Coventry

Coventry is a Ville of England, located in the area of the West the Midlands, near Birmingham. Second city of counted Warwickshire, its population is estimated at: 305000 inhabitants (2002). Since 1345, Coventry has officially the statute of city. It was a long time one of the most important industrial centers of the country with a dynamic economy. For this reason, within the framework of its psychological warfare against England, the Nazi regime decides to carry out to it one of the worst air raids of the second world war.

History

At the 15th century, Coventry was the fourth town of England. It was very well protected from the attackers, in particular thanks to the medieval castles of Warwick and Kenilworth, located not far from the city. Its prosperity was due mainly to the exchanges of Laine and Textile.

At the time of the Second world war, Coventry seriously undergoes the Bombardement S solid masses of the Luftwaffe on November 14th 1940 by a wave of: 500 bombers (operation '' Mondscheinsonate ''). The city was almost completely destroyed and the decimated population. One said that Winston Churchill would have made the decision to let bombard the city to preserve the secrecy of discovered mode of Cryptage used in the communications of the Axe, only of the children being evacuated under pretext of holiday camps. But this is only one legend, Winston Churchill had well the information of a bombardment in the night from November 14th to 15th 1940, only it did not know the place. It was then thought at the time the bombardment would touch the suburbs of London. Other waves of bombardment took place on Liverpool, Plymouth, Bristol and Southampton within the framework of the Blitz.

The cathedral of Coventry was voluntarily left such as reduced the bombardment: there remain about it nothing any more but pillars and some sections of wall. It however is not closed down and a second cathedral was built just at side, in a modern style imagined by the architect Basil Spence. Work began in 1956 and the inauguration took place the May 25th 1962. On this occasion was created upsetting it War Requiem of Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) on poems of Wilfred Owen with a Russian soprano Galina Vichnevskaïa (the woman of Rostropovitch), an English tenor Peter Pears (the friend of Britten) and a German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau to symbolize the reconciliation. The stained glasses are a work of the Alsatian Master-glassmaker Tristan Ruhlmann. This new cathedral accommodates the religious ceremonies, but the old one is always accessible to open sky.

Economy

Coventry is famous for its industry Automobile. The first English automobile factory was founded in Coventry, by the company Daimler. Since, more than 130 automobile companies passed by Coventry.

The last: PSA Peugeot Citroen, which announced the closing of its production site of Ryton, meadows of Coventry, in 2007.

Coventry has an airport located at Baginton (code AITA: CVT).

Culture

  • the downtown area accommodates the museum of transport, which reflects the history of the car to the wire of time. One can in particular see there the supersonic car which beat the world speed records in 1997, Thrust2.

  • the Lanchester' S Library is the news College library of Coventry. It comprises approximately: 350000 pounds in free access and an important information technology infrastructure connected to the network of the university.

  • Coventry is the fatherland of the group of Ska The Specials.

Famous characters

  • Lady Godiva

Twinnings

Simple: Coventry

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