Liverpool is located in northwestern England, on the estuary of the River Mersey.


It forms the nucleus of the metropolitan county of Merseyside in the historic county of Lancashire. King John granted its charter in 1207.


Its growth was slow until the 18th century, when it expanded rapidly as a result of trade with the Americas and the West Indies, becoming Britain's most important port after London.


The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (opened 1830) was the first in England to link two major cities. Heavily damaged in World War II, Liverpool declined in importance as a port and an industrial centre in the postwar era. The birthplace of the Beatles, it is also the seat of the University of Liverpool (1903). Liverpool's docklands and several areas of the historic centre of the city were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004.

Liverpool is governed by one of five councils within the metropolitan county of Merseyside, and is one of England's core cities and its fifth most populous — 447,500 in 2006, with 816,000 in the Liverpool Urban Area, which includes suburbs on the Liverpool side of the Mersey but not those on the Wirral Peninsula. The term Greater Merseyside is sometimes used to described a broader area, which also includes the borough of Halton.

Built across a ridge of hills rising up to a height of around 230 feet (70 metres) above sea-level at Everton Hill, the city's urban area runs directly into Bootle and Crosby in Sefton to the north, and Huyton and Prescot in Knowsley to the east. It faces Wallasey and Birkenhead across the River Mersey to the west.

Inhabitants of Liverpool are referred to as Liverpudlians and nicknamed "Scousers", in reference to the local meal known as 'scouse', a form of stew. The word scouse has also become synonymous with the Liverpool accent and dialect. This year (2007), the city is celebrating its 800th anniversary, and in 2008 it will hold the European Capital of Culture title.

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum as the blue half say.