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What do you know about Manchester?

First of all we asked ourselves, what do we know about Manchester?
Of course, we know that Manchester is a town in England and we also know "Old Trafford", the home of Manchester United, the famous football club. But what else? We asked our parents and friends. But they didn't know any more than us.
So we looked into the internet and studied maps, we were at the library and we phoned the "Urlaubsservice".

This is what we have found out:

The city of Manchester

Manchester is a cathedral city and county borough in Lancashire, in the north west of England close to the centre of Great Britain. You can see it on the attached map. About 2.6 million people live in Manchester. The city stands where the rivers Irwell, Irk and Medlock flow together.
If you go to Manchester, you can do it by car, ship, train or plane. We suggest by plane, because it is the fastest way from Germany and you will arrive at one of the world's best airports.
This exceptional world-class airport provides access to nearly 18 million passengers per year from over 175 destinations across all 5 continents. When you arrive in Manchester you will find many interesting sights like the widest cathedral in Great Britain, which was built in the 15th. century, and the famous Town Hall. They reflect a long history.

The history of Manchester

An early name for Manchester "Mancenion" is believed to have been taken from that of a Celtic settlement on the site, known as "the place of tents".
When the Romans invaded England they called their new colony "Britannia". They built major cities like London and Chester. One of the principal Roman roads from Chester northward passed through Manchester, which was called by them "Mancunium". A part of this Roman road is still known as "Watling street". In AD 79 the Romans built a fort in Manchester, small portions of which still remain to safeguard military and trading traffic through the area.
To defend the border between England and Scotland, which the Romans never completely subjugated, the Emperor Hadrian built a long wall - from the west coast to the east. "Hadrian's Wall" is not so far from Manchester and now a World Heritage Site.
The Romans occupied "Britannia" for about 350 years.
After the Romans the Saxons came and they named the town "Mamecaster" or "Memcestre".
In 870 the Danes destroyed the town but after 50 years Manchester was rebuild by Edward the Elder and the right to coin money was granted to Manchester's citizens by King Canute.
In that time Manchester was a poor and sparsely populated area.
But in the Middle Ages the establishment of textile production began. Once the antiquary John Leland reported to Henry VIII that Manchester was "the fairest, best built, quickest and most populous town in all Lancashire".

The Industrial Revolution in Manchester

Very important for the further development of the city was the Industrial Revolution, whose birthplace was the region around Manchester. In only one generation it grew from a market town to an industrial centre.
The discovery of steam power, the modern road, river and rail communications and the invention of devices for the mechanical manufacture of textiles made very rapid economic development possible.
In 1761 a canal was opened to bring coal to Manchester, and in 1789 the first steam engine for spinning cotton was erected in Manchester. A 100 years later the city became the capital of cotton industry. This development was supported by the construction of the 60 km long Manchester Ship Canal, which connects the city with the Irish Sea.
"King Cotton" brought on the one hand wealth and prosperity, but on the other hand slums and misery. Friedrich Engels, the best friend of Karl Marx, the founder of Marxism, was shocked about the situation in the factories of Manchester. In his book "On the situation of the working class in England" (1845) he wrote that the life of the workers in their small houses between the smoking chimneys of cotton spinning mills is the "hell on earth".
Even today "Manchester-capitalism" is still the synonym for extremly bad working and living conditions.
The history of Industrial Revolution is shown very instructively in the "Museum of Science and Industry" in t Liverpool Road in Manchester.

Manchester today

Today Manchester looks much better than 150 years ago. It isn't the dirty and dark town with so many poor people any more.
Also the marks of World War II, when the oldest part of the city around the original market place was bombed, are nearly all removed. Manchester presents itself as a modern, prosperous, open-minded city with a rich cultural life.
There are theatres, from the high drama of the Royal Exchange Theatre to the musicals of the Opera House and three orchestras - the world famous Hallé founded in1898, the adventurous BBC Philharmonic and the stylish chamber ensemble, Manchester Camerata.
But not only the classic music has a home in Manchester, also young and popular musicians are from here. Our parents remember "The Hollies" and "10 CC" very well and young people, especially the girls, love "Take That" and "Robbie Williams". Very famous and a must for every visitor of Manchester is the City Art Gallery with many fantastic paintings.
Except music and art Manchester is also a paradise for shopping. Many designers like Vivienne Westwood, Armani and Hugo Boss have their shops in the city. The Exchange Square is the home of the world's largest Mark's & Spencer store and The Triangle in the historic Corn Exchange is home to over 40 fashion outlets. After a hard shopping day there are lots of pubs, restaurants and bars waiting for visitors.

Manchester in 2002

The actual subject of conversation in many pubs are the XVIII. Commonwealth Games, which will start on July 25th 2002 in Manchester. The Commonwealth of Nations is an association of the United Kingdom and many of its former colonies. The "Friendly Games", as they are known world-wide, will bring together more than 5250 athletes and officials from 72 nations to compete in 17 sports in a spirit of friendship. It will be one of the biggest sports event in the world. Manchester is the ideal place for this festival of sport, music and art, because it is well known as the "friendly city".
We hope that you now know a lot more about Manchester than before and you won't only think of Manchester United if you hear Manchester!!!

New words:

Robert Springer , Marko Prce

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