Tower of London. History of the Tower of London. Tower in London. History of the Tower of London History of the tower of london

All travelers who are on their way to the Country of Foggy Albion are waiting for the sights of Great Britain. And I must say, there are a lot of them. The Tower of London enjoys a special respect among tourists, and among the indigenous people, due to its rich historical past. Literally from English "Tower of London" - "tower". If we talk about a real building, then it is a majestic fortress, which is located on the northern birch of the Thames.

Mysterious and alluring place

Although England is rich in sights, this building is one of the oldest in the whole country. The Tower of London is rightfully considered the historical center of the capital of Great Britain. If you ask about the history of this mysterious (and even gloomy) place, you can learn a lot of interesting things. Thousands of tourists flock to this place in order to touch the oldest building in England and get acquainted with its inexplicable facts of the past.

Rich historical past

Even at the time of the Norman Conquest, this fortress towered over the Thames. Throughout the long history of existence, the residence of the king and his court was located here, there was once a treasury here, the mint produced money for the whole country. However, not so serious were assigned to the fortress in different times"responsibilities". So, there was also an observatory and a zoo. But many have heard that it was in this place that the noble prisoners of the Kingdom were waiting for their sentence and believed in the best in those days when the Tower was a prison. Truly, no other attractions in London can "boast" of such a rich past.

The walls of this fortress were also reconstructed more than once, and the building itself was repeatedly completed and refurbished. This led to the fact that over the many centuries of existence, the fortress has significantly changed its original appearance.

Tower of London today

The fortress is known for its guards, who are called beefeaters. They officially appeared in 1485, but they zealously keep the fortress walls to this day. There is another interesting position here - ravenmaster - keeper of the ravens. From century to century, these birds are the legitimate inhabitants of the fortress. And so that the birds do not fly away, their wings are constantly clipped. This is due to a legend that says: when the ravens leave the tower, the entire English monarchy will fall. So the caretakers are taking such drastic measures.

Next to the Tower of London, as if in the continuation of the complex, is the equally famous

The Tower, a fortress on the north bank of the Thames, is the historic center of London and one of the oldest buildings in England. As the Duke of Edinburgh wrote in his book dedicated to the 900th anniversary of the Tower, “in its history, the Tower of London has been a fortress, and a palace, and a repository of royal jewels, and an arsenal, and a mint, and a prison, and an observatory, and a zoo, and a place attracting tourists."

Base

The foundation of the Tower fortress is attributed to William I. After the Norman conquest of England, William I began to build defensive castles to intimidate the conquered Anglo-Saxons. One of the largest in 1078 was the Tower. The wooden fort was replaced by a huge stone building - the Great Tower, which is a quadrangular structure, measuring 32 x 36 meters, about 30 meters high. When later the new king of England ordered the building to be whitewashed, it was called the White Tower, or the White Tower. Subsequently, under King Richard the Lionheart, several more towers of various heights and two rows of powerful fortress walls were erected. A deep moat was dug around the fortress, making it one of the most impregnable fortresses in Europe.

state prison
The first prisoner was imprisoned in the Tower in 1190. At that time, the Tower Prison was intended for people of noble birth and high rank. Among the most honorable and high-ranking prisoners of the Tower were the kings of Scotland and France and their families (James I of Scotland, prisoners of the Hundred Years War, King John II of France and Charles of Orleans), as well as representatives of the aristocracy and priests who fell into disgrace on charges of treason. The walls of the Tower also remember many executions and murders: Henry VI was killed in the Tower, as well as the Tower princes, 12-year-old Edward V and his younger brother Richard.
The prisoners were kept in those premises that were not occupied at that time. The terms of the conclusions were very different. So, William Penn, the founder of the English colony in North America, called Pennsylvania, was imprisoned in the Tower for religious beliefs and spent eight months in the Tower. Charles, Duke of Orleans, nephew of the French king and an outstanding poet, after the defeat in the battle, spent a total of 25 years in the walls of the castle, until an incredible ransom was paid for him. Courtier Walter Raleigh, a navigator, poet and playwright, tried to brighten up 13 dreary years of imprisonment by working on the multi-volume work History of the World. After his temporary release, he was again imprisoned in the Tower and then executed.

The Tower gained its reputation as a sinister place of torture during the Reformation. Henry VIII, obsessed with the desire to have a son-heir, severed all relations with the Roman Catholic Church and began to persecute anyone who refused to recognize him as the head of the Church of England. After Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, failed to bear him a son, the king accused her of betrayal and adultery. As a result, Anna, her brother and four other persons were beheaded in the Tower. The same fate befell Catherine Howard, Henry's fifth wife. Many of the royal family, who posed a threat to the English throne, were escorted to the Tower and then executed.

The young son of Henry, the Protestant Edward VI, who ascended the throne, continued the series of cruel executions begun by his father. When Edward died six years later, the English crown went to Henry's daughter, Mary, a devout Catholic. Wasting no time, the new queen ordered the beheading of 16-year-old Lady Jane Gray and her young husband Guildford Dudley, who turned out to be pawns in a bitter struggle for power. Now it is time for the Protestants to lay down their heads. Elizabeth, Mary's half-sister, spent several anxious weeks within the walls of the Tower. However, when she became queen, she dealt with those who refused to change the Catholic faith and dared to oppose her rule.

Although thousands of prisoners were thrown into the Tower, only five women and two men were beheaded on the territory of the fortress, which saved them from the shame of public execution. Three of these women were queens - Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Jane Grey, who only lasted nine days on the throne. Most of the other executions - mostly beheadings - took place on the nearby Tower Hill, where huge crowds of fans of such spectacles flocked. The severed head was put on a stake and put on public display on London Bridge as a warning to others. The headless body was taken to the Tower and buried in the cellars of the chapel. In total, more than 1,500 bodies were buried in these cellars.

In some cases, usually only with official permission, prisoners were tortured into confessing their guilt. In 1605, Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and the King during the Gunpowder Plot, was hung on the tower rack before his execution, which forced him to name his accomplices.

In the 17th century, England and the Tower for some time fell into the hands of Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians, but after Charles II was again elevated to the throne, the Tower prison was not particularly replenished. In 1747, the last beheading took place on Tower Hill. However, the history of the Tower as a state prison did not end there. During World War I, 11 German spies were imprisoned and shot in the Tower. During the Second World War, prisoners of war were temporarily kept there, among whom Rudolf Hess also spent several days. The last victim executed within the walls of the fortress was Josef Jacobs, accused of espionage and shot in August 1941.

Zoo, mint and royal arsenal

At the beginning of the 13th century, John the Landless kept lions in the Tower. However, the royal menagerie arose when John's successor Henry III received three leopards as a gift from his son-in-law and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, polar bear and an elephant. Although the animals were kept for the amusement of the king and his retinue, one day all of London witnessed a unique spectacle when a bear on a leash rushed into the Thames to catch a fish. Over time, the menagerie was replenished with an even greater number of exotic animals, and during the time of Elizabeth I was open to visitors. In the 1830s, the Tower Zoo was abolished, and the animals were moved to a new zoo that opened in London's Regent's Park.

For more than 500 years, the Tower housed the main branch of the royal mint. One of its most tumultuous periods came under the reign of Henry VIII, when coins were minted from silver requisitioned from ruined monasteries. In addition, important state and legal records were kept in the Tower, and weapons and military equipment of the king and the royal army were also manufactured and stored.

Palace guards and royal regalia

From the very foundation of the Tower, its prisoners and buildings were carefully guarded. But specially selected palace guards appeared in 1485. In those days, prisoners were often brought across the river and brought into the Tower through the Traitors' Gate. When the accused was being led from the trial, the observers watched where the prison guard's ax was pointed. The blade aimed at the prisoner foreshadowed another execution.

Palace guards guard the Tower to this day. Today, their duties also include conducting tours for numerous visitors. On especially solemn occasions, they dress in luxurious costumes from the Tudor dynasty: scarlet camisoles trimmed with gold and topped with snow-white pleated collars. On ordinary days, they are dressed in dark blue Victorian uniforms with red trim. English guards are often called beefeaters (from the English word "beef" - beef), or meat eaters. This nickname most likely originated during times of famine, when Londoners were malnourished and the palace guards received regular beef rations. By this, the English crown provided itself with reliable protection.

The palace "ravenmaster", or Ravenmaster, takes care of a flock of black crows. There is a belief that if the birds leave the Tower, misfortune will fall on England, so as a precaution, their wings were clipped.

Keepers of the royal treasury guard the famous jewels of the British Empire. The treasure chest has been open for visitors since the 17th century. Among the gems that adorn crowns, orbs and scepters - which are still used by members of the royal family during solemn ceremonies - you can see the world's largest high-quality faceted diamond, Cullinan I.
Modern look

Today the Tower of London is one of the main attractions of Great Britain. It hasn't changed much since the past. The symbol of the ominous past of the Tower is the place where the scaffold of Tower Hill used to be. Now a small memorial plaque has been installed there in memory of "the tragic fate and sometimes martyrdom of those who risked their lives and accepted death in the name of faith, homeland and ideals." At present, the main buildings of the Tower are a museum and an armory, where the treasures of the British crown are kept; officially continues to be considered one of the royal residences. The Tower also has a number of private apartments, which are mainly inhabited by service personnel and distinguished guests.

There are a lot of attractions in London that attract avid travelers, but one of the main ones is the Tower. The famous Tower of London is located on the north bank of the Thames. It is a fortress - several buildings of different times, around which two rows of wide fortress walls with towers are built.

The thickness of the walls in the Tower is about 4.6 meters, so it is not surprising that no one has ever managed to take it by storm.

During its long history, and the Tower was built more than 900 years ago, a variety of services were located in the fortress. The Tower of London was both a prison, which is a complex and terrifying page in the history of England, and a zoo, and a protective fortress, and a mint, and a repository of monarchs' jewels, and an observatory, and an archive in which important historical and legal papers were stored.

Now one thing remains unchanged: the Tower is a place that attracts an incredible number of tourists.

The emergence of the fortress

It is officially believed that the Tower was founded in 1078, and William the Conqueror started the grandiose construction of this castle to intimidate the population of the conquered lands. But before that, for a long time, Roman fortifications were laid on the site of the modern fortress, which are partially preserved in the castle.

In place of the wooden Roman fortifications, a stone building appeared - Great Tower, which had the shape of a quadrangle measuring 32 by 36 meters and a height of about 30 meters.

In the XIII century, by order of the King, the Tower was whitewashed and began to be called the White Tower. Then towers and two rows of powerful fortress walls were erected around the castle. To strengthen the defense around the fortress, a deep moat was dug, which made the Tower of London one of the most impregnable European structures.

The White Tower was the first building on this territory, it was from it that the Tower of London began.

The Tower as a state prison

In London, the ominous glory of the Tower is still preserved, because from the moment of its foundation it became a state prison, where not only prisoners were kept, but executions took place, including open ones, put on public display.

Besides, in certain times the guards used cruel torture of prisoners. Basically, high-ranking officials, aristocrats, priests accused of treason were kept in the prison.

Among the prisoners of the Tower were the kings of Scotland, France and their families, William Penn - one of the founders of the English colony in America, who was imprisoned for religious beliefs, executed in the fortress of Henry VI, Guy Fawkes - a participant in the Gunpowder Plot, who tried to overthrow King James I.

Some executions took place behind closed doors, on the territory of the fortress itself, for example, famous queens were executed like this: Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, who was unable to give birth to his son, his fifth wife Catherine Howard, and Jane Gray, who was queen only 9 days.

Basically, the executions took place in public, on Tower Hilllocated not far from the fortress. A crowd of people, greedy for such spectacles, gathered at the execution. The guilty person's head was cut off and put on public display as a deterrent and warning. The headless body itself was buried in the cellars of the fortress.

In the 17th century, there were almost no new prisoners in the Tower Prison in London. The last public execution took place in 1747.. Then, only during the First World War, the Tower became the place of imprisonment and execution of German spies. During World War II, prisoners of war were kept in the Tower. The last prisoners in the Tower in 1952 were the Kray twin gangsters.

Tower as a peaceful place

The sinister era in the history of the Tower ended with the coming to power of John Landless, who gave rise to a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. He gave part of the power to parliament, and turned the Tower of London into a zoo. John began to keep lions in the Tower. The menagerie was replenished already under the successor of John Henry III, when he received a polar bear, an elephant and leopards as a gift.

At first, the animals were kept there only for the amusement of the king and his retinue. Gradually, new exotic animals appeared in the menagerie, and under Elizabeth I, the Tower was opened to visitors precisely as a zoo.

The history of the Tower as a zoo ended in 1830, when it was decided to close it and move the animals to a new zoo built in London in Regent's Park.

The Tower of London was still the main branch of the Mint for almost 500 years, it also produced and stored military equipment and weapons of the king and his army.

Anyone who decides to visit the Tower will be greeted by the palace guards. It has existed since 1475. Representatives of the guards brought the accused into the territory of the fortress through the gate, which is called the "Gate of Traitors".

Modern representatives of the guards are not so aggressive, but they are still on the alert, because the Tower of London is the repository of the royal family's jewels: the crown of England, the jeweled scepter, other regalia, as well as the largest diamond in the world, Cullinan I, are stored here.

Also, representatives of the guards carry out tours of the fortress, prison, zoo, mint. Since the 15th century, the guards have been popularly called “beefeaters” (from the English “beef” - beef), to make it clearer to us, “meat-eaters.” Then the English people were starving, but the guards were always fed and received huge portions of meat. So the monarchs sought to provide themselves with reliable protection.

Anyone who was even a little interested in London, England, the Tower knows that in addition to human guards, there are bird guards in the Tower. One of the symbols of the Tower is a flock of ravens. Here, from ancient times, a legend has arisen that if the ravens suddenly leave the Tower, some kind of misfortune will fall on England.

The British, with their traditions, sacredly keep this legend, believe in it and keep six ravens on the territory of the Tower. To keep the crows from flying away, their wings are clipped. But the local crows would hardly be going to fly away somewhere, because here they are fed veal, and sometimes rabbit meat. The ravens in the Tower have names and pedigrees.

Only the thrifty English keep seven birds just in case, and they built seven bird houses. Although with such care, birds live for more than 200 years. For the proper care and care of birds, there is a separate position - Palace Watcher of Ravens.

In the museum, tourists can see various expositions dedicated to different eras in the history of the Tower. On the infamous Tower Hill, where executions were carried out, there is now a memorial complex with a pillow-shaped monument and a plaque listing the names of the executed monarchs.

Memorial to those executed within the walls of the prison - seven famous prisoners who were beheaded

Also widely known and interesting stories about the ghosts of the Tower. Even some reputable scientists do not deny the appearance of ghosts here. Sometimes it is possible to catch some entities in the camera lens. This fact attracts young people who are thirsty for adventure during Halloween.

A centuries-old tradition of the Tower is the Ceremony of the Keys. For 700 years, this ritual has been performed every day at exactly 21:53. Only once, in 1941, was he detained for half an hour during an attack on the fortress by Nazi bombers.

At this time, the keeper of the keys leaves the tower, and the Guard of the Keys goes to meet him. Guards lock the Main Gate and approach the Bloody Tower. The traditional dialogue sounds, which ends with the words "God save Queen Elizabeth." At night, the keys are at the manager's residence. Anyone can see the key ceremony by writing a letter in advance and receiving an invitation card.

Officially, the Tower is considered a royal residence. At the moment, there are even private apartments in the Tower, in which service personnel live or distinguished guests stay.

In conclusion, it should be said that there are a lot of reasons to visit the Tower. If you are going to London, no matter for what personal business, visiting the Tower is paramount. Such special impressions and atmosphere cannot be obtained anywhere in the world.

In the festive publication, which was dedicated to the 900th anniversary of the founding of the Tower, the Duke of Edinburgh wrote that in its history the Tower of London (from the English tower - tower) was both a fortress and a palace, was used as a repository of royal jewels, was also an arsenal, and a mint, and an observatory, and a zoo, and a state archive, and a place of execution of punishments, and a prison, especially for representatives of the upper class.

The official name of the Tower of London is Her Highness's Palace and Tower of London, but last time rulers used the site as a palace as early as the reign of King James I (1566–1625). The White Tower, a square building with small turrets at the top of each corner, gave the Tower its name as a whole. It is at the center of the entire multi-building complex along the River Thames.

The history of the Tower began in the 11th century, when the Duke of Normandy William (later known as William the Conqueror) began to "stare" at the green British Isles. 1066 - he crossed the English Channel with an army. On September 28, the duke landed in Pevensey and immediately ordered the construction of the castle.

Two days later he went to Hastings and laid another castle there. Over the next few years, William and the Norman barons covered all of England with stone castles to keep the conquered country in line. The Anglo-Saxons for a long time could not come to terms with the power of foreigners who spoke French, but resistance local residents couldn't change anything. A new page in the history of England has begun.

Most of the Norman castles at that time had an artificial hill on which the main fortifications were located. The Tower has become a completely new type of fortress. Its territory, limited by the remains of Roman fortifications, did without artificial embankments.

Norman donjons, to which the White Tower belongs, had especially powerful walls, since initially the Normans did not enclose their castles with other defensive structures. Impressive belts of fortifications with bastions began to be built around the White Tower only in the 13th century, after the British became familiar with the practice of building castles in the East and continental Europe. That is why the thickness of the walls of the White Tower, which was built two centuries earlier, reaches almost 4 meters!

Its dimensions are also unusual - 32.5 × 36 meters - with a height of 27 meters. It is second only to the keep in Colchester (Essex) and is one of the largest medieval keep in Western Europe.

In terms of its configuration and layout of the premises, the White Tower belongs to a very rare group of donjons, characteristic specifically for England, and, moreover, only for the 11th-12th centuries. It was erected by Norman masons and local Anglo-Saxon laborers, apparently to the design of Gandalf, Bishop of Rochester. It was assumed that the Tower of London would protect the river route from attacks, but first of all - rise above the city and protect the ruling dynasty from the Anglo-Saxon townspeople.

From East and South white tower defended the old walls of the Roman city, and from the north and west - defensive ditches up to 7.5 meters wide and up to 3.4 meters deep, as well as earthen fortifications with a wooden palisade at the top.

The White Tower was only half completed when, in 1087, its owner, William the Conqueror, died during military operations on the continent. Over the years, it was supplemented with 13 towers. The names of the towers are reminiscent of the life of the fortress in those ancient times, of the gloomy events associated with it.

Bloody Tower - according to legend, the crown princes, the children of Edward IV, were killed in it when Richard III seized power. Bell - here they sounded the alarm. Salt, Well ... The huge tower of St. Thomas, straddling the moat from the side of the Thames, is the main "water gate" of the fortress. Through the Gate of traitors, located under the tower, its prisoners were delivered to the Tower. The bell tower is one of the most famous buildings of the fortress. It was built in the 1190s. For 500 years, evening bells have been heard from here - a sign for extinguishing light and fire, although the current bell was installed only in 1651.

From the earliest times in the history of the Tower, next to the Bell Tower was the residence of the constable. In Tudor times, when the deputy constable was assigned to guard the tower prisoners, the Bell Tower became the place of detention of the most important people. There, in 1554, Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth I, was kept. She was interrogated for 2 months, as she was suspected of conspiring against her half-sister Mary I.

Sir Thomas More, former chancellor of the kingdom, author of the famous novel "Utopia", was imprisoned in the Bell Tower on April 17, 1534 for refusing to recognize Henry VIII as the head of the Anglican Church instead of the Pope. He was executed on Tower Hill on July 6, 1535.

The Commandant of the Tower of London lives in the Queen's House (a white building finished with ebony next to the Bloody Tower). Many high-ranking prisoners lived here. 1605 - in the Council Chamber, located on the top floor, before and after torture, Guy Fawkes was interrogated, accused of participating in the Gunpowder Plot against James I. Guy Fawkes was later executed.

One prisoner of the Queen's House was able to escape on the eve of his execution. This was the Scottish Earl of Nithsdale, captured after the defeat of the Jacobite rebellion, who tried to overthrow George I. He fled, disguised as a woman and dressed in women's clothing, passed on by his wife. The last prisoner of the Queen's House was Hitler's personal secretary and his deputy in the party, Rudolf Hess, who was here for 4 days in May 1941.

Considering all of the above, it would be strange if ghosts did not roam the Tower and legends were not told about it. Black crows are not only one of the main legends, but also an important symbol of the fortress. It is known for certain that the first raven appeared in the castle in 1553 during the time of the "nine-day queen" Jane Gray. It was then that the famous “Vivat!” sounded for the first time, portending bad news - Gray was executed.

But the crows became iconic during the time of Queen Elizabeth, by order of which her favorite the Duke of Essex was imprisoned for raising a rebellion. While waiting for the verdict, a huge black raven knocked on the window of the duke's cell with its beak and, looking intently into Essex's eyes, shouted "Vivat!" Three times. The duke told visiting relatives about a bad omen, they, in turn, spread the rumor throughout London - the sad outcome was obvious to everyone. A few days later, the Duke of Essex was brutally executed. This legend lived for several centuries - the raven was doomed to the scaffold, until the fortress lost the status of a royal prison and became a museum.

Since that time, entire dynasties of ravens have settled on the territory of the castle, and their life on the territory of the Tower has become overgrown with many legends. So, one of them lives to this day: it is believed that the Tower and the entire British Empire will collapse as soon as the ravens leave it.

Maybe because in XVII century King Charles II issued a decree that states that six black ravens must live in the castle at all times. To monitor this, a special guard-guardian of the ravens was appointed, whose duties included the full maintenance of the birds. This tradition still exists today.

Since then, practically nothing has changed: 7 black ravens (one is a spare) live in wonderful conditions in the fortress in spacious enclosures. The state allocates a solid budget for the maintenance of ravens every year. Thanks to excellent nutrition, the “keepers of the Tower” are quite well-fed. Their daily diet includes about 200 grams of fresh meat and blood biscuits, in addition, once a week, birds rely on eggs, fresh rabbit meat and fried croutons.

Each raven has its own name and disposition: Baldrick, Munin, Thor, Gugin, Gwillum and Branwyn. Scientists and restorers often manage to appreciate the significance of black ravens in the history of the Tower, finding ancient bird nests in the most unexpected places. In one of these nests, finds were discovered not so long ago that gave rise to new legends and hypotheses. In the hands of historians were a bracelet with the initials of the same Jane Grey, a hairpin by Elizabeth Tudor and a glass with the coat of arms of Essex.

London is considered practically the main world capital in terms of the number of ghosts. According to the stories of the inhabitants, the ghosts of kings and their associates can be found everywhere there. The Tower was no exception, during the existence of which many secrets and scenes of bloodshed have accumulated.

One of the often described ghosts is the ghost of King George II, who died of a heart attack while waiting for important documents from Germany. According to the evidence, in the windows of the castle you can often see the unhappy face of George II, looking out to look at the weather vane.

There is a large amount of evidence of a meeting with a decapitated ghost, carrying her head under her arm. She was executed for not bearing a son to the king. To get rid of her and remarry, the king accused her of incest and treason. Anne Boleyn owns the words: “The King is so good to me. First he made me a maid. After that, he made a marchioness from a servant. From a marquise he made a queen, and now from a queen he makes a holy great martyr out of me! This woman died without pain and with a calm heart.

Her head was not hung out for all to see, as required by the custom of those times. She was placed under the right hand of the executed woman and placed with her body in a wrought chest, then hastily buried in the Tower under the floor of the chapel of Saints Peter and Vencula. According to eyewitnesses, the executed wife of King Henry VIII was seen in various parts of the castle, more often she was seen walking in the park of the fortress.

Another legend claims that for a long time the ghost of the murdered archbishop Thomas Becket wandered through the corridors of the castle. Considered the oldest ghost in England, it disappeared only after the murderer's grandson Henry III built a chapel within the walls of the fortress.

In the Tower, the ghosts of children were repeatedly seen - the murdered 12-year-old King Edward V and his 9-year-old brother Richard. The “little princes”, as they are called, dressed in white robes, hand in hand, walk silently through the corridors of the castle.

Another notable ghost is the navigator-explorer Walter Raleigh, who was imprisoned twice for his part in the conspiracy and eventually put to public execution.

The most frightening vision, according to eyewitnesses, is the scene of the execution of the Countess of Salisbury. Margaret Paul, Countess of Salisbury, was executed in 1541. This elderly lady (in her 70s) suffered because her son, Cardinal Paul, denounced the religious doctrines of Henry VIII and even did something in the interests of France. When the king realized that he could not get the cardinal, he ordered the execution of his mother.

The countess escaped from the hands of the executioner and ran around the scaffold with terrible curses. The executioner chased her, striking with an axe. Wounded, she fell and was executed. This vision often appears before eyewitnesses at the very place where the scaffold was located.

The servants of the fortress claim that the spectacle can be observed every year on the day of execution - the image of the countess and the executioner is clearly visible, wild cries are heard, but after the beheading all visions disappear and dead silence sets in.

Ghosts have never been seen in the main tower of the Tower. There is a legend that during the construction of the tower in the 11th century, an animal was sacrificed to drive out evil spirits. In confirmation of this, during the repair work in the 19th century, the skeleton of a cat was found in the masonry of the wall.

How many more secrets the Tower of London keeps, one can only guess, but it is clear that more than once the next legends of the main royal prison will be opened and confirmed.

Despite this, about 100 people continue to live directly in the castle, and almost 200 come to the fortress every day to work, and among them is another symbol of the Tower of London - “free yeomen”, beefeaters, guards of the royal fortress.

Throughout its long and colorful history, it has been a witness to murders, a site for wedding ceremonies, an armory, a mint, a museum, and even a menagerie. But, as the duke said, the Tower will always be remembered as "a symbol of royalty, a fortress of the monarchy and a prison for the enemies of the monarch."

Myths and facts

The Tower of London was founded in 1066 as part of the Norman conquest of England. The White Tower, which gave the name to the entire fortress, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078. The castle was used as a prison, although this was not its main purpose. Most of the time, the palace served as a royal residence.

For centuries, the Tower of London has been the center of government of the country. It was a powerful and reliable headquarters in the medieval period. The White Tower housed the armory, the treasury, the menagerie, the royal mint and the state archives. From the Tower began the solemn procession to Westminster Abbey during the coronation of monarchs.

Over its thousand-year history, the Tower has been rebuilt and expanded many times by many kings. Major changes were made during the reigns of King Richard the Lionheart, Henry III and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The current appearance of the castle received by the end of the XIII century.