? Chongqing (Chongqing City) twin1_country =China twin2 =flagiconGermany ? Krefeld twin2_country =Germany twin3 =flagiconNicaragua ? Masaya twin3_country =Nicaragua twin4 =flagiconIndia ? Rajkot twin4_country =India twin5 =flagiconFrance ? Strasbourg twin5_country =France twin6 =flagiconBulgaria ? Haskovo twin6_country =Bulgaria twin7 =flagiconPakistan ? Sialkot twin7_country =Pakistan established_title = Founded established_date = AD (Anno Domini) 50 as Ratae Corieltauvorum by the Romans established_title2 = City Status established_date2 = "restored" 1919 established_title3 = established_date3 =

area_magnitude = 1 E7 unit_pref = area_footnotes = area_total_km2 = 73.32 area_land_km2 = area_water_km2 = area_total_sq_mi = area_land_sq_mi = area_water_sq_mi = area_water_percent = area_urban_km2 = area_urban_sq_mi = area_metro_km2 = area_metro_sq_mi = area_blank1_title = area_blank1_km2 = area_blank1_sq_mi =

population_as_of =EnglishStatisticsYear population_footnotes = population_note = population_total =EnglishDistrictPopulationONS=00FN (ONS=00FN (List of English districts by populationRanked EnglishDistrictRank)) population_density_km2 = population_density_sq_mi = population_metro = population_density_metro_km2 = population_density_metro_sq_mi = population_urban = 441,213 population_density_urban_km2 = population_density_urban_sq_mi = population_blank1_title = population_blank1 = population_density_blank1_title = population_density_blank1_km2 = population_density_blank1_sq_mi = population_blank2_title =Ethnicity (United Kingdom Census 2006 Estimate) population_blank2 = 62.0% White29.4% S.Asian4.6% Black2.6% Mixed1.5% Chinese and other population_density_blank2_km2 = population_density_blank2_sq_mi =

timezone = Greenwich Mean Time utc_offset = +0 timezone_DST =British Summer Time utc_offset_DST =+1 latd=52 latm=38 lats=06 latNS=N longd=1 longm=08 longs=06 longEW=W elevation_footnotes = elevation_m = elevation_ft =

postal_code_type=Postcode postal_code = LE (LE postcode area) area_code = 0116 blank_name =Grid Ref. (British national grid reference system) blank_info =gbmappingsmallSK584044 = convert102.8mftabbr=on blank1_name =ONS code (ONS coding system) blank1_info =00FN blank2_name =ISO 3166-2 (ISO 3166-2:GB) blank2_info =GB-LCE blank3_name =NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) 3 blank3_info =UKF21 blank4_name =Distance to London blank4_info =convert102.8mikmabbr=on blank5_name =Demonym blank5_info =Leicesterian website =footnotes =

Leicester (Pron-en?l?st?En-leicester.ogg, RespellLESt?r) is a city (city status in the United Kingdom) and unitary authority area in the East Midlands area of England. It is also the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest (National Forest, England). In 2006, the population of the Leicester unitary authority was estimated at 289,700, the largest in the East Midlands, whilst 441,213 people lived in the wider Leicester Urban Area. Eurostats Larger Urban Zone listed the population of the area at 772,400 people as of 2004. Leicester is the 10th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom (List of largest United Kingdom settlements by population) using the 2001 census definitions and the urban area is the fifteenth largest conurbation (List of conurbations in the United Kingdom) in the UK, the second largest in the region behind the Nottingham Urban Area.

Ancient Roman (Roman Britain) pavements and baths remain in Leicester from its early settlement as Ratae Corieltauvorum, a Roman military outpost in a region inhabited by the Celtic Corieltauvi tribe. Following the demise of Roman society the early medieval Ratae Corieltauvorum is shrouded in obscurity, but when the settlement was captured by the Danes (Viking) it became one of five fortified towns important to the Danelaw. The name "Leicester" is thought to derive from the words castra of the "Ligore", meaning a camp on the River Legro, an early name for the River Soar. Leicester appears in the Domesday Book as "Ledecestre". Leicester continued to grow throughout the Early Modern period (Early Modern Britain) as a market town, although it was the Industrial Revolution that facilitated an unparalleled process of unplanned urbanisation in the area.

A newly constructed rail and canal network routed through the area stimulated industrial growth in the 19th century, and Leicester became a major economic centre with a variety of manufactories in engineering, shoemaking and hosiery production. The economic success of these industries, and businesses ancillary to them resulted in significant urban expansion into the surrounding countryside. The boundaries of Leicester were extended throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, becoming a county borough in 1889, and granted city status (City status in the United Kingdom) in 1919.

Today, Leicester is located on Midland Main Line and close to the M1 motorway. The city has a large ethnic minority population, particularly of South Asian origin, a product of immigration to the United Kingdom (Immigration to the United Kingdom since 1922) since the Second World War (World War II). To cater for the South Asian community, there are many Hindu, Sikh and Muslim places of worship and the Melton Road district serves as a focus, containing large numbers of Asian restaurants and other small businesses. Leicester is a centre for higher education, with both Leicester University and De Montfort University being based in the city.