Big Ben – 5 facts about London’s landmark

Every child knows Big Ben. It stands for London and the United Kingdom like no other landmark. But how much do you really know about the clock tower?

There are many landmarks in London, but few are as well known as Big Ben. It may even be the most famous bell tower in the world. But did you know that Big Ben isn’t actually called Big Ben? And that a time change takes quite a long time?

That’s the real name of Big Ben

Although everyone calls the bell tower of the British Parliament Big Ben, the real name of the landmark is quite different. In fact, Big Ben is only the designation for the largest of the five bells of the tower’s clock. When it was completed, the tower was simply called “Clock Tower”. It was not until 2012 that the quasi-anonymous building was renamed the “Elizabeth Tower” in honor of the Queen’s 60-year reign. Big Ben, however, remains the tower’s universally accepted nickname.

Only Britons are allowed to visit Big Ben

Quite a few tourists are heartbroken as soon as they learn that they can admire the bell tower from the outside, but not from the inside. In 2010, due to the increased threat of terrorism in London, it was decided to only allow visitors with British nationality access to Big Ben. But the passport alone is not enough! If you want to climb the Tower, you have to be officially invited by a member of Parliament or a member of the House of Lords. And those who have overcome this hurdle themselves must confirm that they are fit enough to climb all 334 steps to the top of the tower alone and without help. In addition, you must not be ill, heavily pregnant or under the age of eleven.

Big Ben was silent for many years

Big Ben’s carillon is world-famous: it is known from numerous James Bond and Harry Potter films. But between 2017 and 2021 the bells of the landmark stopped ringing: due to extensive renovation. The construction work was largely completed in 2021, reports, among others, the Austrian newspaper “Krone”. The renovation of the bell tower cost 92 million euros. Among other things, all 3433 roof tiles were replaced and the large clock was completely dismantled. On New Year’s Eve 2021, Londoners heard the tune of “Westminster Charters” again for the first time, blaring from the landmark’s different sized bells. A test phase began this spring and soon Big Ben will be heard every day again.

Five hours for the time change

Big Ben is so important that its clock alone has a team of five people who look after it all year round: the leader is the so-called “Keeper of the Great Clock”. “). When it’s time for the time change again, his team first has to climb the 334 steps in order to then change the ancient and sensitive mechanism, and thus the hands of the clock, to an hour later or earlier, a full five hours.

Flock of birds made clock slow by 4 minutes

Possibly one of the most incredible Big Ben facts: In 1949, the tower was once visited by a flock of starlings – with unexpected consequences. The birds thought the minute hand on Big Ben’s clock looked pretty cozy and landed there in such a large flock that the hand began to slow and the clock ended up being more than four minutes behind.