There’s a Prison Wall separating this UK Town
Spanian explores Belfast and takes a closer look at one of the city’s most historically significant and divisive landmarks - the prison wall and surrounding peace barriers. Walking through the area, he breaks down the origins of the separation, the role it has played in local communities over time, and what life is like on both sides today. The video delivers a raw, ground-level perspective of Belfast’s history, showing how the past still shapes the present in very real ways. A detailed look into one of the world’s most well-known divided cities, capturing the atmosphere, tension, and everyday reality behind the headlines.
Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
GB- Béal Feirste
- City of Belfast
Belfast serves as the capital city and main port of Northern Ireland, situated within the United Kingdom. It stands on the banks of the river Lagan, which connects to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel. As the largest city in Northern Ireland and the second-largest on the island of Ireland after Dublin, it functions as a distinct metropolitan area historically governed separately from County Antrim and County Down.
The name derives from the Irish Béal Feirste, meaning Mouth of the Farset, referring to a tidal ford where the Farset river met the Lagan. Chartered as an English settlement in 1613, its early growth was driven by Scottish Presbyterians and later industrial expansion. Belfast was granted city status in 1888 when it was the world's largest linen manufacturing centre, and it has been a UNESCO designated City of Music since 2021.
The city's character is defined by its industrial heritage, particularly its shipyards which once built up to a quarter of United Kingdom tonnage. A legacy of sectarian conflict includes barrier-reinforced separation between Protestant and Catholic working-class districts. The urban landscape features the redeveloped Harbour Estate with film facilities, while the lower Lagan receives numerous culverted tributaries that drop silt onto mud banks, historically deterring high-rise construction.
Belfast offers significant services sector growth in financial technology, tourism, and film, alongside its traditional port activities. The city supports two universities: Ulster University in the centre and Queen's University Belfast in the Botanic area. Visitor facilities are well-developed, with the city claiming to be the most fascinating in both the United Kingdom and on the island of Ireland due to its complex history and modern cultural contributions.
The recorded population was 345,006 as of 2021, though other sources cite figures around 671,000 for 2024. The economy retains commercial docks and aerospace contractors, with the city effectively remaining within both British and European Single Market trading areas post-Brexit under the Windsor Framework. It is served by Belfast City Airport on the Lough shore and Belfast International Airport, located 15 miles west of the city.
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