Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a famous place in the city of London, England. It is a large pedestrian square, bounded on three sides by roads. It serves as a refuge, and a major traffic intersection. It is visited by many tourists. Trafalgar Square is the heart of London. Very important roads go from the square: Whitehall goes to Parliament, the Mall goes to Buckingham Palace, and the Strand goes to the City of London. The square is also close to Covent Garden and Charing Cross station.
The square celebrates the Battle of Trafalgar, fought in 1805. It contains Nelson's Column, a statue of Lord Horatio Nelson mounted on a tall column, with four statues of lions around it, the column is 56 meters tall while the statue is 5 meters tall. The National Art Gallery is there.
[change] Political demonstrations and public celebrations
Since it was first built people have been holding demonstrations in Trafalgar Square. Demonstrating in the square has often been banned.
Demonstrations were banned in March after Nelson's column was built. First Chartist meetings in the square were banned. Then all demonstrations were banned. The ban lasted until the 1880s, when the new Labour movement start to hold demonstrations. One group that did this was the Social Democratic Federation.
On "Black Monday", 6 February 1886, there was a major demonstration about unemployment which led to a riot in Pall Mall. There were demonstrations in the 1980s against South African apartheid. In 1990 there were riots against the Poll tax. In the 2000s there have been demonstrations against the Iraq war.[1]
In recent years the square has become a gathering place for celebrations. When England won the Rugby World Cup in 2003 thousands of fans gathered in the square. This public festivities again happened when London won its bid to hold the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
The Square was also scene to a large vigil held soon after the terrorist bombings in London on Thursday 7 July 2005.
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