Oxford, city in the south of England, on the River Thames. The city is
the home of the University of Oxford, one of the oldest and best-known
universities in the world. Oxford is also an industrial centre,
manufacturing cars and steel products.
The heart of the city is Carfax, and from here the four main streets
run to the north, south, east and west. This was also the center of the
medieval city. Among the city?s many important buildings are the
churches of St. Michael (11th century) and St. Mary the Virgin (13th
century); the Bodleian Library; and the Sheldonian Theatre (1664-1669),
designed by Sir Christopher Wren. Also here are the Museum of Modern
Art (1965) and the Ashmolean Museum (1683), containing the university
outstanding collections of art and archeology.
By the 13th century, with the establishment of the university, Oxford
became one of the most important educational centers in Europe. Charles
I had Oxford as his capital from 1642 to 1645, during the English Civil
War. Population 109,000