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This article is about the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland. See also: Belfast (disambiguation).
Belfast is the largest city in Northern Ireland, with a population of 277,391. It is located at the mouth of the sea lough , Belfast Lough, and bounded to the north by the Antrim Hills, with County Down to the south.
General information
The name Belfast originates from the Irish Béal Feirste, or the mouth of the Farset, the river on which the city was built. Interestingly, the river Farset has been superseded by the River Lagan as the most important river; the Farset now languishes under Bridge Street in obscurity.
Belfast is situated at the mouth of the River Lagan on Belfast Lough and is surrounded by hills (Black Mountain and Cavehill _ the famous Napoleon's nose is a basaltic outcrop here which forms the border with neighbouring Glengormley- and to the south the Castlereagh Hills). The Lagan riverfront has been regenerated, and much of the city centre has been pedestrianised.
The City Hall, dating from 1903, Queen's University, Belfast (1849), and other Victorian and Edwardian buildings display a large number of sculptures. Among the grandest buildings are two former banks: Ulster Bank (1860), in Waring Street and Northern Bank (1769), in nearby Donegall Street.
The world's largest dry dock is located in the city, and the giant cranes (Samson and Goliath) of the Harland and Wolff shipyard can be seen from afar. Other long gone industries included Irish linen and rope-making. The University of Ulster also maintains a campus in the city, which concentrates in arts.
The north of the city is known for its murals, reflecting the political and religious allegiances of the two communities. The Shankill Road, which is exclusively Protestant, has murals depicting loyalty to the British Crown, the Ulster Volunteer Force, and other loyalist paramilitaries. Conversely, murals on the Falls Road and Ardoyne, mostly Catholic, feature political themes like a united Ireland, and the Irish Republican Army, as well as traditional folklore and the Irish language.
The city has two airports Belfast City Airport adjacent to Belfast Lough and Belfast International Airport which is near Lough Neagh.
History The site of Belfast has been occupied since the Bronze ages, and the remains of Iron Age hill forts can still be seen.
In the early 17th century Belfast was settled by English and Scottish settlers, under a plan to colonise the area drawn up by Sir Arthur Chichester. This caused much tension with the existing population who rebelled in 1641. It was later settled by French Huguenots who established a sizeable linen trade.
Belfast became the centre of Irish Protestantism, and in 1922 it was declared the capital of Ireland was partitioned.
During the Second World War, Belfast was heavily bombed by German forces due to its concentration of heavy shipbuilding and aerospace industries. Much of the city was flattened.
For much of its history, Belfast has been racked by sectarian divisions between Roman Catholics and Protestants, and was hit hard by The Troubles of the 1960s-1990s.
Local Politics In the 2001 elections, the voters of Belfast elected 51 councillors to Belfast City Council from the following political parties: 14 Sinn Féin, 11 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), 10 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 9 Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), 3 Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), 3 Alliance Party and 1 Ulster Democratic Party.
Belfast has four UK parliamentary and Assembly constituencies - North Belfast, West Belfast, South Belfast and East Belfast. All four extend somewhat beyond the city boundaries into parts of Castlereagh, Lisburn and Newtownabbey districts. In 2001, these elected 2 DUP MPs, 1 Ulster Unionist MP and 1 Sinn Féin MP. In 2003, they elected 6 DUP, 5 Ulster Unionist, 1 PUP, 1 Alliance, 4 SDLP and 7 Sinn Fein members of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Belfast City Council
Home of the News Letter, the oldest newspaper in the world still in publication.
Notable people Famous people from or living in Belfast
See also Belfast Peace Lines
External links - Go To Belfast - Tourism (http://www.gotobelfast.com/)
- Belfast City Council (http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk)
- city homepage (http://www.geographia.com/northern-ireland/ukibel00.htm)
- NI Government (http://www.nics.gov.uk/)
- Belfast Dialect (http://www.scots-online.org/grammar/belfast.htm)
- Architecture of Belfast (http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/antrim/belfast/index.html)
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