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''Titanic'' Belfast is a visitor attraction and a monument to Belfast's maritime heritage on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard in the city's Titanic Quarter where the RMS ''Titanic'' was built. It tells the stories of the ill-fated ''Titanic'', which hit an iceberg and sank during her maiden voyage in 1912, and her sister ships RMS ''Olympic'' and HMHS ''Britannic''. The building contains more than of floor space, most of which is occupied by a series of galleries, plus private function rooms and community facilities. ==History== The building is located on Queen's Island, an area of land at the entrance of Belfast Lough which was reclaimed from the water in the mid-19th century. It was used for many years by the shipbuilders Harland and Wolff, who built huge slipways and graving docks to accommodate the simultaneous construction of ''Olympic'' and ''Titanic''. The decline of shipbuilding in Belfast left much of the area derelict. Most of the disused structures on the island were demolished. A number of heritage features were given listed status, including the ''Olympic'' and ''Titanic'' slipways and graving docks, as well as the iconic Samson and Goliath cranes. The derelict land was renamed the "Titanic Quarter" in 2001 and was earmarked for regeneration. Development rights over 185 acres was subsequently bought by Harcourt Developments at a cost of £46 million, with 23 more acres set aside for a science park. The redevelopment plans included houses, hotels and entertainment amenities plus a maritime heritage museum and science centre. In 2005, plans were announced to build a museum dedicated to ''Titanic'' to attract tourists to the area, with the aim of completing it by 2012 to mark the centenary of ''Titanic''s maiden voyage. A number of ideas were put forward for the attraction. Among ideas considered were reconstructing the massive steel gantry in which ''Titanic'' and ''Olympic'' were constructed, or building an illuminated wire frame outline of ''Titanic'' in the dock in which she was fitted out. In June 2008, details of a project – known then as the "''Titanic'' Signature Project" – were announced. Northern Ireland's Tourism Minister, Arlene Foster, announced that the Northern Ireland Executive would provide 50 per cent of the attraction's funding through the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, with the remaining 50 per cent coming from the private sector, in the shape of Titanic Quarter Ltd, a sister company of Harcourt Developments, and the Belfast Harbour Commissioners. Additional funding was pledged by Belfast City Council. The task of creating the visitor attraction was taken on by the ''Titanic'' Foundation, a charity which aims to "educate people on Belfast's social, historical, industrial and maritime heritage through the story of the ''Titanic''". The building, now known as ''Titanic'' Belfast, was expected to attract 425,000 visitors annually, of whom between 130,000–165,000 would come from outside Northern Ireland. It is intended to serve a similar transformational function to that of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, designed by Frank Gehry, as a focus for the regeneration of the city. It forms part of the ''Titanic''–related heritage sites in Titanic Quarter, including the disused headquarters and drawing offices of Harland & Wolff, the SS ''Nomadic'' – the last surviving White Star Line ship – and Hamilton Dock, ''Titanic''s Dock and Pump house and the ''Titanic'' and ''Olympic'' slipways. First year visitor numbers significantly exceeded projections, with 807,340 visitors passing through its doors, of which 471,702 were from outside Northern Ireland, according to Titanic Belfast. The attraction has also sold 1,376 bottles of champagne and hosted over 350 conferences. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Titanic Belfast」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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