Birmingham

Birmingham Located in the centre of England and in the West Midlands of England, Birmingham is the country's second largest city, and has a population of around 993,000. The Birmingham metropolitan area (the which includes all of the West Midlands Unitary Authority, has a population of around 2,6000,000. Around five million people live within a 50-mile (80km) radius of the city. The city is commonly known by its nickname Brum and its inhabitants as Brummies. Birmingham residents speak with a distinctive Brummie accent. The people are generally regarded as having a unique sense of humour.

Industry
Birmingham remains an important manufacturing centre, the main products from Birmingham include: Motor vehicles, vehicle components and accessories, weapons, electrical equipment, plastics, machine tools, chemicals, food, jewellery and glass. Manufacturing is still important to the city - over 25% of UK exports originate in the greater Birmingham area - however in recent years the local economy has diversified into service industries, in particular, professional and financial services and tourism are growing quickly. There is a wide range of accomodation available including bed and breakfast, hotel accommodation, self catering, guest house, cottage, camping and caravan sites.

History
The Birmingham area was occupied in Roman times, with several military roads and a large fort. Birmingham started life as a small Saxon town in the Kingdom of Mercia. And when it was first mentioned in the Doomsday Book of 1086 it was still only a small village. Birmingham developed into a market centre in medieval times, and by the 17th century had become an important manufacturing town with a reputation for producing small arms. Birmingham manufacturers supplied Oliver Cromwell's forces with much of their weaponry during the English Civil War. During the Industrial Revolution from the mid 18th century onwards, Birmingham grew into a major industrial centre because of nearby sources of coal and iron ore and a skilled workforce. Because Birmingham was so central, it became a centre of the British canal and later railway networks in the early 19th century. In Victorian times, the population of the city grew rapidly to well over half a million and Birmingham became the second largest population centre in Britain. Birmingham gained city status in 1889. Birmingham was heavily bombed during World War II because of the manufacturing plants and factories there. The city was re-developed during the 1950s and 1960s with many concrete office buildings, ring roads, and pedestrian subways. As a result, Birmingham is an ugly city, frequently being described as a "concrete jungle". However, in recent years the city centre has been extensively redeveloped and restored with the construction of new squares, the restoration of old streets, buildings and canals, and the removal of much-derided pedestrian subways.