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BELFAST
Introduction
Co Antrim- Co Down
Belfast
the capital of N.I since 1920, is a industrial and predominantly Victorian city.
It owes it's fast expansion to the textile, engineering and shipbuilding industries
which boomed in the the 18C and 19C.
The river lagan flows past the south side of the city and soon afterwards
joins Belfast Lough ( a 12 mile long finger shaped stretch of the Irish sea).
The development of the port of Belfast began with the construction of
a quay under a royal Charter ( 1613) and was promoted by the purchase from Carrickfergus
in the 1630's of the monolopy of imported goods in the N.W of Ireland.
improvements to the port by dredging took place in 1849. Shipbuilding
began in 1791 . The Harland & Wolff shipyard the largest in the U.K, bears
the name of Edward James Harland, an engineer from Yorkshire, England, who came
to Belfast in 1850, and Gustav Wilhelm Wolff, a marine draughtstsman from Hamburg,
Germany. Among many other vessels the famous, unfortunate Titanic
was built here in Belfast shipyard.
Update
The Shipyard which once employed more than 30,000 people now has a core manual workforce of only a few dozen.
Harland and Wolff will now be focusing on ship repair, converting vessels for new uses and civil engineering
The last ship to be built "Anvil Point" set sail from Queen's Island on March 2003, ending almost 150 years of shipbuilding at the famous yard. The 22,000 tonne vessel is the second of two roll-on roll-off ferries built at the yard.
Harland & Wollf built a total 1742 ships during it's lifetime.
The main Places of interest in Belfast city are; The City Hall, St Anne's Cathedral,
Botanic Gardens, Queens University and the Ulster Museum.
About 5 miles north of the city, built on the side of the Cave Hill, is
the location for the Belfast Zoological gardens with Belfast Castle close by.
Fine views over Belfast city, Shipyard and Belfast lough with Co Down Ards peninsula
in the distance can be had from this side of the Cave Hill. Views north over
Newtownabbey towards Carrickfergus is also to be seen.
Car Ferries of the Irish Sea 1954-2004
*More information on photo pages*
Holidays In North & South Ireland
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Page created: 14, Dec, 2002
Last Updated: May 9, 2007