The name Liverpool immediately conjures up the Beatles, the first class football teams Liverpool FC and Everton FC and the accent of the "Scoucers", as the people of Liverpool are known. The heart of the Merseyside Conurbation lies on the east bank of the Mersey estuary, about 3mi/5km from the open sea
At this point the Mersey is about 0.75mi/1.2km wide, opening out inland into a basin 3mi/5km wide. Liverpool, with one of the largest harbors in the world not dependent on tides, is a major port for transatlantic shipping. The huge container ships are handled at the modern docks situated outside the city near Bootle and Birkenhead on the opposite bank.
This city of superlatives is not only an important trading metropolis, university town and financial center. For years it has been trying to resolve serious structure problems by far-reaching redevelopment programs, diversification initiatives for industry and incentives for the tertiary sector. The major employers are the motor companies Ford and General Motors, the food manufacturers United Biscuits and Nabisco, Unilever, whose presence dates back over 100 years, Glaxo, Metal Box, Pilkington Glass and Shell. In 1984 it became a free port. Liverpool's central importance is underlined by the location here of the seats of both Catholic and Anglican bishops; the Anglican cathedral is one of the largest churches in Christendom. The city has many handsome historic administrative and commercial buildings, many gardens and parks and numerous museums and recreational facilities, including the famous Walker Art Gallery and the Philharmonic Hall, one of the best concert halls in Europe.
The airport at Speke (6mi/10km southeast from the city center) flies to numerous international destinations. There are good road and rail connections with Manchester and the rest of Lancashire; the main railroad station is Lime Street station. Birkenhead can be reached by the Queensway Road Tunnel (parallel to a rail tunnel), Wallasey by the Kingsway road tunnel. The famous Mersey ferries carry visitors as well as plying between the two banks. The Liverpool-Manchester Ship Canal, originally constructed for the transport of cotton, is also navigable.
The origin of the city's name is unknown, but is traditionally connected with the mythological Liver bird (pronounced "lyver") This sea gull or cormorant-like bird figures in the city's coat of arms, carrying a piece of seaweed in its beak (the symbolic "planta genista" of the Plantagenets). The name "Liverpool" appears for the first time in a charter of 1173 granted by Henry II, who founded the town and built a castle here. The port was constructed by King John in 1207. Liverpool's rise in economic importance is closely connected with the decline of Chester as a port caused by the silting of its harbor. The first dock on the Mersey together with the first harbor with locks was opened in 1715, when the town had a population of some 5,000. Liverpool followed Bristol in the lucrative "trading triangle": glass beads, cotton goods etc. were exported to Africa, the ships carrying them then conveyed Negro slaves to the West Indies and North America, from where cotton, raw sugar, tobacco, cocoa etc. were brought back to England. The regular shipping services to North America which began in 1840, also contributed to the city's prosperity.
Liverpool celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2007 and was designated the European Capital of Culture for 2008.
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