Trafalgar Square (/ˌtrəˈfælɡər/ trə-fal-gər)
is a public space and tourist attraction in central
London, built around the area formerly known as Charing
Cross. It is situated in the City of Westminster. At its centre is Nelson's
Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a
number of commemorative statues and sculptures in the square, while one plinth, left empty
since it was built in 1840, The Fourth
Plinth, has been host to contemporary art since 1999. The square is also
used for political demonstrations and community gatherings, such as the
celebration of New
Year's Eve.
The name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, a British naval victory of the Napoleonic
Wars over France and Spain which took place on 21 October 1805
off the coast of Cape
Trafalgar in Los
Canos de Meca, a town in the municipality of Vejer de la Frontera(in the municipality of Barbate since 1940), Cadiz, Spain. The original
name was to have been "King William the Fourth's Square", but George Ledwell Taylor suggested the name "Trafalgar
Square".
In the 1820s George IV engaged the architect John Nash to
redevelop the area. Nash cleared the square as part of his Charing Cross
Improvement Scheme. The present architecture of the square is due to Sir Charles
Barry and was completed in 1845.
Trafalgar Square is owned by the Queen in Right of
the Crown and managed by the Greater London Authority, while
Westminster City Council owns the roads around the square, including the
pedestrianized area of the North Terrace. It
forms part of the Northbank business improvement district.
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