Canterbury Engeland:het oude kerkhof bij The Canterbury Castle. (Mei 2024)
Canterbury, historische stad en de omliggende stad (gemeente) in het administratieve en historische graafschap Kent, in het zuidoosten van Engeland. De kathedraal is sinds het begin van de 7e eeuw het belangrijkste kerkelijke centrum van Engeland. De stad, een district in het administratieve graafschap Kent, omvat de stad Canterbury, het omliggende platteland en een gebied dat zich uitstrekt tot aan de monding van de Theems, inclusief de badplaatsen Whitstable en Herne Bay.
Quiz
Het zit allemaal in de naam
Hoe noemen de inwoners van Albanië hun land?
De plaats van de stad Canterbury, die sinds de pre-Romeinse tijd bezet was, was in de oudheid de monding van de rivier de Stour, die uitgroeide tot een monding die zich uitstrekte tot het Wantsum-kanaal, de zeestraat die ooit het eiland Thanet scheidde van het vasteland. De Romeinse stad Durovernum Cantiacorum werd op de site gesticht na de invasie van Claudius in 43 n.Chr. Het was verbonden met Londen (89 km ten noordwesten) en met Dover (26 km ten zuidoosten) via Casingc Street (later Watling Street). De stadsmuur werd rond 200 nC door de Romeinen gebouwd en in de middeleeuwen herbouwd; delen ervan staan nog steeds. Van de zes middeleeuwse ingangen van de stad overleeft alleen Westgate.
In the late 6th century Canterbury was the capital of Aethelberht I, king of Kent, whose marriage to a Christian—Bertha, daughter of the Frankish king Charibert—probably influenced him in favour of the mission of St. Augustine of Canterbury, who arrived on the Isle of Thanet in 597 and was given St. Martin’s, the queen’s parish church. After his consecration at Arles as bishop of the English, Augustine returned to Canterbury, founded the Abbeys of SS. Peter and Paul (known after his death as St. Augustine’s Abbey), and established the cathedral, which was originally called Christ Church.
The town grew in importance, though it suffered badly from Danish raids, especially in 1011. After the murder (1170) of Archbishop Thomas Becket in the cathedral and Henry II’s penance there in 1174, Becket’s shrine attracted many pilgrims. Catering to their needs became the principal activity of the many inns of the town, and a picture of the travelers is given in The Canterbury Tales of Geoffrey Chaucer.
Municipal government dates from the 14th century or earlier, and the town was promoted to county status, with a sheriff, in 1461. During the 16th-century Reformation, the numerous monastic houses were dissolved, the cult of Becket was suppressed, and the town languished. An influx of Huguenot and Walloon refugees (mostly weavers) revived the town.
The town suffered severely from bombardment in World War II, though the cathedral was little damaged (fires were lit on the grounds during air raids in order to give the appearance that the cathedral was already in flames). The shopping area, Longmarket, has since been renovated.
The cathedral was rebuilt from the 11th to the 12th century and fromthe 14th to the 16th century, when the present nave and the distinctive tower (Bell Harry tower) were built. A series of capitals in the large crypt is a fine example of Norman architectural sculpture and features animals and monsters of fable. The Corona and the Trinity Chapel have exquisite stained-glass windows, some of which date from the 12th and 13th centuries. The crypt was granted to the Huguenots as their church at the end of the 16th century, and weekly services are still held in French there. On the cathedral grounds, Christ Church Gate gives entrance to the remains of the monastic buildings, and a Norman staircase leads to the hall of the King’s School, founded in the early Middle Ages as a monastic school and reestablished in 1541 by Henry VIII as a grammar school for boys.
Other medieval ecclesiastical buildings grace the town, including survivals of the original 22 parish churches and remains ofSt. Augustine’s Abbey outside the walls; a museum at the site features excavated objects from Saxon and Roman times. The great abbey gate (c. 1300) remains standing. Also notable is the Canterbury Heritage Museum, which is housed in a 13th-century hospital. Some of the houses of the Huguenot refugees still stand along the Stour. Canterbury Cathedral, St. Augustine’s Abbey, and St. Martin’s Church were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988.
Modern Canterbury is a market town and regional service centre. It has some light industries and attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. Its many educational institutions include the University of Kent at Canterbury (founded 1965) and Canterbury Christ Church College (1962). Area city (local authority), 119 square miles (309 square km). Pop. (2001) town, 43,552; city (local authority), 135,278; (2011) town, 54,880; city (local authority), 151,145.
