Visit York and be enriched in one of Europe's most inspiring cities:
York
is a walled city, situated at the
confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The
city of York has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major
political events throughout much of its two millennia of York's existence.
The city was founded by the Romans in
71 AD. They called it Eboracum, a name perhaps derived from one used by
the British tribes who inhabited the area. The Romans made it the
capital of their Province of Britannia Inferior.
While the Roman colonia and fortress were located on
high ground, by 400 the town itself was victim to periodic flooding from
the rivers Ouse and Foss and lay abandoned. In the early 5th century the
area was settled by Angles, who
called the town Eoforwic. Reclamation of the flooded parts of the
town were initiated in the 7th century under King Edwin. The city came
to be the episcopal, and later, royal centre of the Kingdom of
Northumbria. The Vikings captured the city in 866 AD, and for the period
between 866 and the final incorporation of Northumbria into the Kingdom
of England in 954, York is sometimes referred to by modern writers by
its Scandinavianised form, Jórvík.
Jórvík: The Scandinavian York is a term,
like the terms Kingdom of Jórvík or Kingdom of York, used by historians
for the kingdom of Northumbria in the late 9th century and first half of
the 10th century, when it was dominated by Norse warrior-kings; in
particular, it is used to refer to the city controlled by these kings.
York used to be a centre of Scandinavian power and rule in the British
isles. The name in its modern form "York" was first used in the
13th century. In the Middle Ages York grew as a major wool trading
centre and the ecclesiastical capital of the northern province of
England. The Province of York has remained one of the two Church of
England ecclesiastical provinces, along with that of Canterbury.
York's location on the River Ouse, in the
centre of the Vale of York and half way between the capitals of London
and Edinburgh means that it has long had a significant position in the
nation's transport system. The 19th century saw York, under the
influence of George Hudson, who also built Georgian houses on the West
Cliff in Whitby, become an important hub of the railway network and a
manufacturing centre. In recent decades, the economy of York has moved
from being dominated by its confectionery and railway-related industries
to one that provides services for the touring public. The University of
York and health services have become major employers. Tourism also
boosts the local economy because the city offers a wealth of historic
attractions, of which York Minster is the most prominent, and a variety
of cultural activities. In 2009 it was the 7th most visited city by UK
residents and the13th most visited by overseas visitors. York Racecourse
and Bootham Crescent, the home of York City FC, are the most prominent
sporting venues in the city and the River Ouse provides opportunities
for both sporting and leisure pursuits.
York is a city of contrasts and exciting
discoveries. York is a place where the old encompasses the new, Yorks
historic past meets Yorks modern and the
commonplace meets with the unexpected. Broaden your mind with a visit to
the world class museums, British
Railway museum for its history of the railway engines and carriages, the
Jórvík center to see and smell village
life under the vikings, tour the walls and cobbled
streets with a York guide or visit a
variety of festivals held throughout the year, catering for all ages and
interests.
Places to visit in York:
York Minster
is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in
Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The Minster is the seat of
the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of
England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by a
dean and chapter under the Dean of York. The formal title of York
Minster is The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York.
The title Minster is attributed to churches established in the Anglo
Saxon period as missionary teaching churches, and serves now as an
honorific title. Services in the Minster are sometimes regarded as on
the High Church or Anglo-Catholic end of the Anglican continuum.
York Dungeons
The dungeon operates on the basis of tours where
visitors are led around a sequence of shows and exhibitions which are
loosely based on historical events and practices. The Great Plague show
is set in 1551 with a recreation of medieval York streets and culminates
with a performance from an actor playing a plague doctor. There is also
a recreation of a York pub the Golden Fleece Inn where visitors are told
ghost stories. Other shows include the Judgement of Sinners where
visitors are accused of various crimes and the Torture Chamber
where visitors are shown demonstrations of torture devices. During the
tour actors playing plague doctors, innkeepers, Viking cohorts of Eric
Bloodaxe, judges, torturers and Dick Turpin's executioner tell visitors
gruesome stories.
York Railway Museum
The NRM in York displays a collection of over
100 locomotives and nearly 200 other items of rolling stock, virtually
all of which either ran on the railways of Great Britain or were built
there. Also on the 20 acres (8.1 ha) site are many hundreds of thousands
of other items and records of social, technical, artistic and historical
interest, exhibited mostly in three large halls of a former motive power
depot next to the East Coast Main Line, near York railway station. It is
the largest museum of its type in Britain and has more visitors than any
other British museum outside London.
