Belfast

Belfast [bɛɫˈfɑːst] (Irish Béal Feirste [ˌbʲeːɫ ˈfʲɛɾʲʃtʲə]) is the capital of Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the second largest city on the island of Ireland after Dublin.

Belfast has a population of approximately 343,000 (2019) and is located at the mouth of the River Lagan in Belfast Lough. The city has the status of a city and forms one of the eleven Northern Ireland administrative districts. The Dublin-Belfast corridor along the motorway is home to three of the six million Irish people.

Belfast is the seat of a Catholic (Diocese of Down and Connor) and an Anglican bishop (Diocese of Down and Dromore), a university city and has a seaport. The city is also the seat of the government and parliament of Northern Ireland. Inner-city areas of Belfast were among the sites of the Northern Ireland conflict, particularly in the 1970s.

Name and motto

The Irish Béal Feirste means "mouth of the Farset" (ir. An Fhearsaid, Irish feminine). What is meant is the confluence with the Lagan. The name of the river Farset in turn has the meaning "sandbank" due to pronounced sandbanks at its mouth. It is no longer visible today and runs below Bridge Street.

The city has the motto Pro tanto, quid retribuamus? ("For so much, what shall we pay back?"). The slogan has been interpreted on many occasions as a call to arms and used as a battle cry, although it actually originated in the university sphere and was intended to express gratitude to the alma mater.

History

In 1177 a Norman castle was built in the present area of the city. In 1603 Belfast was founded by Sir Arthur Chichester. In view of the continuing rebellions in Ireland, which remained Catholic, the settlement of loyal Scottish Presbyterians specifically in the Belfast area was encouraged by the Crown. In the 17th century, Huguenots who had fled France built up the linen industry.

In the 18th century an extension of the harbour took place. In 1888 Belfast was granted city rights by Queen Victoria.

In 1912, the Titanic, built in the Belfast shipyard Harland & Wolff, set sail from here on her first voyage. Almost 500 people died in riots between 1920 and 1922 against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence. At the opening of the newly formed Parliament of Northern Ireland on 7 June 1921 in Belfast City Hall, King George V made a significant proposal for reconciliation between North and South. The speech, drafted by David Lloyd George on recommendations from Jan Smuts, opened the doors for formal contact between the British government and the republican administration under Éamon de Valera.

In April and May 1941 there was heavy damage to the port and the city by bombardments of the German Luftwaffe. In 1969, the civil war-like conflicts between militant groups of Catholics and Protestants began (today one usually speaks euphemistically of "troubles"). They were officially ended in 1998 by the so-called Good Friday Agreement. After that, the strongly inhibited development of the city got going. Economy and tourism developed more strongly. On 16/17 June 2009, riots broke out in Belfast against Romanians living there. According to those affected, they left their homes after several nights in a row of attacks against them in which racist slogans were shouted and windows smashed and doors kicked in. Police subsequently evacuated over 100 Romanians to the Ozone complex in Belfast on 17 June after they had spent a night in the City Church on University Avenue.

On 31 May 2011, a commemorative event was held in Belfast to mark the launching of the Titanic on 31 May 1911 at the Harland & Wolff shipyard, at the time the largest shipyard in the world.