Template:FP-Belfast

Belfast City Hall, County Antrim

Belfast Belfast stands at the head of Belfast Lough. It is the county town of County Antrim, the largest city of Northern Ireland and a major urban and industrial centre. Belfast stands on the county boundary, marked by the River Lagan and spreads over both banks. Thus although the city centre is in Antrim, a great deal of it stands in Downshire also. This is a city built upon industry; before heavy industry it was an insignificant town. Its historic industries were shipbuilding, tobacco production, rope-making and linen (while Manchester was named "Cottonopolis, Belfast was "Linenopolis"). Harland and Wolff, (which built the ill-fated Titanic) propelled Belfast on to the global stage in the early 20th century as the largest and most productive shipyard in the world. Belfast played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, establishing its place as a global industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century. Industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast the largest city in Ireland for a time, and a model of industrial and economic success. (Read more)