Oxford is a city on the Thames with the oldest university. Description, photo

Oxford - one of the oldest cities in the UK - is the capital of the county of Oxfordshire. Located in the southern part of the island, on the banks of the River Thames. The city is known all over the world thanks to the best and prestigious University of England - Oxford.

Mentions and History

The first mention of the city dates back to the beginning of the 10th century. In the oldest chronicle of England, "Anglo-Saxon Chronicles," it is mentioned that the monastery was located on the site of the present settlement. Already at the beginning of the 12th century, in order to educate the English population in the city, the construction of the country's first university began, which later became the most popular educational institution not only of the state, but of the whole world. It is thanks to the students, who come to this territory from all over the country, Oxford and became a real city.

In 1355, a pogrom was committed, as a result of which the city on the Thames with an ancient university lost 63 students. Because of this, the settlement (or rather, its administration) had to pay 470 years (almost five centuries) a fine to the educational institution.

At present, there are about 160,000 people in Oxford, of whom about 30% are university students. The area of the city is 45 km ² .

Climate

The city on the Thames has typical English, with a frosty snowy winter and a warm wet summer, the climate. Due to its proximity to the sea, it can be called moderately-marine. The average temperature of January is -8 ° C, July + 18 ... +22 ° C.

Industry

In the north-west of the city at a distance of 90 km is the capital of England. Through the city on the Thames are major highways and railways linking the locality with the major centers of the kingdom.
Industry is practically not developing here. In the outskirts of the city there was an automobile plant, which in the early 2000's fell into decay, but still functions, releasing models of the BMW Mini. The entire economy of the city rests on the oldest university and remarkable historical sights.

sights

Particular attention should be paid to the building of the Radcliffe Chamber. Within the walls of this building is one of the largest libraries in the world, numbering more than 2 million volumes of books.

On the territory of the university there are also other interesting objects. For example, the Tower of Magdalena is a Gothic architectural structure of the 15th century, the Oxford Cathedral and the Botanical Garden, founded in 1621.

The city on the Thames has many museums. The most popular of them are also devoted to university topics - the Oxford History Museum, the University Museum of Oxford.

The city on the Thames has six sister cities - in Nicaragua, Germany, Holland, France, Sweden. The Russian city of Perm is also a twin city of Oxford.

Since the city is one of the oldest in the country, there are many historical objects that have survived to this day. The city attracts its medieval Gothic architecture.

University and colleges

The city on the Thames has the most important tourist attraction. And this, of course, is Oxford University. It is a separate administrative unit, consisting of 38 colleges and 6 hostels. A quarter of students studying at the university are foreigners. Women began to take to school only at the beginning of the last century, and separate education was carried out before 1970.

The city on the Thames with the oldest university is home to famous and unique people - 4,000 teachers, many of whom are members of the Royal Society and the British Academy. Directions of students' preparation are carried out in 60 different scientific branches. In addition to educational, Oxford University is also a scientific center with a powerful library base. Among graduates of the university there are about 50 Nobel laureates, a large number of famous scientists, artists. J. Swift, Stephen Hawking, Tim Berners-Lee, Thomas Hobbes, Margaret Thatcher - they were all students of the university.

The city on the Thames with the university has colleges on its territory. Each of them obeys Oxford - this is a special historical and architectural landmark. The largest educational institution of this type is Christ Church, built in 1525. This aristocratic college has produced 13 prime ministers of England.