20 Facts You Might Not Know About Birmingham
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Victoria Square hosts one of the largest fountains in Europe, nicknamed “The Floozie in the Jacuzzi”.
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The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery has the world’s largest collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings.
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Birmingham’s Spaghetti junction is famous around the world.
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The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were inspired by places and people in Birmingham. Their author, J.R.R. Tolkien, was from Brum.
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The city was founded in the Anglo-Saxon era.
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James Watt, a Scot who lived in Birmingham from 1775-1819, developed the steam engine
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Birmingham’s Central Library is Europe’s largest public library.
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Birmingham Cathedral has stained glass windows designed by the British master of stained glass himself, Edward Burne-Jones, who was himself from Birmingham.
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The Birmingham Jewellery Quarter produces 40% of all jewellery produced in the UK.
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Bird’s Custard, Cadbury Chocolate, Bournville Drinking Chocolate, HP Sauce and Typhoon Tea are all from Birmingham.
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The world’s top racquet sport, tennis, began at Edgbaston in the 1850’s.
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It has more canals than Venice and is the centre of the UK’s canal network
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Locals are nicknamed ‘Brummies’.
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The 18th century Industrial Revolution put Birmingham on the map as a manufacturing powerhouse.
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Birmingham is the 2nd largest city in the United Kingdom after London, and in the top 20 biggest cities in Europe by population.
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There are 30 other Birmingham’s around the world, but Birmingham, United Kingdom is the original one.
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Sprint 100 metres in under 10 seconds in Birmingham. It worked for Usain Bolt, the world-record holder from Jamaica, training here before his 2012 Olympic gold medal feat.
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Birmingham is the farthest from the sea of any major UK city, about 190 km.
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Birmingham is the birthplace of Heavy Metal.
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The Electric Cinema in Station Street at the back of Birmingham’s revamped New Street Railway Station is the UK’s oldest working cinema dating from 1909.