Great Victoria Street in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, is a major

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way of transport, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. Originally, the word referred to a main road or open street which was frequented thoroughly. Different terms *Roa ...

located in the city centre and is one of the important streets used by

pedestrians A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, by wheelchair or with other mobility aids. Streets and roads often have a designated footpath for pedestrian traffic, called the ''sidewalk'' in North American English, the ''pavement'' in British Eng ...

alighting from

Belfast Great Victoria Street railway station Great Victoria Street was a railway station that served the Belfast City Centre, city centre of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was one of two main stations in the city, along with , and was nearest to the city centre. The station was situated bes ...

and walking into shopping streets such as

Royal Avenue Royal Avenue is a street in the heart of Belfast city centre, Northern Ireland. It runs for about 500 metres from the junction with Castle Place and Donegall Place to the junction with Donegall Street. It lies between the Cathedral Quarter, Bel ...

. The street connects with the Donegall Road and the

Lisburn Road Lisburn Road is a main arterial route linking Belfast and Lisburn, Northern Ireland. The Lisburn Road is now an extension of the "Golden Mile (Belfast), Golden Mile" with many shops, boutiques, wine bars, restaurants and coffee houses. The road ...

which are also linked into Shaftesbury Square in the southern direction and towards the Donegall Square in the northern direction, which links via Howard Street into Donegall Place. The street itself was named in honour of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. It includes the Monument to the Unknown Woman Worker, which is in a prominent walking route into

. There are also a number of churches located along the street. The station, which is a terminal building, probably designed by Ulster Railway engineer John Godwin, was completed in 1848. In April 1976

Northern Ireland Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR; and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways; UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose parent company is the Northern Ireland Tr ...

closed Great Victoria Street, and the terminus of the Bangor line, replacing them with the station. Great Victoria Street station was demolished. After a feasibility study was commissioned in 1986 it was agreed that a new development on the site, incorporating the reintroduction of the Great Northern Railway, was viable. The Great Northern Tower was built on the site of the old station terminus in 1992, and the second Great Victoria Street Station was opened on 30 September 1995. It is only yards from the site of its predecessor.

Notable addresses

* Grand Opera House, Belfast, an ornate late Victorian theatre * Crown Liquor Saloon, an ornate late Victorian pub *

Europa Hotel, Belfast The Europa Hotel is a four-star hotel in Great Victoria Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. It is known as the "most bombed hotel in the world" after having suffered 36 bomb attacks during the Troubles. History The Europa Ho ...

, the most bombed hotel in Europe *Blackstaff House,

BBC Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. BBC Northern Ireland is one of the four BB ...

References

External links

Great Victoria Street Presbyterian ChurchGreat Victoria Street Baptist Church
{{coord, 54.595, -5.934, display=title, region:GB_scale:5000 Streets in Belfast