Plymouth is a city of 243,795 inhabitants (2001 census) in the county of Devon in South West England. It is situated at the mouths of the rivers Plym and Tamar and overlooks one of Europe's largest natural harbours, Plymouth Sound. The city is large in geographical area because of the building of many postwar satellite housing estates and the absorption of Plympton and Plymstock in the 1960s. The city has a rich maritime past and was once one of the most important Royal Navy bases in the United Kingdom, making the city a prime target of the Luftwaffe during World War II. After extensive destruction to the city in the Blitz of 1941, Plymouth was rebuilt under the guidance of architect Patrick Abercrombie. It is still home to the largest naval base in Western Europe. Important locations in the city include The Royal Citadel, Devonport Royal Dockyard and The Barbican from which the Pilgrims finally left for the New World in 1620. The University of Plymouth with thirty thousand students is the fourth largest in the UK. Plymouth people are known as Plymothians or less formally as Janners.
The Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery in Drake Circus, near the shopping mall, has collections of fine and decorative arts, natural history and human history. The Plymouth Arts Centre is located near the Barbican, and regularly offers visiting displays of work by a wide range of local, British and international artists such as Beryl Cook, Richard Deacon, Andy Goldsworthy and Sir Terry Frost. As well as promoting visual arts, many independent art house and foreign films are shown. A converted church on North Hill, now the Sherwell Centre and part of the university, hosts regular exhibitions, concerts, recitals, lectures and other public events. There are smaller and privately owned retail galleries on The Barbican. Also in Plymouth are the Plymouth & West Devon Record Office; Smeaton's Tower; the Elizabethan House and Merchants House in The Barbican. Plymouth is home to the National Marine Aquarium. The Ashkenazi synagogue, in Catherine Street, was built in 1762. More on Plymouth

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