The Tower of London [antikvár]

The Tower of LondonThe Tower of London from an engraving by HollarThe Tower of London was first built by William the Conqueror, for the purpose of protecting and controlling the city. As first planned, it lay within the Roman city walls, but its enlargement in the thirteenth century carried its boundaries eastwards beyond the walls. Nowadays it is wholly within the borough of Tower Hamlets. Including the moat, it covers an area of 18 acres.Of the present buildings only the White Tower is of the Norman period; but architecture of almost all the styles which have flourished in England may be found within the walls. The Tower has in the past been a fortress, a palace and a prison, and has housed the Royal Mint, the Public Records and (for a short time) the Royal Observatory. It was for centuries the arsenal for small-arms and, being one of the strongest fortresses in the land, the Tower has always guarded the Crown Jewels. From the thirteenth century until 1834 it also housed the Royal Menagerie, the predecessor of the London Zoo.The oldest and most important building is the Great Tower or Keep, called the White Tower. The Inner Ward is defended by a wall containing thirteen towers, the only surviving original entrance to it being that on the south side under the Bloody Tower. The Outer Ward is defended by a second wall, flanked by six towers on the river face, and by two semicircular