This English temple, officially called the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, began construction in the 13th century. And the construction ended after 38 years, a record for that time. About a million tourists want to visit Salisbury Cathedral every year. And they all want to see the famous 123-meter spire and the oldest movement in the world that is still in operation.
One of the legends says that the place where the cathedral was later erected was indicated by the Virgin Mary herself. She appeared in a dream to one of the local bishops. According to another version, an arrow of one of the local archers got there. Be that as it may, but in 1220 the first stone was laid.
As a result, after some time, a city grew up around the built cathedral - people from the nearest settlement, where the local cathedral was "worse", moved here. They say that in general the new cathedral appeared due to a quarrel between the sheriff of that town, which was called Old Sarum, and the local bishop. As a result, the bishop took up the construction of a new large cathedral. Now the territory of Old Sarum is a city park in Salisbury.
The cathedral was built from Chilmark limestone, which had to be transported by carts 20 kilometers from the construction site. The same 123-meter tower was built in 7 years. In addition to its height, it is also surprising that with only 1 meter of foundation depth, the tower still stands intact. This is due to the fact that there is a layer of flint gravel underground at the place where the cathedral is located. Due to its strength, this material ensures the stability of the entire architectural composition. Salisbury Cathedral also has the largest courtyard area in the world, which is surrounded by a gallery.
And another equally famous landmark of the temple is the world's oldest clock mechanism. It still works properly - however, the clock is long gone, and the mechanism itself is installed inside the cathedral and any tourist can see it.
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The clock was originally installed on the bell tower, where it appeared in 1386. At the end of the 18th century, the bell tower was destroyed, and the clockwork was simply removed somewhere. They remembered about it only in the 20th century, cleaned it and put it on as an exhibit. It is interesting that the clock on the towers was also set before Salisbury - but only this one survived in a relatively pristine form thanks to this fate. Therefore, it is now considered the oldest clockwork in the world.
Also in the library building of the temple is kept one of four original copies of the famous Magna Carta. For modern Englishmen, this historical document is the first constitutional act containing the foundations of the rule of law.
Here, for the first time, the ideas of equality of all before the law and court, protection of human rights, and the rule of law were presented. Also, the charter limited the arbitrariness of the royal family. However, today only three articles from the document formally operate in the country.
To visit the Cathedral of Our Lady in Salisbury, the easiest way is to get to the train station. Just one kilometer from it in the southeast direction, there is a famous landmark, recognized as an architectural monument of the first category. Despite the fact that in its entire history the cathedral has had several not always successful restorations, it still captivates travelers with its gothic medieval appearance, sculptural ornaments, paintings, memorials and stained glass windows.
The cathedral is active, services are held in it. It is open for visitors every day, admission is free. However, it is worth leaving donations - after all, large sums of money are spent on continuing restoration work. There are also free group tours around the cathedral, which anyone can join. There are also paid excursions - to the tower itself. They run on a specific schedule and cost £ 13.5.
From London to Salisbury is an hour and a half journey. As a rule, tourists come here for half a day. They walk around the cathedral, examine its surroundings, climb to the top of the tower. Then you can spend a few more hours in Salisbury itself: visit the old pubs.
And just 13 kilometers from the city there is another famous world landmark - Stonehenge. Even children now know about this ancient stone structure, which is slightly younger than the Egyptian pyramids. Therefore, after visiting Salisbury, you must definitely go to the stones of Stonehenge.