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Belfast

Encyclopedia : B : BE : BEL : Belfast

This article is about the city in Northern Ireland. For other uses, see Belfast (disambiguation).
Belfast (Béal Feirste in Irish) is a city in the United Kingdom. It is the largest city in Northern Ireland (of which it is the capital) and the province of Ulster, and is the second-largest city on the island of Ireland (after Dublin). In the 2001 census the population within the city limits (Belfast Urban Area) was 276,459, while 579,276 people lived in the Greater Belfast area or Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area. The city is situated at the south-western end of Belfast Lough, a long natural inlet ideal for the shipping trade that made the city famous, and near the mouth of the River Lagan. It is flanked by long stretches of hills, the Castlereagh Hills on the south and the Antrim Hills on the north. The city straddles the County Antrim and County Down boundary.

The name Belfast originates from the Irish Béal Feirste, or 'mouth of the Farset' (feirste is the genitive of the word fearsaid, "a spindle"), the river on which the city was built. The river Farset has been superseded by the River Lagan as the more important river; the Farset now languishes under the High Street in obscurity. Bridge Street indicates where there was originally a bridge across the Farset.

Belfast saw the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement has encouraged large-scale redevelopment, such as Victoria Square, the Titanic Quarter and Laganside including the new Odyssey complex and the landmark Waterfront Hall. Much of the city centre has now been pedestrianised. Queen's University of Belfast is the main university in Belfast. The University of Ulster also maintains a campus in the city, which concentrates on fine art and design. And so does the Open University, which has its headquarters at the head of University Street.

Contents

Geography

The Scottish Provident building is typical of Belfast's Victorian commercial architecture
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The Scottish Provident building is typical of Belfast's Victorian commercial architecture
Belfast is situated at [54°35′50″N, 05°56′20″W]. A consequence of this latitude is that it both endures short winter days and enjoys long summer evenings. In the middle of the darkest period in December, local sunset is at 3.50 p.m. while sunrise is as late as 8.45 a.m. However, this is counterbalanced by the period from May to July. In mid-to-late June, sunset occurs after 10 p.m. and the daylight survives until 11 p.m. on fine nights.

To the north of Belfast are the Glens of Antrim in County Antrim, and to the south, the Castlereagh Hills in County Down. Overlooking the city are Divis Mountain, Black Mountain and Cavehill while to the east lies Belfast Lough.

Climate

Like much of the country, Belfast has a temperate climate with significant rainfall. Average daily maximums are 19°C (66°F) in July, 8°C (46°F) in January. There is significant rainfall on over 200 days in an average year, and an annual rainfall total of approximately 850mm (33 inches), still barely half that received in Western Ireland and Scotland. While sleet and snow fall occasionally in Winter, as an urban, coastal area, snow lies in Belfast on an average of only 2-3 days per year. Belfast is not noted for its temperature extremes.

The highest temperature recorded in Belfast was 29°C (84.2°F). The lowest was -13°C (8.6°F). [link]

 Climate Table
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum temperature (°C) 6.5 6.4 8.4 10.7 13.6 16.5 17.9 17.6 15.5 12.5 8.7 7.3 11.8
Mean daily minimum temperature (°C) 1.4 1.3 2.1 3.4 5.7 8.6 10.4 10.3 8.8 6.8 3.3 2.3 5.37
Mean total rainfall (mm) 87 60 70 57 62 64 57 83 85 94 82 84 885
Mean number of rain days 20.6 15.7 19.4 15.4 16.2 15.7 15.6 17.2 17.4 19.3 18.4 19.3 210.2
Source: [World Meteorological Organisation]

Points of interest

Panorama of Belfast on a dreary day, as seen from a tower block of Queen's University.
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Panorama of Belfast on a dreary day, as seen from a tower block of Queen's University.

The City Hall, dating from 1906, Queen's University of 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. Also notable is the Linenhall Library (1788), in Donegall Square North. Architect Charles Lanyon is responsible for many of the city's Victorian buildings.

The world's largest dry dock is located in the city, and the giant cranes (Samson and Goliath) of the Harland and Wolff shipyard, builders of the Titanic, can be seen from afar. Other long-gone industries included Irish linen and rope-making.

The Albert Clock is a Belfast landmark
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The Albert Clock is a Belfast landmark

Sections of the city contain numerous sectarian murals, reflecting the political and religious allegiances of the communities living there. Areas such as the Shankill Road contain murals which are almost entirely Protestant, depicting republican violence, loyalty to the British Crown, the Ulster Volunteer Force and Ulster Defence Association. Conversely, murals in areas such as the Falls Road, which is almost entirely Roman Catholic, feature political themes such as a united Ireland, and the Provisional IRA, as well as traditional folklore and the Irish language. The Irish folk hero Cú Chulainn has appeared on both republican and loyalist murals, representing the heroic Celtic past for the former and legendary battles between Ulster and the other provinces for the latter. In recent years some paramilitary murals have been replaced, in both loyalist and republican areas, with less controversial images. These include memorials to the late Belfast footballer George Best.

The 4 star Europa Hotel, located in the City Centre, was bombed 27 times during the troubles and is among one of the most bombed hotels in Europe.[link] [link].

The ornately decorated Crown Liquor Saloon in Great Victoria Street is notable as being the only bar owned by the National Trust. The Crown is situated across the road from the Europa Hotel and escaped serious damage despite the frequent bomb attacks on the Europa. Many locals have quipped that this merely shows that "God loves a drinker".

The Royal Courts of Justice in Chichester Street is home to Northern Ireland's Supreme Court. The Belfast Botanic Gardens has many features, including a unique palm house.

Belfast also contains the tallest building (as distinct from structure) on the island of Ireland. Windsor House stands at 80 metres (262 feet) and has 23 floors.

The Albert Clock stands at the end of High Street, and was built in memory of Queen Victoria's Prince Consort, Prince Albert. The Ormeau Baths Gallery on Ormeau Avenue is one of Ireland's premier contemporary art spaces. Belfast Zoo is located in the north of the City, on the slopes of Cavehill. Founded in 1833 by Bishop Crolly, St. Malachy's College is one of Ireland's oldest Roman Catholic grammar schools.

Belfast City Cemetery contains the graves of many notable Belfast residents including Viscount Pirrie and Sir Edward Harland.

History

Main Article: History of Belfast

The Lagan Weir, a major catalyst for redevelopment of the Laganside area and increasing use of the river throughout the city
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The Lagan Weir, a major catalyst for redevelopment of the Laganside area and increasing use of the river throughout the city

The site of Belfast has been occupied since the Bronze ages, and the remains of Iron Age hill forts can still be seen. It became a substantial settlement in the 17th century and blossomed as a commercial and industrial centre in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

Belfast has been the capital of Northern Ireland since its creation in 1921. Since it began to emerge as a major city in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it has sadly been the scene of much sectarian conflict between Roman Catholics (now often called nationalists) and Protestants (often termed unionists). The most recent example of this is the Troubles - a civil conflict that raged from 1969 to the late 1990s.

Belfast's industry suffered serious decline since the 1960s, creating much unemployment in the city. In recent years, large amounts of money have been invested in the city's infrastructure in an effort to stimulate the economy.

Loyalist mural
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Loyalist mural

Republican mural
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Republican mural

Local politics

In 1997, unionists lost control of Belfast City Council for the first time in its history, with the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland gaining the balance of power between nationalists and unionists. This position was confirmed in the council elections of 2001 and 2005. Since then it has had two nationalist mayors, one from the SDLP and one from Sinn Féin.

In the 2005 local government elections, the voters of Belfast elected 51 councillors to Belfast City Council from the following political parties: 15 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 14 Sinn Féin, 8 Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), 7 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), 4 Alliance Party, 2 Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), and 1 Independent (Frank McCoubrey).

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 2003, they elected 7 Sinn Féin, 6 DUP, 5 UUP, 4 SDLP, 1 PUP, and 1 Alliance MLAs (members of the Northern Ireland Assembly). In the 2005 general election, they elected 2 DUP MPs, 1 SDLP MP, and 1 Sinn Féin MP.

Belfast is twinned with:

Local sport

Belfast has several notable sports teams. In football the 2005-06 Irish League champions Linfield are based at Windsor Park in the south of the city. Windsor is also the home of the Northern Ireland team. Other Premier League football teams include Glentoran based in east Belfast, Cliftonville and Crusaders in north Belfast and Donegal Celtic in west Belfast.

2005-06 Celtic League champions and former European Rugby Union champions Ulster Rugby play at Ravenhill in East Belfast.

Belfast is represented in the Elite Ice Hockey League by the Belfast Giants. The Belfast Giants where recently crowned the 2005/2006 Elite League Champions, in a season which seen ex-NHL star Theo Fluery play for the team.

Casement Park, the second largest GAA ground in Ulster is located in west Belfast and is home to the Antrim gaelic football and hurling teams.

The Belfast Marathon is run on May Day each year.

Belfast has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V

Media

Belfast is the home of the News Letter, the oldest English language newspaper in the world still in publication. Other main newspapers include the Irish News, the evening Belfast Telegraph and recently, the Daily Ireland newspaper, while there is also an Irish language daily newspaper called Lá (or "day"). The current affairs magazine Fortnight (published, ironically, on a monthly basis) offers commentary from a left of centre but non-party-political stance. Another monthly magazine called The Vacuum offers commentary on arts and culture in the city.

The city is also the headquarters of BBC Northern Ireland, the ITV station UTV and the commercial radio stations Belfast CityBeat and U105. There are two independent cinemas in Belfast, the Queen's Film Theatre and the Strand Cinema, which host screenings during the Belfast Film Festival and the Belfast Festival at Queen's.

Transport

Belfast City Hall is the focus of the city's bus network
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Belfast City Hall is the focus of the city's bus network

Belfast is, by European standards, a relatively car-dependent city, with an extensive road network including the 10 lane M2 motorway.

Most public transport in Northern Ireland is operated by the subsidiaries of Translink. Bus services in the city proper and the nearer suburbs are operated by Translink Metro, with services focusing on linking residential districts with the City Centre on 12 quality bus corridors running along main radial roads, resulting in poor connections between different suburban areas. More distant suburbs are served by Ulsterbus.

Some parts of Belfast are also served by share taxi services operated by collectives of independent drivers.

Northern Ireland Railways provides suburban services along three lines running through Belfast’s Northern suburbs to Carrickfergus and Larne, eastwards towards Bangor and south-westwards towards Lisburn and Portadown. This service is known as the Belfast Suburban Rail system.

The most significant road scheme in Belfast for some years began early in 2006, with the conversion of two junctions along the Westlink dual carriageway from at grade to grade separated standard. The Westlink, a dual carriageway skirting the Northern edge of the City Centre, connects all three Belfast motorways and has suffered from chronic congestion for some years. Work is likely to finish in 2009 although some commentators have argued that this may simply create a new bottleneck at the at-grade York Street interchange unless that too is converted to a fully free-flowing grade separated junction. [link]

The city has two airports: The George Best Belfast City Airport adjacent to Belfast Lough and Belfast International Airport which is near Lough Neagh. The International Airport offers domestic, European and transatlantic flights. The City Airport is much closer to the city centre, however it is considerably smaller and serves domestic flights and limited European destinations.

2001 Census

Belfast Urban Area is within the Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area (BMUA) as classified by the [NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)]. On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 276,459 people living in Belfast Urban Area. Of these: For more details see: [NI Neighbourhood Information Service]

Areas & districts

The New Lodge area of North Belfast
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The New Lodge area of North Belfast

See also

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
[Special]

Cities in Ireland
Republic of Ireland: Dublin | Cork | Limerick | Galway | Waterford | Kilkenny
Northern Ireland: Belfast | Derry | Armagh | Newry | Lisburn

 

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