It
is Englands sixth and the United Kingdoms eighth most populous city,
one of the Core
Cities Group
and the most populous city in South West England.
Historically
split between Gloucestershire
and Somerset,
the city received a Royal
Charter
in 1155 and was granted County status in 1373. From the 13th century,
for half a millennium, it ranked amongst the top three English cities
after London,
alongside York
and Norwich,
on the basis of tax receipts, until the rapid rise of Liverpool,
Birmingham
and Manchester
during the Industrial
Revolution in the latter part of the 18th century. It borders the
counties
of Somerset
and Gloucestershire,
and is also located near the historic cities of Bath
to the south east and Gloucester
to the north. The city is built around the River
Avon,
and it also has a short coastline on the Severn
Estuary,
which flows into the Bristol
Channel.
Bristol
is the largest centre of culture, employment and education in the
region. Its prosperity has been linked with the sea since its
earliest days. The commercial Port
of Bristol
was originally in the city centre before being moved to the Severn
Estuary at Avonmouth;
Royal
Portbury Dock
is on the western edge of the city boundary. In more recent years the
economy has depended on the creative media, electronics and aerospace
industries, and the city centre docks have been regenerated as a
centre of heritage and culture. There are 34 other populated places
on Earth named
Bristol,
most in the United States, but also in Peru,
Canada, Jamaica,
Barbados, and Costa
Rica, all presumably commemorating the original.
Text was taken from Wikipedia. 
photos by Napoleonoff
