Trafalgar Square in London

Trafalgar Square is considered the most beautiful and most visited square in London. The square was named after the naval battle of 1805, which took place off the coast of Cape Trafalgar, where the British Royal Navy defeated combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies, but Admiral Nelson was killed. He was honored by a tall column installed in the center of the square.

Three major streets of Old London – Whitehall, Strand and Pall Mall – converge on Trafalgar Square. Sometime this area was known as Charing Cross, as Edward I erected there the Eleanor Cross as a memorial to his wife. From the early 19th century road distances from London are measured from Charing Cross.

The total height of Nelson Column is 44 meters and the height of Nelson statue is 5.5 meters. The column was made from Dartmoor granite between 1840 and 1843. The top of the column was made in the Corinthian style and decorated with an ornament of cast iron cast from English guns. The lower part of the column is decorated with four panels cast from captured French guns, depicting Nelson`s victories. Statues of huge lions are on all four sides of the column. The column is flanked by two large fountains. 

There are 4 monuments on the sides of the square. One of the pedestals was empty for a long time, and since then ever-changing installations have been made on it. In the north the square is dominated by a large building of the National Art Gallery, and next to it is the high spire of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, an English Anglican church.