Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. Historically, it is part of Lancashire, having been part of that county before being incorporated into the Merseyside metropolitan county in 1974. Liverpool is governed by one of five councils within the metropolitan county of Merseyside, and is one of England's core cities and its third most populous — 447,500 in 2006, with 816,000 in the Liverpool Urban Area, the conurbation around the city that includes other towns (such as St. Helens and Haydock) on the Liverpool side of the Mersey but not those on the Wirral Peninsula. The term Greater Merseyside is sometimes used to describe a broader area, which also includes the borough of Halton. Built across a ridge of hills rising up to a height of around 230 feet (70 metres) above sea-level at Everton Hill. The city's urban area runs directly into Bootle, Crosby and Maghull in south Sefton to the north, and Kirkby, Huyton, Prescot and Halewood in Knowsley to the east. It faces Wallasey and Birkenhead across the River Mersey to the west. Inhabitants of Liverpool are referred to as Liverpudlians but are also known as "Scousers", in reference to the local meal known as 'scouse', a form of stew. The word 'scouse' is probably a contraction of 'lobscouse'. If that is the case, then the Lancashire stew known as 'lobby' may well also have the same roots. The word scouse has also become synonymous with the Liverpool accent and dialect. In 2007 the city celebrated its 800th anniversary, and in 2008 it holds the European Capital of Culture title together with Stavanger, Norway. More on Liverpool