Palace of Westminster -Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace

Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, a meeting place of two houses the House of Lords and the Parliament's lower house. Located on the north shore of Thames Note that the heart of London City of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, near the historic and government buildings in Whitehall and Downing Street. The name may refer to one of two buildings, the Old Palace, a medieval complex of buildings, most of them perished in 1834 and its replacement by a new palace, which stands today but retained their original status as a royal residence style and ceremonial purposes.

Royal Palace was built in the eleventh century, a site in London and Westminster was the principal residence of Kings of England until a fire destroyed a large part of the complex after that he was the 1512th house Parliament, which has been meeting since the thirteenth century, and the location of the Royal Courts, based in and around Westminster Hall. In 1834, a fire devastated the rebuilt houses in Parliament even higher, and the only surviving structure of the importance of Westminster Hall, monasteries and chapter of St Stephen's Chapel of Our Lady Undercroft and the Jewel Tower.

Increased competition in the reconstruction of the palace by architect Charles Barry and his winning design for the building of the Cross Gothic style. Remnants of the old castle (with the exception of a separate Jewel Tower) have been incorporated into its much larger replacement, which includes over 1,100 guest rooms, symmetrically arranged around a series of two courtyards. Part of the New Palace of 3.24 hectares (8 acres) were allocated to the Thames dams, which are assigned to the main facade, 265.8 meters (872 feet) from the river front. Barry was assisted by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin WN, a leading expert in Gothic architecture and style, which saw the designs for the decoration and equipment for the palace. Construction began in 1840 and lasted for thirty years, suffering from major delays and cost overruns, as well as the death of the two leading architects, interior decoration construction continued intermittently into the twentieth century. Home maintenance was done because due to the impact of air pollution in London and the repairs made after World War II, including the reconstruction of the Commons chamber after the bombing of the 1941st

Landing is one of the centers of political life in the UK, "Westminster" has become a metonym for the British Parliament and the Westminster system of government adopted its name after him. His Clock Tower, which became known as particularly "Big Ben" after its main Bell, best known sights in London and the UK's most popular tourist city in general and the nature of parliamentary democracy. Palace of Westminster was a Grade I listed building dating from 1970 and a UNESCO World Heritage List since 1987.