Norwich

Norwich (/ˈnɒrɪdʒ, -ɪtʃ/ ^ⓘ "Norridge", "Noridge"; the emphasis is placed upon the vowel in the first syllable) is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about 100 mi (160 km) north-east of London, 40 mi (64 km) north of Ipswich and 65 mi (105 km) east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich City Council local authority area was estimated to be 144,000 in 2021, which was an increase from 143,135 in 2019. The wider Norwich built-up area had a population of 213,166 at the 2011 census.

As the seat of the See of Norwich, the city has one of the country's largest medieval cathedrals. For much of the second millennium, from medieval to just before industrial times, Norwich was one of the most prosperous and largest towns of England; at one point, it was second only to London. Today, it is the largest settlement in East Anglia.

Norwich claims to be the most complete medieval city in the United Kingdom. It includes cobbled streets such as Elm Hill, Timber Hill and Tombland; ancient buildings such as St Andrew's Hall; half-timbered houses such as Dragon Hall, The Guildhall and Strangers' Hall; the Art Nouveau of the 1899 Royal Arcade; many medieval lanes; and the winding River Wensum that flows through the city centre towards Norwich Castle.

In May 2012, Norwich was designated England's first UNESCO City of Literature. One of the UK's popular tourist destinations, it was voted by The Guardian in 2016 as the "happiest city to work in the UK" and in 2013 as one of the best small cities in the world by The Times Good University Guide. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, Norwich was voted one of the "Best Places To Live" in the UK by The Sunday Times.

The capital of the Iceni tribe was a settlement located near to the village of Caistor St Edmund on the River Tas about 5 mi (8 km) to the south of modern Norwich. After an uprising led by Boudica in about 60 AD, the Caistor area became the Roman capital of East Anglia named Venta Icenorum, literally "marketplace of the Iceni". This fell into disuse about 450 AD.

The Anglo-Saxons settled the site of the modern city some time between the 5th and 7th centuries, founding the towns of Northwic ("North Harbour"), from which Norwich takes its name, and Westwic (at Norwich-over-the-Water) and a lesser settlement at Thorpe.

Norwich became settled as a town in the 10th century and then became a prominent centre of East Anglian trade and commerce attested by the presence of a mint.The name Norvic is attested on pennies minted during the reign of Æthelstan.

It is possible that three separate early Anglo-Saxon settlements, one north of the river and two either side on the south, joined as they grew; or that a single Anglo-Saxon settlement, north of the river Wensum-Yare, emerged in the mid-7th century after the abandonment of the previous three. Mercian coins and shards of pottery from the Rhineland dating from the 8th century suggest that long-distance trade was happening during this time. The Vikings were a strong cultural influence in Norwich for 40 to 50 years at the end of the 9th century, setting up an Anglo-Scandinavian district near the north end of present-day King Street. Between 924 and 939, during the reign of King Æthelstan, Norwich became fully established as a town, with its own mint. The word Norvic appears on coins across Europe minted during this period. The ancient city was a thriving centre for trade and commerce in East Anglia in 1004 when it was raided and burnt by Sweyn Forkbeard, the Viking king of Denmark.