Weston-super-Mare

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Weston-super-Mare
Weston Town Hall
Weston Town Hall
railway station
railway station
Coordinates 51 ° 21 ′  N , 2 ° 59 ′  W Coordinates: 51 ° 21 ′  N , 2 ° 59 ′  W
OS National Grid ST320613
Weston-super-Mare (England)
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare
Residents 71,758 (as of 2001)
administration
Post town WESTON SUPER MARE
ZIP code section BS22 - BS24
prefix 01934
Part of the country England
region South West England
Ceremonial county Somerset
Unitary authority North Somerset
Big fire on the pier (2008)

Weston-super-Mare is an English resort on the Bristol Channel in North Somerset . The city has approx. 71,700 inhabitants (2001) and is located approx. 28 km southwest of Bristol .

Weston-super-Mare is known for its sandy beaches, although the sea can be up to a mile away at low tide . Weston comes from the Anglo-Saxon language and originally means west do (western settlement). The suffix -super-Mare is unusual in that it comes from medieval Latin and literally means "above the sea".

Weston grew especially in the Victorian era when seaside holidays became fashionable. Together with neighboring Burnham-on-Sea , Weston benefited from its proximity to Bristol, Bath and South Wales . With the construction of the railway, thousands of visitors came to the city. The Birnbeck Pier was completed for them in 1867 . It offered amusement facilities, tea rooms, fairgrounds and a photo studio to visitors.

Because the Birnbeck Pier meant that many visitors no longer visited the center of the city, the local traders built a new pier closer to the main streets. This Grand Pier , opened in 1904, was originally intended to be 1.5 miles long. It was a huge arcade with one-armed bandits , bumper cars , a ghost train and bowling area . Whole families with small children romped on the pier in summer and on weekends.

In the early morning of July 28, 2008, a large fire broke out on the historic Grand Pier . The pier, which had been completely modernized and renovated just a few months earlier, was completely destroyed. After the reconstruction, Grand Pier reopened on October 23, 2010.

After the Second World War , as with almost all seaside resorts, Weston's popularity declined. However, the city became an industrial center, u. a. for aircraft construction. The M5 motorway is nearby and Weston is now partly a dormitory town with residents working in Bristol.

The stream of tourists has not yet dried up. In addition to a shopping center, the city offers a helicopter museum, an aquarium and a miniature train.

Weston-super-Mare has been twinned with Hildesheim since the early 1980s .

Personalities

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