Cambridge

Cambridge is a city whose name has become synonymous with academic excellence, yet its story began long before the first lecture was ever delivered. In the 1st century AD the Romans established a military camp, Duroliponte, at the crossing of the River Cam and a Roman road. The Saxon settlement that grew in its place had become a thriving market town by the 11th century, complete with weekly fairs and its own mint. Medieval Cambridge was a place of commerce — the Cam carried barges laden with salt and grain, while narrow streets around the market filled with the stalls of butchers and weavers.

The turning point came in 1209, when a group of scholars fleeing conflict with Oxford townsmen founded the first college here. The University of Cambridge grew from that modest community into one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the world, counting Newton, Darwin and Hawking among its alumni. Its colleges, with their Gothic chapels and cloistered quadrangles, have become the face of the city, drawing millions of visitors to the Mathematical Bridge and the soaring King’s College Chapel.

Modern Cambridge is not merely an academic oasis but also the heart of «Silicon Fen», where biotech and AI startups flourish in the shadow of centuries-old libraries. Bicycles remain the transport of choice for students and professors alike, and the city retains the character of a compact medieval settlement — riverside pubs, covered markets, and the annual spring boat races that transform this quiet university town into a arena of fierce competition.