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BelfastNorthern Ireland
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 in the province of Ulster. In the 2001 Census the population within the city limits (Belfast Urban Area) was 276,459, while c.800,000 people live 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 Holywood Hills on the south and the Antrim Hills on the north. The city straddles the County Antrim and County Down boundary. The city recently gained the status of being the 2nd most popular city in the UK, above London and Glasgow, for short breaks. The name Belfast originates from the Irish Béal Feirste, or the mouth of the Farset (feirste is the genitive of the word fearsaid, "a spindle"), 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 Interestingly, the river Farset has been superseded by the River Lagan as the most important river; the Farset now languishes under the High Street in obscurity.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 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement has encouraged large-scale redevelopment, such as Victoria Square, Titanic Quarter and Laganside including the new Odyssey complex and sports arena. Much of the city centre has now been pedestrianised. The city has two airports: Belfast City Airport adjacent to Belfast Lough and Belfast International Airport, formerley Aldergrove RAF Station, home of the famous 502 Squadron, which is near Lough Neagh. Queen's University 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. City of Belfast Motto Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus "what shall we give in return for so much" Location 54.596°N -5.914°W Area: 115 km² County: Antrim Population: 276,459 Province: Ulster External links All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (see Copyrights for details). About Wikipedia Disclaimers This information was correct in December 2005. E. & O.E. Sarolta and I visited Belfast during 1978. It was a memorable experience. We came from Dublin by train and seeing the collateral damage of the previous years, nearly loosing my camera to an over zealous soldier, we got out of town soon after we managed to explore Belfast and the surrounding area, a little bit nervously. Remember it was 1978!!!! Hui Chin and I explored Monaco and it's districs, including Monte Carlo, Casino and the Palace, as I happened to be here before, I acted as a guide for Hui Chin, bad idea, I hardly rememberred or recognised the place, except the Casino, which hasn't seemed to change much.
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