village with subtropical gardens where you can see an interesting collection of plants from all over the world.This fortress of Henry VIII was built as a defence against invasions from France. An attack never came and so it's a fine example of Tudor military architecture. In Cornwall you also find Launceston Castle . It's a medieval castle of the powerful Earls of Cornwall to protect the land. It's a symbol of autority and power and it was rebuilt by King Henry's III brother Richard. The last but not least castle that we want to tell you about is Restormel Castle, which is one of the oldest and best preserved Norman motte-and-bailey castles in Cornwall. by Verena Hinderberger & Daniela Reichart crypt - Gruft; insanity - Wahnsinn; notably - hauptsächlich; birthplace - Geburtsort; witnesses - Zeugen; echoed - wiederhallte; din - Rabatz; cave - Höhle; fortress- Festung; evil - das Böse; headquarters - der Sitz; besides - außerdem; mile-wide entrance - meilen-weiter Eingang itacte - unbeschädigt; medieval - mittelalterlich; authority - Befugnis; preserve - erhalten; Sources: Internet: www.cornwall.gov.uk/history www.cornwall-online.uk Books: Südengland - Richtig Reisen Cornwall Südengland Bezauberndes Cornwall (Rosamunde Pilcher) Leaflets: aus dem Urlaub als Beilagen |
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