My prenstation is about San Francisco. I will tell you something about the city, the history, some sights and a little bit about the environment.
I start with the city.
San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities of the world. The many sights are to part world-famous: Golden Gate Bridge, Cable Car, steep streets, Chinatown, Alcatraz The Golden Gate Bridge and the Cable Cars are for the legend become masterpieces of the technique, the 7 hills on which the city is built, from 3 sides of water surround and is the summer fog the typical features of the city. San Francisco is in california and has 776000 inhabitants and fits the northern top of the San-Francisco peninsula that forms the San-Francisco bay. San Francisco is one of the most densely populated cities of the USA. The city has the highest part Asians in the USA. No Americans are a third of the citizens and so speaks also only two thirds English. The Pacific influences the climate, the whole year is there there the same weather. The summers are not warm and the winters not cold. On the 12 km broad peninsula actually always the same climate is there. In the summer there is almost every day the summer fog. The city is earthquake endangered. San Francisco lives main from the market, the administration and the budgets. Annually 30 million tourists come into the city. It is by law defined how high the height of the houses may be in the city center. And there is an regulation that a pedestrian should never be wider as 300 m remote from a sunny place. The atmosphere is completely different than in all other American cities. The atmosphere is loose, careless, and cheerful. a poet wrote to this atmosphere: 'I am a hill of poetry.' The streets are all bolt upright, there is only a street that the curves has. The street has most curves of the world. The Lombard Street is one of the many tourist attractions.
Now I talk about the history.
In 1776 the first Europeans settled in the region of the city. It was the Spanish people, they named the city after the holy Franz of Assisi 'San Francisco de Asís', that added then 'Saint Francis'.
In 1846 the city came through the Mexican-American War into the possession of the USA.
In 1848 the population increased from San Francisco from 900 on 20000 in a single year. the beginning gold drunkenness was guilty in California.
At the morning of the 18th April 1906 the city was surprised of an earthquake, and the subsequent fire of that almost very destroyed. The number of the death sacrifices was estimated at 700.
In 1945 the Charta of the United Nations were based in San Francisco.
In the sixties the hippie-movement was celebrated in the city.
In the nineties the city became with the Silicon Valley seemed likely to the center of the information technology.
As next ich will tell you about some sights.
The Golden Gate bridge is the golden gate to the world. It crosses the San Francisco bay. Joseph B. Strauss projected the bridge. Strauss dared to try out a combination of a self-supporting one and a suspension bridge. The conditions were that the piers of the bridge of the strong tide current and to the ocean waves must resist, and the bridge had to be high enough that warships could go on. The bridge was built by 1933 to 37, it is 27 m broad, 227 m high, 2737 m long and a span of 1280 m has. It is 894000 tons heavy, the suspension ropes of steel have a diameter of a meter.
The bridge is a symbol for whole America, and it is regarded as one of the most beautiful bridges of the world. She is an important combination between the city and the rural districts in the north. Coming to visit every year once around the bridge approx. 9 million tourists from the whole world. A visit of the world-famous Golden Gate bridge is a unique experience.
Because of the scent and the site must it continuously restored, deleted and improved become. The golden gate to the world is an eternal construction site. The bridge is a technical masterpiece which is still regarded as unique. The bridge got the names to the bay, and their reddish coat of paint which one sees good in the fog which often is there in San Francisco.
130000 cars drive daily something over the bridge. Since so many cars were gone above the bridge to 1971 the construction expenses of 37 million $ through the utilization charges again hauled in. One must only pay the charge of 3 $ if one stadteinwaerts goes. From the bridge one has a good look onto the outline of San Francisco, onto the prison island Alcatraz and the Pacific. But also of the lookouts, on both sides of the bridge one has a good look onto the bridge. On one side vouches statue of Joseph B. Strauss.
The island Alcatraz lies in the bay of San Francisco. Formerly it was used as a site for a high safety prison, today she is a historical scene. Alcatraz is under surveillance the US National Park Service.
The island is 500 m long and was not only a site for a prison, the oldest lighthouse of the west coast is on it. The name comes of the word 'Isla de los Alcatraces' (Pelican island) that is Spanish because the Spanish people entered the island as first in the 18th century. Then already, as also today the island is a bird protection field.
The island was used as a point of view by 1850-1933 for the US-army. At the beginning of 1934 the penal institution was opened then. To 1963 many of the best known criminals of the USA were on Alcatraz arrested. In the 29 years of the use nobody succeeded official the flight. The trys were mostly unsuccessful, either they were still caught on the island again or they were killed or drowned in the icy-cold water. The prison was closed because it cost the government too much. After that Red Indians filled the island, they had to leave it, again after 2 years. Since that one can visit the prison.
Since 1873 the Cable Cars go already over the hilly streets San Franciscos. The citizens of San Francisco supported that the Cable Cars were maintained, the municipal administration wanted to deactivate it already repeatedly. Since 1964 stands it under monument protection, also she is the only one public means of transport that under monument protection stands. Today there are another 3 lines with 40 cars.
The Cable Cars were invented around quarters new on the hills to build without in this case animals suffering from the difficult burdens.
The technique functioned as the whole one, with the cables under the earth, is to be declared much too complicated around it.
As almost into everyone large American city also San Francisco has a Chinatown. It lies in the eastern part of the city. There approx. 70000 Chinese live. Chinatown San Francisco is the biggest Chinese residential quarter outside of Asia. Many came here after the time of the railway construction since only Chinese workers almost laid out rails. About only the half of the Chinatowninhabitants speaks English. To leave that one old people the quarter only rare, because they can feel there as in their home. If one stays in Chinatown longer, one has to be the feeling in a genuine Chinese city. The Dragon Gate is the official entry to Chinatown. after the earthquake 1906 Chinatoenzerstoert became, but it was established much more beautiful than it was before. In Chinatown the factory is that one, to be made the Chinese luck cookies.
The pier 39 is at the eastern one ends the Fisherman's Wharf. More than 100 shops and 10 restaurants are on the 300m of long pier. The buildings were built with wood planks of old ships. The sea lions which sat down in the port are one of the special attractions. The 'Aquarium Of The Bay' is at the pier 39, there one can live the animals that in the bay admire. From the Pier39 one can do all excursions with ships, for example according to Alcatraz, Sausalito, Oakland, Golden Gate Bridge.
At last I tell you sometihng about the environment and destinations for trips.
In the environment of San Francisco there are many interesting cities as Berkeley, Oakland or Santa Clara. But the impressly town is Sauaslito. One reaches above the Golden Gate Brige. A small port town and seaside resort is Sausalito. Or one do a day trip to Monterrey. Over there there is one of the biggest fish-tanks of the world. There one can observe more than 6000 animals in their usual environment.
