Westminster Palace and Westminster Abbey, and St. Margaret's Church

Westminster Palace and Westminster Abbey, and St. Margaret's Church

Rebuilt in 1840 on the site of important medieval ruins, Westminster Palace is a prime example of neo-Gothic architecture. It also includes St. Margaret's Church, a small medieval church in the Perpendicular Gothic style. Westminster Abbey holds significant historical and symbolic importance, having been the site of coronations for kings since the 11th century.

Westminster Palace is located on the River Thames in London, UK, and is the world's largest Gothic building. It serves as the seat of the UK Parliament, housing both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The palace faces west with the River Thames to its east, covering an area of 8 acres. Its main structure consists of three rows of palace buildings stretching 287 meters in length, connected at both ends and the middle by seven cross wings.

There is a tall tower at both the southwest and northeast corners of Westminster Palace. The Victoria Tower at the southwest corner stands 102 meters high and measures 22.9 meters on each side. Entirely built of stone, it has 11 floors inside and is used to store important parliamentary documents and archives due to its strong fire-resistant properties. The square clock tower at the northeast corner is a 96-meter-high campanile, topped with the world-famous Big Ben. The clock tower was built in 1856, and the bell weighs 13.5 tons, with a diameter of 7 meters. The hour hand is 2.75 meters long, the minute hand 4.27 meters, and the pendulum weighs 305 kilograms. It chimes once every hour, with its deep sound broadcast worldwide via the BBC. The bell was supervised by Sir Benjamin Hall, after whom Big Ben is named.

Foreign name: Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Church

Must-visit reason: The world's largest Gothic building

Continent: Europe【Europe】

Country/Region: Britain[Britain]

Province/State: Greater London [Greater London]

City: Westminster [Westminster]