This cultural capital, figure factory

Sun, 09/21/2008 9:48 AM  |  Travel

One of the cultural traits provided on the streets of Liverpool. (JP/Lovelli Ariesti)

Liverpool existed historically as a city in 1880, building on a large influx of immigrants from places like Ireland and Welsh who entered the area via the sea.

Even in its early development, Liverpool had drawn the attention of thinkers like the early 18th century writer, Daniel Defoe, who commented on its booming trade.

According to Defoe, Liverpool had "an opulent, flourishing and increasing trade to Virginia and English colonies in America".

Since then, the city's construction industry continued to boom, as a result of the 1919 Housing Act which had a continuous effect throughout the 1920s and 1930s.

By then, the city was already attracting immigrants from across Europe.

World War II had a heavy impact on the city, when air raids on Merseyside caused damage to almost half of the houses in the metropolitan area and killed at least 2,500 people.

Liverpool established a sister-city relationship with Cologne in Germany -- a city that shared similarly abhorrent experience of aerial raids, which resulted in phases of rebuilding of housing estates and docks destroyed during the war.

Liverpool contains more than 2,500 Grade I and II (heritage) listed buildings.

One of the most significant areas, and historically the most important entrance for people outside Liverpool, is Albert Dock, which has become famous for its cultural heritage and has been used to host various cultural events.

It is also the location of the Three Graces, a phrase which refers to three most renowned buildings standing from north to south of the River Mersey. These buildings are the Royal Liver Building, the Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building.

The Royal Liver Building, which was built in the early 1900s, lay the foundations for two bronze domes with the city's symbol, the Liver bird, on each.

The origin of this bird, however, has been a source of confusion and controversy, as the earliest historical reference to it came in 1207 from the granter of the town's charter, King John, who has been frequently associated with the patron saint St. John.

The Cunard Building, in the middle of the Three Graces, was the former headquarters of the Cunard shipping company, while the Port of Liverpool Building was the home to the former Mersey Docks and Harbor Board-regulators.

The mid-year estimate of Liverpool's population in 2006 (as reported by its city council) was 436,100 dispersed in an area of 111.84 square kilometers.

It is said that Carl Jung visited Liverpool in 1927 and experienced a visionary dream of a magnolia tree growing from an island in the city square.

From this dream, Jung came to the climactic conclusion of the whole process of the development of consciousness, which triggered him to come up with the idea of "the pool of life".

Perhaps this came as no surprise to some, and in the 1960s Liverpool became a center of youth culture, breeding musicians and youth idols -- including four young lads who joined together in a group called The Beatles.

Other than Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, the city has also been the hometown of other musicians such as Ian Broudie, who fronted the Lightning Seeds in the 1990s.

Melanie Chisholm of the Spice Girls was also a resident of Liverpool in the same period, and another female musician, Natasha Hamilton, who joined Atomic Kitten at an age of 16, also grew up there.

Over the years, the city has been a productive "figure factory", allowing it to reserve its spot as a European Cultural Capital in 2008, sharing the spotlight with Stavanger in Norway.

In early September this year, Liverpool was rated as the third favorite city in the United Kingdom, winning over other historic destinations such as Cambridge, Durham and Machester (in a reader's choice awards compiled by Conde Nast Traveller magazine). In 2004 the city had stood at 14th position on the same survey, but steadily gained popularity with the number of events and activities since that time, reaching its peak this year.

As of the end of July, Liverpool's Capital of Culture celebrations enjoyed media coverage worth around *70m, a total that includes at least 7,500 national, as well as international articles in magazines and newspapers.

--Lovelli Ariesti

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