Where is Belfast

Belfast is the capital city of Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is not part of the Republic of Ireland; it is united with Great Britain. Belfast is one of the important ports of the world, and has one of the largest graving docks ever built. A graving dock is where the sides of ships are cleaned and repaired. Belfast is the most important commercial and manufacturing city in all of Ireland. For more than three hundred years, the people of Belfast have been making some of the world's finest linen.

There are also large tobacco and rope factories in Belfast, and many shipbuilding yards. The famous ship Titanic was built there. Most of the people of Belfast live in brick houses, and the streets are wide and well-lighted. If you visit Belfast, you can see the beautiful botanical gardens, fine parks, and the famous Albert Memorial Clock Tower. More than 400,000 people live in the city. Belfast was founded about 800 years ago, when a castle was built on the River Langan. About 160 years later, a band of Irish chiefs attacked the castle, and burned it and the town around it to the ground. The town was rebuilt and later grew into a city of great importance. During World War II, the Germans bombed Belfast because it had so many big factories. Many ships carrying American soldiers to Europe landed at Belfast.