From the Thames River, if you catch a glimpse of Big Ben, it means you have truly arrived in London. When the sun sets, the four reddish-brown dials are illuminated so that anyone can see it even from miles away.
If you have the opportunity to travel to England in the near future, Big Ben Clock Tower (now renamed Elizabeth Tower ) is a great destination that you should not miss. In this article, let’s take a look at some interesting things that you may have learned somewhere in books or on the Internet about the watch that is considered the pride of people in the foggy country. .
Big Ben clock tower
1. Big Ben clock tower is considered a symbol of England. This is the common name of the Westminster Palace clock tower, in which Big Ben is the largest bell (weighing about 13.5 tons) among the five bells of the tower.
2. In June 2012, Big Ben was officially renamed Elizabeth Tower to commemorate the 60th year of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. However, people are still used to calling it Big Ben.
3. Construction of Big Ben began in 1843 and was completed in 1859. Under the fierce attack of Nazi Germany during World War II, Big Ben still stood despite damage on one side. Because of this, the watch is considered a symbol of victory for the British.
Big Ben is the pride of the British
4. Up to now, Big Ben is 157 years old, rings every 15 minutes and makes “bong” sounds when the time strikes.
5. In 2015, Big Ben was discovered to be running 6 seconds slow. To fix this problem, engineers made adjustments by adding or removing coins so the pendulum worked correctly.
6. Big Ben is tilted towards the Northwest at an angle of 0.26 degrees. According to calculations, it will take about 10,000 years for Big Ben to have the same tilt as Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa.
7. Big Ben stopped ringing for 2 years during the First World War.
Elizabeth Clock Tower
8. There is no elevator inside Big Ben tower. Therefore, those allowed inside Big Ben must walk on a 334-step staircase.
9. According to estimates, if Big Ben were built today, the cost would be about 222,000 USD (equivalent to nearly 5 billion VND).
10. The 4 faces of Big Ben are cleaned by experts every 5 years.
11. The bell of Big Ben was used as the official BBC soundtrack on February 17, 1924.
12. Big Ben Tower is designed with a height of 96.3m in Gothic style. The tower weighs 9,553 tons. The structure of the clock tower is 61m high and is built of brick covered with stone. The top of the tower is a cast iron chop. Due to ground conditions, the tower tilts slightly about 220mm to the northwest. Big Ben is still considered the world’s largest four-faced clock with a bell. Each face of the clock is placed in a square stone block with 576 pieces of transparent glass. Around the clock is engraved a border to form a frame.
