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Birmingham is a city in the West Midlands and metropolitan borough in England. Birmingham is the largest of England's core cities, and is often considered to be the second city of the United Kingdom. The City of Birmingham has a population of 1,006,500, this is a 2006 estimate. It forms part of the larger West Midlands conurbation, which has a population of 2,284,093 from the 2001 census and includes several neighbouring towns and cities, such as Solihull, Wolverhampton and the towns of the Black Country.
People from Birmingham are known as 'Brummies', a term derived from the city's nickname of Brum. This comes in turn from the city's dialect name, Brummagem, which is derived from one of the city's earlier names, 'Bromwicham'. There is a distinctive Brummie dialect and accent, both of which differ from the adjacent Black Country.
The Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery is the main art gallery and museum in Birmingham. It has renowned displays of artwork that include a leading collection of work by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the world's largest collection of works by Edward Burne-Jones. The group also owns other museums in the city such as Aston Hall, Blakesley Hall, the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter and Sarehole Mill, a popular attraction for fans of J. R. R. Tolkien. Thinktank in the Eastside is one of the newest museums in the city. The Birmingham Back to Backs are the last surviving court of back-to-back houses in the city.
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is both an art gallery and concert hall. It also has one of the world's most detailed and largest coin collections. Cadbury World is a museum showing visitors the stages and steps of chocolate production and the history of chocolate and the company.
Surprisingly there are over 8,000 acres of parkland open spaces in Birmingham.
Birmingham is home to three universities and two university colleges: Aston University, the University of Birmingham, Birmingham City University, Newman University College and University College Birmingham. The Birmingham Conservatoire and Birmingham School of Acting, are both part of Birmingham City University, offer higher education in specific arts subjects. BCU opened the New Technology Institute facility in the Eastside area in 2006.
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