East Anglia

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Location of East Anglia in England; Essex is also included on this representation (as the southern of the four counties)

East Anglia ( East Anglia ) is the traditional name of a region in the east of England , situated between London , the estuary of the Great Ouse and Welland - called The Wash - and the estuary of the River Thames stretches. It includes the counties of Cambridgeshire , Norfolk and Suffolk, as well as parts of Lincolnshire ; Sometimes the county of Essex to the south (all or only its northern part) is included. It largely coincides with the East of England region of the British administrative system , with Lincolnshire being completely part of the East Midlands region . The majority of the population lives in small rural villages, which are popular vacation spots for city dwellers in London.

history

In the Stone Age , East Anglia was a center for the extraction of flint , which was also used there as a building material.

The Kingdom of the East Angles came into being around 520 and is made up of the historic counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, and parts of Cambridgeshire and Essex. Traditionally, the city of Norwich was the central administrative center of this area. The city has also been the seat of the University of East Anglia since 1961 . The composition of the area has a lot to do with the history but also with the physiography of the region. Settled for thousands of years, Colchester is considered to be one of the oldest cities in England, having played an important role in pre-Roman and Roman times. East Anglia was one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and the population consisted of the northern (Norfolk) and the southern residents (Suffolk) and the communities bordering on their settlement areas. Rædwald , about whom little is known, was the first powerful king of East Anglia . The burial equipment of the ship grave of Sutton Hoo reflects the wealth of the kings of East Anglia. The empire was spared from wars until November 20, 870, when the Danes invaded and killed the last Anglo-Saxon king, Edmund ; Edmund is buried in Bury Saint Edmunds . In 920 it was recaptured by the Saxons .

During the Second World War , the British military built a few airfields , but few of them are still in use. The main civil airport is near Norwich.

East Anglia has a regional dialect called East Anglian English .

Geography, climate and vegetation

The landscape consists of rolling hills and is covered with glacial deposits. The valleys are flat and are traversed by rivers such as the Wensum and the Waveney , which flow into the North Sea. It is made up of flat moors and moor-like areas of land. Climatically, the area is continentally influenced in relation to the oceanic climate of the British Isles ; you can find sunflower fields there as well as lavender and vineyards .

Around the town of Thetford (in the center of East Anglia) there are larger contiguous forest areas - including the so-called King's Forest . The landscape rises in the area of ​​these forests to about 150 meters above sea level. Towards the North Sea coast there are large alluvial plains at sea level, the so-called Norfolk Broads , which are now part of the Broads National Park . These plains are criss-crossed by a large network of waterways and are often used by those seeking relaxation for boat trips. Remarkable are the historical " tide mills " that still exist there .

economy

In the late Middle Ages, East Anglia was known for the quality of its wool and the manufacture of wool products. Norwich was one of the main weaving centers in England from the 14th to 18th centuries. Agriculture and sheep breeding have always been an important economic factor for this region. The cultivation of barley takes up a large part of the agricultural land. There are also important fishing ports and holiday resorts along the coast.

East Anglia is a region that covers a considerable range of industries. East Anglia is an economic center, especially in terms of biotechnology and environmental protection.

The largest cluster in the field of biotechnology, the Eastern Region Biotech Initiative (ERBI) is located in East Anglia. In and around Cambridge, several companies are connected to one another through this, working together cooperatively and increasing competition among each other, which in turn drives development. In addition, also in Cambridge, several ICT companies, i.e. information and communications technology companies, have joined together to form a cluster. The fact that the largest biotechnology cluster is located in East Anglia is due to the natural conditions. There are many moorland, alluvial lands and forests in the region, most of which are protected.

In addition, it is precisely those nature reserves that are the reason why local institutes and universities make it their task to research first and then to protect. These institutes and universities are both known and recognized worldwide for their know-how.

East Anglia is linked by Cambridge to the London-Stansted-Cambridge corridor. This "corridor" is intended to represent an amalgamation of growth zones in Great Britain, which is intended to promote the growth process through state funding. This state financial aid is used, for example, to build housing estates or to enable studies on the respective growth zone.

Localities

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c East Anglia. In: Encyclopædia Britannica. ( online )
  2. ↑ East Anglian English on public.oed.com
  3. ↑ ERBI - Eastern Region Biotech Initiative on kooperation-international.de
  4. ^ London - Cambridge life sciences corridor can create 14,000 jobs. In: co.uk. www.gva.co.uk, March 11, 2015, accessed November 17, 2015 (UK English).