The principal town of the county of Warwickshire is an attractive historic town on the River Avon with many old buildings, which has been dominated for 900 years by a defensive fort, Warwick Castle. On weekdays visitors can stroll among the market stalls in Old Square and Jury Street or hunt through one
of the many antiques shops.
The origins of the town date back to the first Norman fort built here in 1068, although the daughter of Alfred the Great is supposed to have established a fortress here in 915. The powerful Earls of Warwick not only controlled the land surrounding their impenetrable fortress, but also intrigued in English politics, most decisively as "kingmakers". In the late Middle Ages this trading town, protected by the fort, became affluent. After a fire in 1694 destroyed most of its medieval buildings, they were carefully reconstructed using the old structures.
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