Cardiff
Encyclopedia
Cardiff is the capital
, largest city and most populous county of Wales
and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom
. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales
. The unitary authority area's mid 2010 population was estimated to be 341,054. Cardiff is a significant tourism centre and the most popular visitor destination in Wales with 18.3 million visitors in 2010. In 2011, Cardiff was ranked 6th in the world in National Geographic's alternative tourist destinations.
The city of Cardiff is the county town
of the historic county of Glamorgan
(and later South Glamorgan
). Cardiff is part of the Eurocities
network of the largest European cities. The Cardiff Urban Area
covers a slightly larger area outside of the county boundary, and includes the towns of Dinas Powys
and Penarth
. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a major port
for the transport of coal following the arrival of industry in the region contributed to its rise as a major city.
Cardiff was made a city
in 1905, and proclaimed capital of Wales
in 1955. Since the 1990s Cardiff has seen significant development with a new waterfront area at Cardiff Bay
which contains the Senedd
building, home to the Welsh Assembly
and the Wales Millennium Centre
arts complex. Current developments include the continuation of the redevelopment of the Cardiff Bay and city centre areas with projects such as the International Sports Village, a BBC drama village, and a new business district in the city centre. Cardiff is the largest media centre in the U.K. outside of London.
Sporting venues in the city include the Millennium Stadium
(the national stadium for the Wales national rugby union team
and the Wales national football team
), SWALEC Stadium (the home of Glamorgan County Cricket Club
), Cardiff City Stadium (the home of Cardiff City football team
and Cardiff Blues rugby union team
), Cardiff International Sports Stadium (the home of Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club
) and Cardiff Arms Park
(the home of Cardiff Rugby Club
). The city is also HQ of the Wales Rally GB and was awarded with the European City Of Sport in 2009 due to its role in hosting major international sporting events. It has been announced that Cardiff will once again be the European City of Sport in 2014. The Millennium Stadium will also host 11 football matches as part of the 2012 Summer Olympics
, including the games' opening event and the men's bronze medal match.
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Caerdydd (the Welsh
name of the city), and its anglicised
form Cardiff, derive from post-Roman
Brythonic
words meaning "the fort on the Taff
". The fort
refers to that established by the Romans
. "Dydd" or "Diff" are both modifications of "Taf" (Taff), the river on which Cardiff Castle
stands, with the T mutating
to D in Welsh. According to Professor Hywel Wyn Owen, a leading modern authority on toponymy
, the Welsh pronunciation of "Caerdyff" as "Caerdydd" shows the colloquial alternation
of Welsh "-f" [v] and "-dd" [ð].
The antiquarian William Camden
(1551–1623) suggested that the name Cardiff may derive from the name "Caer-Didi" ("the Fort of Didius"), given in honour of Aulus Didius Gallus
, governor of a nearby province at the time when the Roman fort was established. Although some websites repeat this theory as fact, it is disputed by modern scholars on linguistic grounds, with Professor Gwynedd Pierce of Cardiff University
recently describing it as "rubbish".
Archaeological
evidence from sites in and around Cardiff—the St Lythans burial chamber
, near Wenvoe
(about four miles (6.4 km) west, south west of Cardiff city centre), the Tinkinswood burial chamber
, near St Nicholas (about six miles (10 km) west of Cardiff city centre), the Cae'rarfau Chambered Tomb, Creigiau
(about six miles (10 km) north west of Cardiff city centre) and the Gwern y Cleppa Long Barrow, near Coedkernew
, Newport
(about eight and a quarter miles (13.5 km) north east of Cardiff city centre)—shows that Neolithic
people had settled in the area by at least around 6,000 BP (Before Present
), about 1,500 years before either Stonehenge
or the Great Pyramid of Giza
was completed. A group of five Bronze Age
tumuli
is at the summit of The Garth
, within the county's northern boundary. Four Iron Age
hill fort and enclosure
sites have been identified within Cardiff's present-day county boundaries, including Caerau Hillfort
, an enclosed area of 5.1 hectares (51,000 m²).
Until the Roman conquest of Britain
, Cardiff was part of the territory of the Silures
– a Celtic British tribe
that flourished in the Iron Age
– whose territory included the areas that would become known as Breconshire, Monmouthshire
and Glamorgan
. The 3.2 hectares (8 acre) fort
established by the Romans
near the mouth of the River Taff
in 75 CE (Common Era)
, in what would become the north western boundary of the centre of Cardiff, was built over an extensive settlement that had been established by the Silures in the 50s CE. The fort was one of a series of military outposts associated with Isca Augusta
(Caerleon
) that acted as border defences. The fort may have been abandoned in the early 2nd century as the area had been subdued, however by this time a civilian settlement, or vicus
, was established. It was likely made up of traders who made a living from the fort, ex-soldiers and their families. A Roman villa
has been discovered at Ely
. Contemporary with the Saxon Shore Forts of the 3rd and 4th centuries, a stone fortress was established at Cardiff. Similar to the shore forts, the fortress was built to protect Britannia
from raiders. Coins from the reign of Gratian
indicate that Cardiff was inhabited until at least the 4th century; the fort was abandoned towards the end of the 4th century, as the last Roman legions left the province of Britannia with Magnus Maximus
.
Little is known about the fort and civilian settlement in the period between the Roman departure from Britain and the Norman Conquest. Historian William Rees suggests that the settlement probably shrank in size and may even have been abandoned. In the absence of Roman rule, Wales was divided into small kingdoms; early on, Meurig ap Tewdrig
emerged as the local king in Glywysing (which later became Glamorgan). The area passed through his family until the advent of the Normans in the 11th century.
In 1081 William I, King of England, began work on the castle keep within the walls of the old Roman fort. Cardiff Castle
has been at the heart of the city ever since. The castle was substantially altered and extended during the Victorian period by John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute
, and the architect
William Burges
. Original Roman work can, however, still be distinguished in the wall facings.
A small town grew up in the shadow of the castle, made up primarily of settlers from England. Cardiff had a population of between 1,500 and 2,000 in the Middle Ages, a relatively normal size for a Welsh town in this period. By the end of the 13th century, Cardiff was the only town in Wales with a population exceeding 2,000, but it was relatively small compared with most notable towns in the Kingdom of England
.
In the early 12th century a wooden palisade was erected around the city to protect it. Cardiff was a busy port in the Middle Ages, and was declared a Staple port in 1327.
Henry II
travelled through Cardiff on his journey to Ireland and had a premonition against the holding of Sunday markets at St Piran's Chapel, which stood in the middle of the road between the castle entrance and Westgate.
In 1404 Owain Glyndŵr
burned Cardiff and took Cardiff Castle. As the town was still very small, most of the buildings were made of wood and the town was destroyed. However, the town was soon rebuilt and began to flourish once again.
of Glamorgan, and Cardiff was made the county town
. It also became part of Kibbor
hundred. Around this same time the Herbert family became the most powerful family in the area. In 1538, Henry VIII
closed the Dominican
and Franciscan
friaries in Cardiff, the remains of which were used as building materials. A writer around this period described Cardiff: "The River Taff runs under the walls of his honours castle and from the north part of the town to the south part where there is a fair quay and a safe harbour for shipping."
Cardiff had become a Free Borough in 1542. In 1573, it was made a head port for collection of customs duties, and in 1581, Elizabeth I
granted Cardiff its first royal charter
. Pembrokeshire
historian George Owen described Cardiff in 1602 as "the fayrest towne in Wales yett not the welthiest.", and the town gained a second Royal Charter
in 1608. Disastrous flooding led to a change in the course of the River Taff and the ruining of St Mary's Parish Church, which was replaced by its chapel of ease, St John the Baptist. During the Second English Civil War
, St Fagans just to the west of the town, played host to the Battle of St Fagans. The battle, between a Royalist
rebellion and a New Model Army
detachment, was a decisive victory for the Parliamentarians
and allowed Oliver Cromwell
to conquer Wales. It is the last major battle to occur in Wales, with about 200 (mostly Royalist) soldiers killed.
In the ensuing century Cardiff was at peace. In 1766, John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute
married into the Herbert family and was later created Baron Cardiff, and in 1778 he began renovations on Cardiff Castle. In the 1790s a racecourse, printing press
, bank
and coffee house all opened, and Cardiff gained a stagecoach
service to London. Despite these improvements, Cardiff's position in the Welsh urban hierarchy
had declined over the 18th century. Iolo Morgannwg called it "an obscure and inconsiderable place", and the 1801 census
found the population to be only 1,870, making Cardiff only the 25th largest town in Wales, well behind Merthyr and Swansea
.
In 1793, John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute
was born. He would spend his life building the Cardiff docks and would later be called "the creator of modern Cardiff". A twice-weekly boat service between Cardiff and Bristol
was established in 1815, and in 1821, the Cardiff Gas Works was established.
After the Napoleonic Wars Cardiff entered a period of social and industrial unrest, starting with the trial and hanging of Dic Penderyn
in 1831.
The town grew rapidly from the 1830s onwards, when the Marquess of Bute
built a dock
which eventually linked to the Taff Vale Railway
. Cardiff became the main port for exports of coal from the Cynon
, Rhondda
, and Rhymney
valleys, and grew at a rate of nearly 80% per decade between 1840 and 1870. Much of the growth was due to migration
from within and outside Wales: in 1841, a quarter of Cardiff's population were English-born and more than 10% had been born in Ireland. By the 1881 census, Cardiff had overtaken both Merthyr and Swansea to become the largest town in Wales. Cardiff's new status as the premier town in South Wales was confirmed when it was chosen as the site of the University College South Wales and Monmouthshire
in 1893.
Cardiff faced a challenge in the 1880s when David Davies of Llandinam
and the Barry Railway Company
promoted the development of rival docks at Barry. Barry docks had the advantage of being accessible in all tide
s, and David Davies claimed that his venture would cause "grass to grow in the streets of Cardiff". From 1901 coal exports from Barry surpassed those from Cardiff, but the administration of the coal trade remained centred on Cardiff, in particular its Coal Exchange, where the price of coal on the British market was determined and the first million-pound deal was struck in 1907. The city also strengthened its industrial base with the decision of the owners of the Dowlais Ironworks
in Merthyr (who would later form part of Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds
) to build a new steelworks
close to the docks at East Moors, which was opened on 4 February 1891 by Lord Bute
.
King Edward VII
granted Cardiff city status
on 28 October 1905, and the city acquired a Roman Catholic Cathedral
in 1916. In subsequent years an increasing number of national institutions were located in the city, including the National Museum of Wales
, Welsh National War Memorial
, and the University of Wales
Registry Building—however, it was denied the National Library of Wales
, partly because the library's founder, Sir John Williams, considered Cardiff to have "a non-Welsh population".
After a brief post-war boom, Cardiff docks entered a prolonged decline in the interwar period
. By 1936, their trade was less than half its value in 1913, reflecting the slump in demand for Welsh coal
. Bomb damage during the Cardiff Blitz
in World War II
included the devastation of Llandaff Cathedral
, and in the immediate postwar years the city's link with the Bute family came to an end.
The city was proclaimed capital city of Wales on 20 December 1955, by a written reply by the Home Secretary
Gwilym Lloyd George
. Caernarfon
had also vied for this title. Cardiff therefore celebrated two important anniversaries
in 2005. The Encyclopedia of Wales notes that the decision to recognise the city as the capital of Wales "had more to do with the fact that it contained marginal Conservative
constituencies than any reasoned view of what functions a Welsh capital should have". Although the city hosted the Commonwealth Games
in 1958, Cardiff only became a centre of national administration with the establishment of the Welsh Office
in 1964, which later prompted the creation of various other public bodies such as the Arts Council of Wales
and the Welsh Development Agency
, most of which were based in Cardiff.
The East Moors Steelworks closed in 1978 and Cardiff lost population during the 1980s, consistent with a wider pattern of counter urbanisation
in Britain. However, it recovered and was one of the few cities (outside London
) where population grew during the 1990s. During this period the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
was promoting the redevelopment
of south Cardiff; an evaluation of the regeneration of Cardiff Bay published in 2004 concluded that the project had "reinforced the competitive position of Cardiff" and "contributed to a massive improvement in the quality of the built environment", although it had failed "to attract the major inward investors originally anticipated".
In the 1997 devolution
referendum
, Cardiff voters rejected the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales
by 55.4% to 44.2% on a 47% turnout, which Denis Balsom partly ascribed to a general preference in Cardiff and some other parts of Wales for a 'British'
rather than exclusively 'Welsh'
identity
. The relative lack of support for the Assembly locally, and difficulties between the Welsh Office and Cardiff Council in acquiring the original preferred venue, Cardiff City Hall, encouraged other local authorities to bid to house the Assembly. However, the Assembly eventually located at Ty Hywel in Cardiff Bay in 1999; in 2005, a new debating chamber
on an adjacent site, designed by Richard Rogers
, was opened.
The city was county town
of Glamorgan
until the council reorganisation in 1974 paired Cardiff and the now Vale of Glamorgan
together as the new county of South Glamorgan
. Further local government restructuring in 1996 resulted in Cardiff city's district
council becoming a unitary authority
, the City and County of Cardiff
, with the addition of Creigiau
and Pentyrch
.
Since local government reorganisation in 1996
, Cardiff has been governed by The City and County Council of Cardiff
, which is based at County Hall
in Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff Bay. Voters elect 75 councillors every four years, with the next elections due to be held in 2012.
Since the 2004 local elections, no individual political party has held a majority on Cardiff County Council. The Liberal Democrats
have 35 councillors, the Conservatives
have 17, Labour
have 13, Plaid Cymru
have seven and three councillors sit as Independents. The Leader of the Council, Cllr Rodney Berman
, is from the Liberal Democrats
. The Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru have formed a partnership administration to run the council.
The National Assembly for Wales
has been based in Cardiff Bay
since its formation in 1999. The building, known as the Senedd
(which translates into English as Legislature, Parliament or Senate) was opened on 1 March 2006, by The Queen
. The Assembly Members (AMs), the Assembly Commission and Ministerial support staff are based in Cardiff Bay. Cardiff elects four constituency Assembly Members (AMs) to the Assembly, with the individual constituencies for the Assembly being the same as for the UK Parliament. All of the city's residents have an extra vote for the South Wales Central region which increases proportionality to the Assembly. The most recent Welsh Assembly general election
were held on 5 May 2011
.
In the Assembly Cardiff is represented by Jenny Rathbone (Labour) in Cardiff Central
, Julie Morgan
(Labour) in Cardiff North
, Vaughan Gething
(Labour) in Cardiff South and Penarth
and Mark Drakeford (Labour) in Cardiff West
.
In Westminster, Cardiff is represented by Jenny Willott
(Liberal Democrat) in Cardiff Central
, Jonathan Evans (Conservative) in Cardiff North
, Alun Michael
(Labour) in Cardiff South and Penarth and Kevin Brennan
(Labour) in Cardiff West
.
The Welsh Government has its headquarters in Cardiff's Cathays Park
where most of its civil servants are based, with smaller numbers in other locations in the city centre
, Coryton, Llanishen
, Tremorfa
and Morganstown. There are other Welsh Government offices in other parts of Wales such as Llandudno and Aberystwyth and international offices throughout the world.
307 metres above sea level.
Cardiff is built on reclaimed marshland on a bed of Triassic
stones; this reclaimed marshland stretches from Chepstow
to the Ely Estuary, which is the natural boundary of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Triassic landscapes of this part of the world are usually shallow and low-lying which accounts and explains the flatness of the centre of Cardiff. The classic Triassic marl
, sand
and conglomerate
rocks are used predominantly throughout Cardiff as building materials. Many of these Triassic rocks have a purple complexion, especially the coastal marl
found near Penarth. One of the Triassic rocks used in Cardiff is "Radyr Stone", a freestone which as it name suggests is quarried in the Radyr district. Cardiff has also imported some materials for buildings: Devonian
sandstones (the Old Red Sandstone
) from the Brecon Beacons
has been used. Most famously, the buildings of Cathays Park
, the civic centre in the centre of the city, are built of Portland stone
which was imported from Dorset. A widely used building stone in Cardiff is the yellow-grey Liassic
limestone
rock of the Vale of Glamorgan
, including the very rare "Sutton Stone", a conglomerate of lias limestone and carboniferous
limestone.
Cardiff is bordered to the west by the rural district of the Vale of Glamorgan
—also known as The Garden of Cardiff— to the east by the city of Newport
, to the north by the South Wales Valleys
and to the south by the Severn Estuary
and Bristol Channel
. The River Taff
winds through the centre of the city and together with the River Ely
flows into the freshwater lake of Cardiff Bay
. A third river, the Rhymney
flows through the east of the city entering directly into the Severn Estuary.
Cardiff is situated near the Glamorgan
Heritage Coast
, stretching westward from Penarth and Barry—commuter town
s of Cardiff—with striped yellow-blue Jurassic limestone cliffs. The Glamorgan coast is the only part of the Celtic Sea
that has exposed Jurassic
(blue lias
) geology. This stretch of coast, which has reefs, sandbanks and serrated cliffs, was a ship graveyard
; ships sailing up to Cardiff during the industrial era often never made it as far as Cardiff as many were wrecked around this hostile coastline during west/south-westerly gales. Consequently, smuggling, deliberate shipwrecking and attacks on ships were common.
"Inner Cardiff" consists of the following wards: Penylan
, Plasnewydd
, Gabalfa
, Roath
, Cathays
, Adamsdown
and Splott
ward on the north and east of the city centre, and Butetown
, Grangetown
, Riverside
and Canton
to the south and west. The inner-city areas to the south of the A4161 road
(known as the "Southern Arc") are, with the exception of Cardiff Bay, some of the poorest districts of Wales with low levels of economic activity. On the other hand Gabalfa, Plasnewydd and Cathays north of the 'arc' have very large student populations, and Pontcanna (situated north of Riverside and alongside Canton) is a favourite for students and young professionals. Penylan
, which lies to the north east side of Roath Park, is an affluent area popular with those with older children and the retired.
"Suburban Cardiff" can be broken down into three distinct areas. To the west lie Ely
, Caerau
and Fairwater
which contain some of the largest housing estates in the United Kingdom. With the exception of some of the outlying privately built estates at Michaelston Super Ely and 1930s developments near Waun-Gron Road, this is an economically disadvantaged area with high numbers of unemployed households. Culverhouse Cross
is a more affluent western area of the city. Radyr
, Llandaff
, Llandaff North
, Whitchurch
& Tongwynlais
, Rhiwbina
, Heath
, Llanishen
, Thornhill
, Lisvane
, Pontprennau
and Cyncoed
which lie in an arc from the north west to the north east of the centre can be considered the main middle class suburbs of the city. In particular, Cyncoed, Radyr
and Lisvane contain some of the most expensive housing in Wales. Further to the east lie the wards of Pontprennau & Old St Mellons, Rumney, Pentwyn
, Llanrumney
and Trowbridge
. The latter three are again largely of public housing stock, although new private housing is being built in Trowbridge in considerable number. Pontprennau
is the newest 'suburb' of Cardiff, whilst Old St Mellons
has a history going back to the Norman Conquest in the 11th century.
To the north west of the city lies a region that may be called "Rural Cardiff" containing the villages of St. Fagans
, Creigiau
, Pentyrch
, Tongwynlais
and Gwaelod-y-garth
. St. Fagans, home to the Museum of Welsh Life, is protected from further development.
Since 2000, there has been a significant change of scale and building height in Cardiff, with the development of the city centre's first purpose-built high-rise apartments. Tall buildings have been built in the city centre and Cardiff Bay, and more are planned.
The northern part of the county, being higher and inland—for example, The Garth
, about 7 miles (11.3 km) north west of Cardiff city centre, (elevation
1007 feet (307 m))—tends to be cooler and wetter than the city centre.
For Wales, the temperatures average 19.1 °C (66.4 °F) (July) and 1.1 °C (34 °F) (February).
Rain falls in Cardiff on 146 days during an average year, with total annual rainfall of 1111.7 millimetres (43.8 in). Monthly rainfall pattern shows that from September to January average monthly rainfall in Cardiff exceeded 100 millimetres (3.9 in) each month, the wettest month being December with 128 millimetres (5 in). Cardiff's driest months are from April to July, with average monthly rainfall fairly consistent, at between 60.5 millimetres (2.4 in) and 65.9 millimetres (2.6 in).
Rain falls in Wales on 165.5 days during an average year, with total annual rainfall of 1435.9 millimetres (56.5 in). Monthly rainfall pattern shows that from September to January average monthly rainfall in Wales exceeded 120 millimetres (4.7 in) each month, the wettest month being December with 173.3 millimetres (6.8 in) Wales' dryest months are from April to July, with average monthly rainfall fairly consistent, at between 78.4 millimetres (3.1 in) and 85.9 millimetres (3.4 in).
Following a period of decline during the 1970s and 1980s, Cardiff's population is growing. The local authority area had an estimated population of 341,054 in mid 2010, compared to a 2001 Census
figure of 305,353. Between mid-2007 and mid-2008, Cardiff was the fastest-growing local authority in Wales with population growth rate of 1.2%. According to Census 2001 data, Cardiff was the 14th largest settlement in the United Kingdom
, and the 21st largest urban area. The Cardiff Larger Urban Zone (a Eurostat
definition including the Vale of Glamorgan
and a number of local authorities in the Valleys
) has 841,600 people, the 10th largest LUZ in the UK. The Cardiff and South Wales Valleys metropolitan area has a population of nearly 1.1 million people.
Official estimates derived from the census regarding the city's total population have been disputed. The city council has published two articles that argue the 2001 census seriously under reports the population of Cardiff and, in particular, the ethnic minority population of some inner city areas.
Cardiff has a ethnically diverse population due to its past trading connections, post-war immigration and the large numbers of foreign students who attend university in the city. The ethnic make-up of Cardiff's population at the time of the 2001 census was: 91.6% white, 2% mixed race, 4% South Asian, 1.3% black, 1.2% other ethnic groups. According to a report published in 2005, over 30,000 people from an ethnic minority live in Cardiff, around 8.4% of the city's total – many of these communities live in Butetown
, where ethnic minorities make up around a third of the total population. This diversity, and especially that of the city's long-established African and Arab communities, has been celebrated in a number of cultural exhibitions and events, along with a number of books which have been published on this subject.
, English
, Latin
, Norse
and Norman-French preponderant at different times. Welsh was the majority language in Cardiff from the 13th century until the city's explosive growth in the Victorian era
. As late as 1850, five of the 12 Anglican churches within the current city boundaries conducted their services exclusively in the Welsh language
, while only two worshipped exclusively in English. By 1891, the percentage of Welsh speakers had dropped to 27.9% and only Lisvane
, Llanedeyrn
and Creigiau
remained as majority Welsh-speaking communities. The Welsh language became grouped around a small cluster of chapels and churches, the most notable of which is Tabernacl in the city centre, one of four UK churches chosen to hold official services to commemorate the new millennium. Following the establishment of the city's first Welsh School (Ysgol Gymraeg Bryntaf) in the 1950s, Welsh has slowly regained some ground. Aided by Welsh-medium education and migration from other parts of Wales, the number of Welsh speakers in Cardiff rose by 14,451 between 1991 and 2001; Welsh is now spoken by 11% of Cardiffians. The highest percentage of Welsh speakers is in Pentyrch
, where 15.9% of the population speak the language.
In addition to English and Welsh, the diversity of Cardiff's population (including foreign students) means that a large number of languages are spoken within the city. One study has found that Cardiff has speakers of at least 94 languages, with Somali
, Urdu
, Bangla
and Arabic
being the most commonly spoken foreign languages.
The modern Cardiff accent
is distinct from that of the nearby South Wales Valleys. It is marked primarily by:
has an office in the city centre and there are six accredited schools in the area.
Since 1922 Cardiff has included the suburban cathedral 'village' of Llandaff
, whose bishop is also Archbishop of Wales
since 2002. There is also a Roman Catholic cathedral
in the city. Since 1916 Cardiff has been the seat of a Catholic archbishop, but there appears to have been a fall in the estimated Catholic population, with estimated numbers in 2006 being around 25,000 less than in 1980. Likewise, the Jewish population of the city also appears to have fallen—there are two synagogues in Cardiff, one in Cyncoed and one in Moira Terrace, as opposed to seven at the turn of the 20th century. There are a significant number of nonconformist
chapels, an early-20th century Greek Orthodox church and 11 mosques. In the 2001 census 66.9% of Cardiff's population described itself as Christian, a percentage point below the Welsh and UK averages.
In the 2001 census Cardiff's Muslim population stood at 3.7%, above the UK average (2.7%) and significantly above the Welsh average
. Cardiff has one of the longest-established Muslim populations in the UK, started by Yemeni sailors who settled in the city during the 19th century. The first mosque in the UK (on the site of what is now known as the Al-Manar Islamic Centre
) opened in 1860 in the Cathays district of Cardiff. Cardiff is now home to over 11,000 Muslims from many different nationalities and backgrounds, nearly 52% of the Welsh Muslim population.
The oldest of the non-Christian communities in Wales is Judaism. Jews were not permitted to live in Wales between the 1290 Edict of Expulsion
—given by Edward I of England
—and the 17th century. A Welsh Jewish community was re-established in the 18th century. There was once a fairly substantial Jewish population in South Wales, most of which has disappeared. The modern community is centered in the Cardiff United Synagogue
.
The proportion of Cardiff residents declaring themselves to be Hindu, Sikh and Jewish were all considerably higher than the Welsh averages, but less than the UK figures. The city has been home to a sizable Hindu community since Indian immigrants settled there during the 1950s and 1960s. The first Hindu temple in the city was opened in Grangetown
on 6 April 1979 on the site of an abandoned printing press (which itself was the former site of a synagogue). The 25th anniversary of the temple's founding was celebrated in September 2007 with a parade of over 3000 people through the city centre, including Hindus from across the United Kingdom and members of Cardiff's other religious communities. Today, there are over 2000 Hindus in Cardiff, worshiping at three temples across the city.
In the 2001 census 18.8% of the city's population stated they had no religion, while 8.6% did not state a religion.
Industry has played a major part in Cardiff's development for many centuries. The main catalyst for its transformation from a small town into a big city was the demand for coal required in making iron and later steel, brought to the sea by packhorse
from Merthyr Tydfil
. This was first achieved by the construction of a 25 miles (40.2 km) long canal from Merthyr (510 feet above sea-level) to the Taff Estuary at Cardiff. Eventually the Taff Vale Railway
replaced the canal barges and massive marshalling yards sprang up as new docks were developed in Cardiff – all prompted by the soaring worldwide demand for coal from the South Wales valleys.
At its peak, Cardiff's port
area, known as Tiger Bay
, became the busiest port in the world and—for some time—the world's most important coal
port. In the years leading up to the First World War
, more than 10 million tonnes of coal was exported annually from Cardiff Docks
. In 1907, Cardiff's Coal Exchange was the first host to a business deal for a million pounds Sterling
. After a period of decline, Cardiff's port has started to grow again – over 3 million tonnes of cargo passed through the docks in 2007.
Today, Cardiff is the principal finance
and business services centre in Wales
, and as such there is a strong representation of finance and business services in the local economy. This sector, combined with the Public Administration, Education and Health sectors, have accounted for around 75% of Cardiff's economic growth since 1991. The city was recently placed seventh overall in the top 50 European cities in the fDI 2008 Cities of the Future list published by the fDi magazine
, and also ranked seventh in terms of attracting foreign investment. Notable companies such as Legal & General
, Admiral
Insurance, HBOS
, Zurich
, ING Direct, The AA
, Principality Building Society
, 118118
, British Gas, Brains, SWALEC Energy
and BT
, all operate large national or regional headquarters and contact centres in the city, some of them based in Cardiff's office towers such as Capital Tower
and Brunel House. Other major employers include NHS Wales and the National Assembly for Wales
. On 1 March 2004, Cardiff was granted Fairtrade City status.
Cardiff is one of the most popular tourist destination cities in the United Kingdom, receiving 18.3 million visitors in 2010 and generating £852 million for the city's economy. One result of this is that one in five employees in Cardiff are based in the distribution, hotels and restaurants sector, highlighting the growing retail and tourism industries in the city. There are a large number of hotels of varying sizes and standards in the city, providing almost 9,000 available bed spaces.
Cardiff is home to the Welsh media and the UK's largest film, TV and multimedia sector outside London with BBC Wales
, S4C
and ITV Wales
all having studios in the city. In particular, there is a large independent TV production industry sector of over 600 companies, employing around 6000 employees and with a turnover estimated at £350 m. Just to the north west of the city, in Rhondda Cynon Taff
, the first completely new film studios in the UK for 30 years are being built, named Valleywood. The studios are set to be the biggest in the UK. The BBC has announced it is to build new studios in Cardiff Bay to film dramas such as Casualty and Doctor Who, with the BBC intending to double media output from the city by 2016.
Cardiff has several regeneration projects such the St David's 2 Centre and surrounding areas of the city centre, and the $1.4 billion International Sports Village
in Cardiff Bay which will play a part in London 2012 Olympics
. It features the only Olympic-standard swimming pool in Wales, the Cardiff International Pool
, which opened on 12 January 2008.
According to the Welsh Rugby Union, the Millennium Stadium has contributed GBP1 bn to the Welsh economy in the ten years since it opened (1999), with around 85% of that amount staying in the Cardiff area.
The majority of Cardiff's shopping portfolio is in the city centre around Queen Street and St. Mary Street, with large suburban retail parks located in Cardiff Bay
, Culverhouse Cross
, Leckwith
, Newport Road
and Pontprennau
, together with markets in the city centre and Splott
. A major £675 million regeneration programme for Cardiff's St. David's Centre
was completed in 2009, which has provided a total of 1400000 square feet (130,064.3 m²) of shopping space, making it one of the largest shopping centres in the United Kingdom. The centre was named the international shopping centre of the year in 2010 by Retail Leisure International (RLI).
The Castle Quarter
is a commercial area in the north of the city centre
which includes some of Cardiff's Victorian and Edwardian arcades: Castle Arcade, High Street Arcade and Duke Street Arcade, and principal shopping streets: St Mary Street, High Street
, Castle Street and Duke Street. Development of the area began in February 2010 and is expected to be completed by July 2011. Cardiff Council
says that work to create the Castle Quarter as a pedestrian friendly environment for High Street and St Mary Street is designed to enhance the city centre.
Cardiff is sixth best city in the United Kingdom
for shopping, according to a poll in November 2009, surpassing other cities such as Bristol
, Leeds
, Edinburgh
and Newcastle upon Tyne
.
, Pierhead Building
the Welsh National Museum and the Senedd
, the home of the National Assembly for Wales
. However Cardiff is also famous for Cardiff Castle
, St David's Hall
, Llandaff Cathedral
and the Wales Millennium Centre
.
Cardiff Castle
is a major tourist attraction in the city and is situated in the heart of the city centre. The National History Museum at St Fagans
in Cardiff is a large open air museum housing dozens of buildings from throughout Welsh history that have been moved to the site in Cardiff. The Civic Centre in Cathays Park
comprises a collection of Edwardian
buildings such as the City Hall
, National Museum and Gallery of Wales
, Cardiff Crown Court
, and buildings forming part of Cardiff University
, together with more modern civic buildings. These buildings surround a small green space containing the Welsh National War Memorial
and a number of other smaller memorials.
In addition to Cardiff Castle
, Castell Coch
(Red Castle) is located in Tongwynlais
, in the north of the city. The current castle is an elaborately decorated Victorian folly
designed by William Burges
for the Marquess and built in the 1870s, as an occasional retreat. However, the Victorian castle stands on the footings of a much older medieval castle possibly built by Ifor Bach
, a regional baron with links to Cardiff Castle also. The exterior has become a popular location for film and television productions. It rarely fulfilled its intended role as a retreat for the Butes, who seldom stayed there. For the Marquess, the pleasure had been in its creation, a pleasure lost following Burges's death in 1881.
Situated on the narrowest part of the south Wales coastal plain, Cardiff had a crucial strategic importance in the wars between the Normans (who had occupied lowland Wales) and the Welsh who maintained their hold on the uplands. As a result Cardiff claims to have the largest concentration of castles of any city in the world. As well as Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch, the remains of Twmpath Castle, the Llandaff Bishop's Palace and Saint Fagans Castle
are still in existence, whilst the site of Treoda (or Whitchurch Castle) has now been built over.
Cardiff Castle
|
Castell Coch
|
St Fagans Castle
|}
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
, largest city and most populous county of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
. The unitary authority area's mid 2010 population was estimated to be 341,054. Cardiff is a significant tourism centre and the most popular visitor destination in Wales with 18.3 million visitors in 2010. In 2011, Cardiff was ranked 6th in the world in National Geographic's alternative tourist destinations.
The city of Cardiff is the county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of the historic county of Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
(and later South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan is a preserved county of Wales.It was originally formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a county council area...
). Cardiff is part of the Eurocities
Eurocities
EUROCITIES is the network of major European cities.The EUROCITIES network was founded in 1986 by mayors from six large European cities:* Barcelona, Spain* Birmingham, United Kingdom* Frankfurt, Germany* Lyon, France* Milan, Italy* Rotterdam, Netherlands...
network of the largest European cities. The Cardiff Urban Area
Cardiff Urban Area
The Cardiff Urban Area is the name given to the urban area around Cardiff. The vast bulk of the population and area are contributed by Cardiff which had a population of 292,150 as recorded at the 2001 census. The rest was made up by the towns of Penarth and Dinas Powys connected to the south-east...
covers a slightly larger area outside of the county boundary, and includes the towns of Dinas Powys
Dinas Powys
Dinas Powys is a large village and a community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales which takes its name from the Dinas Powys hillfort that dates from the Iron Age...
and Penarth
Penarth
Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...
. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a major port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
for the transport of coal following the arrival of industry in the region contributed to its rise as a major city.
Cardiff was made a city
City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
in 1905, and proclaimed capital of Wales
Capital of Wales
The Capital of Wales is a de facto designation usually applied to Cardiff since 1955. In that year, the Minister for Welsh Affairs Gwilym Lloyd-George commented in a Parliamentary written answer that "no formal measures are necessary to give effect to this decision".Cardiff is also the current seat...
in 1955. Since the 1990s Cardiff has seen significant development with a new waterfront area at Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
which contains the Senedd
Senedd
The Senedd , also known as the National Assembly building, houses the debating chamber and three committee rooms for the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff. The Senedd building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 March 2006 and the total cost was £69.6 million, which included £49.7M in...
building, home to the Welsh Assembly
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
and the Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert...
arts complex. Current developments include the continuation of the redevelopment of the Cardiff Bay and city centre areas with projects such as the International Sports Village, a BBC drama village, and a new business district in the city centre. Cardiff is the largest media centre in the U.K. outside of London.
Sporting venues in the city include the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
(the national stadium for the Wales national rugby union team
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
and the Wales national football team
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
), SWALEC Stadium (the home of Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
), Cardiff City Stadium (the home of Cardiff City football team
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
and Cardiff Blues rugby union team
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, the team have played at Cardiff City Stadium since the start of the 2009/2010 season and are owned by Cardiff Rugby Football Club....
), Cardiff International Sports Stadium (the home of Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club
Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club
Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club is an athletics club based at the Cardiff International Sports Stadium, Cardiff. The club began as a cross country club, the first athletics only club in Wales. Roath Harriers runners became champions of the first Welsh Cross Country Championships, held on 7th March...
) and Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
(the home of Cardiff Rugby Club
Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...
). The city is also HQ of the Wales Rally GB and was awarded with the European City Of Sport in 2009 due to its role in hosting major international sporting events. It has been announced that Cardiff will once again be the European City of Sport in 2014. The Millennium Stadium will also host 11 football matches as part of the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
, including the games' opening event and the men's bronze medal match.
Etymology
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
name of the city), and its anglicised
Anglicisation
Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
form Cardiff, derive from post-Roman
Sub-Roman Britain
Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an archaeological label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity: the term "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the potsherds in sites of the 5th century and the 6th century, initially with an implication of decay of locally-made wares from a...
Brythonic
Brythonic languages
The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
words meaning "the fort on the Taff
River Taff
The River Taff is a large river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons — the Taf Fechan and the Taf Fawr — before joining to form the Taff north of Merthyr Tydfil...
". The fort
Cardiff Roman Fort
Cardiff Roman Fort was a coastal fort in the Roman province of Britannia Superior, of which Roman Wales was a part. Its original Latin name is uncertain. Its remains are incorporated into Cardiff Castle in the modern capital city of Wales.-Name:...
refers to that established by the Romans
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
. "Dydd" or "Diff" are both modifications of "Taf" (Taff), the river on which Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
stands, with the T mutating
Lenition
In linguistics, lenition is a kind of sound change that alters consonants, making them "weaker" in some way. The word lenition itself means "softening" or "weakening" . Lenition can happen both synchronically and diachronically...
to D in Welsh. According to Professor Hywel Wyn Owen, a leading modern authority on toponymy
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
, the Welsh pronunciation of "Caerdyff" as "Caerdydd" shows the colloquial alternation
Alternation (linguistics)
In linguistics, an alternation is the phenomenon of a phoneme or morpheme exhibiting variation in its phonological realization. Each of the various realizations is called an alternant...
of Welsh "-f" [v] and "-dd" [ð].
The antiquarian William Camden
William Camden
William Camden was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and officer of arms. He wrote the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the first detailed historical account of the reign of Elizabeth I of England.- Early years :Camden was born in London...
(1551–1623) suggested that the name Cardiff may derive from the name "Caer-Didi" ("the Fort of Didius"), given in honour of Aulus Didius Gallus
Aulus Didius Gallus
Aulus Didius Gallus was a Roman general and politician of the 1st century AD. He was governor of Britain between 52 and 57 AD.-Career:The career of Aulus Didius Gallus up to 51 can be partly reconstructed from an inscription from Olympia. He was quaestor under Tiberius, probably in 19...
, governor of a nearby province at the time when the Roman fort was established. Although some websites repeat this theory as fact, it is disputed by modern scholars on linguistic grounds, with Professor Gwynedd Pierce of Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
recently describing it as "rubbish".
Origins
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
evidence from sites in and around Cardiff—the St Lythans burial chamber
St Lythans burial chamber
The St Lythans burial chamber is a single stone megalithic dolmen, built around 6,000 BP as part of a chambered long barrow, during the mid Neolithic period, in what is now known as the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales....
, near Wenvoe
Wenvoe
Wenvoe is a Welsh village between Barry and Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Nearby is the Wenvoe Transmitter near Twyn-yr-Odyn and the HTV Wales Television Centre at Culverhouse Cross in the suburbs of Cardiff.-History:...
(about four miles (6.4 km) west, south west of Cardiff city centre), the Tinkinswood burial chamber
Tinkinswood
Tinkinswood or its full name Tinkinswood Burial Chamber , also known as Castell Carreg, Llech-y-Filiast and Maes-y-Filiast, is a megalithic burial chamber, built around 6,000 BP , during the Neolithic period, in the Vale of Glamorgan, near Cardiff, Wales.The structure is called a dolmen, which was...
, near St Nicholas (about six miles (10 km) west of Cardiff city centre), the Cae'rarfau Chambered Tomb, Creigiau
Creigiau
Creigiau is a dormitory settlement in the north-west of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The village currently has about 1,000 houses and a population of approximately 2,400 people.- History :...
(about six miles (10 km) north west of Cardiff city centre) and the Gwern y Cleppa Long Barrow, near Coedkernew
Coedkernew
Coedkernew is a community in the south west of the city of Newport, South Wales, in the Marshfield ward.The parish is bounded by Percoed reen to the south, Nant-y-Selsig to the southwest, and Pound Hill to the west. The northern boundary is formed from Gwern-y-cleppa to junction 28 of the M4, then...
, Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
(about eight and a quarter miles (13.5 km) north east of Cardiff city centre)—shows that Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
people had settled in the area by at least around 6,000 BP (Before Present
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
), about 1,500 years before either Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
or the Great Pyramid of Giza
Great Pyramid of Giza
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact...
was completed. A group of five Bronze Age
Bronze Age Britain
Bronze Age Britain refers to the period of British history that spanned from c. 2,500 until c. 800 BC. Lasting for approximately 1700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the era of Iron Age Britain...
tumuli
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
is at the summit of The Garth
Garth Hill
Garth Hill is a hill located near the village of Pentyrch in Cardiff...
, within the county's northern boundary. Four Iron Age
British Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
hill fort and enclosure
Enclosure (archaeology)
In archaeology, an enclosure is one of the most common types of archaeological site. It is any area of land separated from surrounding land by earthworks, walls or fencing. Such a simple feature is found all over the world and during almost all archaeological periods...
sites have been identified within Cardiff's present-day county boundaries, including Caerau Hillfort
Caerau, Cardiff
Caerau is a community in the west of Cardiff, capital city of Wales. Heol Trelai is the main road or avenue which is very much lined with large trees and shrubbery. Dominated mostly by council housing, it has the Western Leisure Centre, supermarkets, schools, churches and an Ely Police Station...
, an enclosed area of 5.1 hectares (51,000 m²).
Until the Roman conquest of Britain
Roman conquest of Britain
The Roman conquest of Britain was a gradual process, beginning effectively in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, whose general Aulus Plautius served as first governor of Britannia. Great Britain had already frequently been the target of invasions, planned and actual, by forces of the Roman Republic and...
, Cardiff was part of the territory of the Silures
Silures
The Silures were a powerful and warlike tribe of ancient Britain, occupying approximately the counties of Monmouthshire, Breconshire and Glamorganshire of present day South Wales; and possibly Gloucestershire and Herefordshire of present day England...
– a Celtic British tribe
Iron Age tribes in Britain
The names of the Iron Age tribes in Britain were recorded by Roman and Greek historians and geographers, especially Ptolemy, although information from the distribution of Celtic coins has also shed light on the extents of the territories of the various groups that occupied the island.It is...
that flourished in the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
– whose territory included the areas that would become known as Breconshire, Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
and Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
. The 3.2 hectares (8 acre) fort
Cardiff Roman Fort
Cardiff Roman Fort was a coastal fort in the Roman province of Britannia Superior, of which Roman Wales was a part. Its original Latin name is uncertain. Its remains are incorporated into Cardiff Castle in the modern capital city of Wales.-Name:...
established by the Romans
Roman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
near the mouth of the River Taff
River Taff
The River Taff is a large river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons — the Taf Fechan and the Taf Fawr — before joining to form the Taff north of Merthyr Tydfil...
in 75 CE (Common Era)
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
, in what would become the north western boundary of the centre of Cardiff, was built over an extensive settlement that had been established by the Silures in the 50s CE. The fort was one of a series of military outposts associated with Isca Augusta
Isca Augusta
Isca Augusta was a Roman legionary fortress and settlement, the remains of which lie beneath parts of the present-day village of Caerleon on the northern outskirts of the city of Newport in South Wales.-Name:...
(Caerleon
Caerleon
Caerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...
) that acted as border defences. The fort may have been abandoned in the early 2nd century as the area had been subdued, however by this time a civilian settlement, or vicus
Vicus (Rome)
In ancient Rome, the vicus was a neighborhood. During the Republican era, the four regiones of the city of Rome were subdivided into vici. In the 1st century BC, Augustus reorganized the city for administrative purposes into 14 regions, comprising 265 vici. Each vicus had its own board of...
, was established. It was likely made up of traders who made a living from the fort, ex-soldiers and their families. A Roman villa
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
has been discovered at Ely
Ely, Cardiff
Ely is a community primarily dominated by council housing in western Cardiff, capital of Wales.-The Roman era:In Roman times, Ely was the site of a Roman villa, near the old racecourse...
. Contemporary with the Saxon Shore Forts of the 3rd and 4th centuries, a stone fortress was established at Cardiff. Similar to the shore forts, the fortress was built to protect Britannia
Britannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
from raiders. Coins from the reign of Gratian
Gratian
Gratian was Roman Emperor from 375 to 383.The eldest son of Valentinian I, during his youth Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian's brother Valentinian II was declared emperor by his father's soldiers...
indicate that Cardiff was inhabited until at least the 4th century; the fort was abandoned towards the end of the 4th century, as the last Roman legions left the province of Britannia with Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus , also known as Maximianus and Macsen Wledig in Welsh, was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388. As commander of Britain, he usurped the throne against Emperor Gratian in 383...
.
Little is known about the fort and civilian settlement in the period between the Roman departure from Britain and the Norman Conquest. Historian William Rees suggests that the settlement probably shrank in size and may even have been abandoned. In the absence of Roman rule, Wales was divided into small kingdoms; early on, Meurig ap Tewdrig
Meurig ap Tewdrig
Meurig ap Tewdrig was the son of Tewdrig , and a king of the early Welsh kingdoms of Gwent and Glywysing. He is thought to have lived sometime between 400 and 600 AD....
emerged as the local king in Glywysing (which later became Glamorgan). The area passed through his family until the advent of the Normans in the 11th century.
Norman occupation to the Middle Ages
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
has been at the heart of the city ever since. The castle was substantially altered and extended during the Victorian period by John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute
John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute KT, KSG, KGCHS was a landed aristocrat, industrial magnate, antiquarian, scholar, philanthropist and architectural patron.-Early life:...
, and the architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
William Burges
William Burges (architect)
William Burges was an English architect and designer. Amongst the greatest of the Victorian art-architects, Burges sought in his work an escape from 19th century industrialisation and a return to the values, architectural and social, of an imagined mediaeval England...
. Original Roman work can, however, still be distinguished in the wall facings.
A small town grew up in the shadow of the castle, made up primarily of settlers from England. Cardiff had a population of between 1,500 and 2,000 in the Middle Ages, a relatively normal size for a Welsh town in this period. By the end of the 13th century, Cardiff was the only town in Wales with a population exceeding 2,000, but it was relatively small compared with most notable towns in the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
.
In the early 12th century a wooden palisade was erected around the city to protect it. Cardiff was a busy port in the Middle Ages, and was declared a Staple port in 1327.
Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
travelled through Cardiff on his journey to Ireland and had a premonition against the holding of Sunday markets at St Piran's Chapel, which stood in the middle of the road between the castle entrance and Westgate.
In 1404 Owain Glyndŵr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
burned Cardiff and took Cardiff Castle. As the town was still very small, most of the buildings were made of wood and the town was destroyed. However, the town was soon rebuilt and began to flourish once again.
County town of Glamorganshire
In 1536, the Act of Union between England and Wales led to the creation of the shireShire
A shire is a traditional term for a division of land, found in the United Kingdom and in Australia. In parts of Australia, a shire is an administrative unit, but it is not synonymous with "county" there, which is a land registration unit. Individually, or as a suffix in Scotland and in the far...
of Glamorgan, and Cardiff was made the county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
. It also became part of Kibbor
Kibbor
Kibbor is one of the hundreds of Glamorganshire created by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 corresponding approximately to the commote of Kwmwd Kibwr of the former Senghenydd cantref Cantref Breinyawl with the addition of Llandaff...
hundred. Around this same time the Herbert family became the most powerful family in the area. In 1538, Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
closed the Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
and Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
friaries in Cardiff, the remains of which were used as building materials. A writer around this period described Cardiff: "The River Taff runs under the walls of his honours castle and from the north part of the town to the south part where there is a fair quay and a safe harbour for shipping."
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
granted Cardiff its first royal charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
. Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
historian George Owen described Cardiff in 1602 as "the fayrest towne in Wales yett not the welthiest.", and the town gained a second Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
in 1608. Disastrous flooding led to a change in the course of the River Taff and the ruining of St Mary's Parish Church, which was replaced by its chapel of ease, St John the Baptist. During the Second English Civil War
Second English Civil War
The Second English Civil War was the second of three wars known as the English Civil War which refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1652 and also include the First English Civil War and the...
, St Fagans just to the west of the town, played host to the Battle of St Fagans. The battle, between a Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
rebellion and a New Model Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
detachment, was a decisive victory for the Parliamentarians
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
and allowed Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
to conquer Wales. It is the last major battle to occur in Wales, with about 200 (mostly Royalist) soldiers killed.
In the ensuing century Cardiff was at peace. In 1766, John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute
John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute
John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute, PC, FRS was a British nobleman.He was the son of the 3rd Earl of Bute and the former Mary Wortley Montagu, a granddaughter of the 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull and great-granddaughter of the 1st Earl of Sandwich...
married into the Herbert family and was later created Baron Cardiff, and in 1778 he began renovations on Cardiff Castle. In the 1790s a racecourse, printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
, bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
and coffee house all opened, and Cardiff gained a stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
service to London. Despite these improvements, Cardiff's position in the Welsh urban hierarchy
Urban hierarchy
Urban hierarchy a term that relates the structure of towns within an area. It can typically be illustrated by dividing towns into four categories:* 1st-order towns* 2nd-order towns* 3rd-order towns* 4th-order towns...
had declined over the 18th century. Iolo Morgannwg called it "an obscure and inconsiderable place", and the 1801 census
Census Act 1800
The Census Act 1800 also known as the Population Act 1800 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which enabled the first Census of England, Scotland and Wales to be undertaken. The census was carried out in 1801 and every ten years thereafter...
found the population to be only 1,870, making Cardiff only the 25th largest town in Wales, well behind Merthyr and Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
.
Building of the docks
John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute, KT, FRS was the son of John, Lord Mount Stuart and the former Lady Elizabeth McDouall-Crichton...
was born. He would spend his life building the Cardiff docks and would later be called "the creator of modern Cardiff". A twice-weekly boat service between Cardiff and Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
was established in 1815, and in 1821, the Cardiff Gas Works was established.
After the Napoleonic Wars Cardiff entered a period of social and industrial unrest, starting with the trial and hanging of Dic Penderyn
Dic Penderyn
Richard Lewis, better known as Dic Penderyn , was a Welsh labourer and coal miner who was involved with the Merthyr Rising of June 3, 1831. In the course of the riot he was arrested alongside Lewis Lewis, one of the primary figures in the uprising, and charged with stabbing a soldier with a bayonet...
in 1831.
The town grew rapidly from the 1830s onwards, when the Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute, KT, FRS was the son of John, Lord Mount Stuart and the former Lady Elizabeth McDouall-Crichton...
built a dock
Dock (maritime)
A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
which eventually linked to the Taff Vale Railway
Taff Vale Railway
The Taff Vale Railway is a railway in Glamorgan, South Wales, and is one of the oldest in Wales. It operated as an independent company from 1836 until 1922, when it became a constituent company of the Great Western Railway...
. Cardiff became the main port for exports of coal from the Cynon
Cynon Valley
The Cynon Valley , is a famous former coal mining valley within the South Wales Valleys of Wales. The Cynon Valley lies between the other mining Valley of Rhondda and the iron industrial Valley of the Merthyr Valley. Its main towns are Aberdare located North of the Valley and Mountain Ash located...
, Rhondda
Rhondda
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley , is a former coal mining valley in Wales, formerly a local government district, consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley...
, and Rhymney
Rhymney Valley
The Rhymney Valley is a valley encompassing the villages of Abertysswg, Fochriw, Pontlottyn, Tirphil, New Tredegar, Aberbargoed, Rhymney, and Ystrad Mynach, and the towns of Bargoed and Caerphilly, in south-east Wales, formerly famous for its coal mining and iron industries.-Geography:Created as a...
valleys, and grew at a rate of nearly 80% per decade between 1840 and 1870. Much of the growth was due to migration
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
from within and outside Wales: in 1841, a quarter of Cardiff's population were English-born and more than 10% had been born in Ireland. By the 1881 census, Cardiff had overtaken both Merthyr and Swansea to become the largest town in Wales. Cardiff's new status as the premier town in South Wales was confirmed when it was chosen as the site of the University College South Wales and Monmouthshire
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
in 1893.
Cardiff faced a challenge in the 1880s when David Davies of Llandinam
David Davies (industrialist)
David Davies was a Welsh industrialist and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1874 and 1886. Davies was often known as David Davies Llandinam , in order to differentiate him from others of the same name.Davies was the son of David Davies and his wife Elizabeth...
and the Barry Railway Company
Barry Railway Company
The Barry Railway Company was a coal pit owner developed and owned railway company, formed to provide an alternate route for the sea export of coal mined in the South Wales valleys to the existing monopoly of the Taff Vale Railway and Cardiff Docks...
promoted the development of rival docks at Barry. Barry docks had the advantage of being accessible in all tide
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
s, and David Davies claimed that his venture would cause "grass to grow in the streets of Cardiff". From 1901 coal exports from Barry surpassed those from Cardiff, but the administration of the coal trade remained centred on Cardiff, in particular its Coal Exchange, where the price of coal on the British market was determined and the first million-pound deal was struck in 1907. The city also strengthened its industrial base with the decision of the owners of the Dowlais Ironworks
Dowlais Ironworks
The Dowlais Ironworks was a major ironworks and steelworks located at Dowlais near Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. Founded in the 18th century, it operated until the end of the 20th, at one time in the 19th century being the largest steel producer in the UK...
in Merthyr (who would later form part of Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds
GKN
GKN plc is a multinational automotive and aerospace components company headquartered in Redditch, United Kingdom. The company was formerly known as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds and can trace its origins back to 1759 and the birth of the Industrial Revolution.GKN is listed on the London Stock...
) to build a new steelworks
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
close to the docks at East Moors, which was opened on 4 February 1891 by Lord Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute
John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute KT, KSG, KGCHS was a landed aristocrat, industrial magnate, antiquarian, scholar, philanthropist and architectural patron.-Early life:...
.
City and capital city status
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
granted Cardiff city status
City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
on 28 October 1905, and the city acquired a Roman Catholic Cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
in 1916. In subsequent years an increasing number of national institutions were located in the city, including the National Museum of Wales
National Museum Cardiff
National Museum Cardiff is a museum and art gallery in Cardiff, Wales. The museum is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales...
, Welsh National War Memorial
Welsh National War Memorial
The Welsh National War Memorial is situated in Alexandra Gardens, Cathays Park, Cardiff. The memorial was designed by Sir Ninian Comper and unveiled in June 1928 by the Prince of Wales...
, and the University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
Registry Building—however, it was denied the National Library of Wales
National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
, partly because the library's founder, Sir John Williams, considered Cardiff to have "a non-Welsh population".
After a brief post-war boom, Cardiff docks entered a prolonged decline in the interwar period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
. By 1936, their trade was less than half its value in 1913, reflecting the slump in demand for Welsh coal
South Wales Coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...
. Bomb damage during the Cardiff Blitz
Cardiff Blitz
The Cardiff Blitz refers to the bombing of Cardiff, Wales during World War II.At the time, Cardiff Docks was the biggest coal port in the world and, for a few years before World War I, it handled a greater tonnage of cargo than either London or Liverpool....
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
included the devastation of Llandaff Cathedral
Llandaff Cathedral
Llandaff Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is situated in the district of Llandaff in the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The current building was constructed in the 12th century over the site of an earlier church...
, and in the immediate postwar years the city's link with the Bute family came to an end.
The city was proclaimed capital city of Wales on 20 December 1955, by a written reply by the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Gwilym Lloyd George
Gwilym Lloyd George, 1st Viscount Tenby
Major Gwilym Lloyd George, 1st Viscount Tenby PC TD was a British politician and cabinet minister. A younger son of Prime Minister David Lloyd George, he served as Home Secretary from 1954 to 1957....
. Caernarfon
Caernarfon
Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
had also vied for this title. Cardiff therefore celebrated two important anniversaries
Anniversary
An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...
in 2005. The Encyclopedia of Wales notes that the decision to recognise the city as the capital of Wales "had more to do with the fact that it contained marginal Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
constituencies than any reasoned view of what functions a Welsh capital should have". Although the city hosted the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
in 1958, Cardiff only became a centre of national administration with the establishment of the Welsh Office
Welsh Office
The Welsh Office was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Wales, a post which had been created in October 1964...
in 1964, which later prompted the creation of various other public bodies such as the Arts Council of Wales
Arts Council of Wales
The Arts Council of Wales is a Welsh Government sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales.Established by Royal Charter in 1946, as the Welsh Arts Council , when it merged with the three Welsh regional arts associations...
and the Welsh Development Agency
Welsh Development Agency
The Welsh Development Agency was a QUANGO and later an Assembly Sponsored Public Body established in 1976 to encourage business development and investment in Wales, to clear derelict land and to encourage growth of local businesses...
, most of which were based in Cardiff.
The East Moors Steelworks closed in 1978 and Cardiff lost population during the 1980s, consistent with a wider pattern of counter urbanisation
Counter Urbanisation
Counter urbanisation is a demographic and social process whereby people move from urban areas to rural areas. It first took place as a reaction to inner-city deprivation and overcrowding. Initial study of counter urbanisation was carried out by human geographer Brian Berry...
in Britain. However, it recovered and was one of the few cities (outside London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) where population grew during the 1990s. During this period the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
The Cardiff Bay Development Corporation was set up by the United Kingdom Government on 3 April 1987 to redevelop of one sixth of the area of Cardiff to create Cardiff Bay.-Objectives:...
was promoting the redevelopment
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
of south Cardiff; an evaluation of the regeneration of Cardiff Bay published in 2004 concluded that the project had "reinforced the competitive position of Cardiff" and "contributed to a massive improvement in the quality of the built environment", although it had failed "to attract the major inward investors originally anticipated".
In the 1997 devolution
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
, Cardiff voters rejected the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
by 55.4% to 44.2% on a 47% turnout, which Denis Balsom partly ascribed to a general preference in Cardiff and some other parts of Wales for a 'British'
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
rather than exclusively 'Welsh'
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
identity
National identity
National identity is the person's identity and sense of belonging to one state or to one nation, a feeling one shares with a group of people, regardless of one's citizenship status....
. The relative lack of support for the Assembly locally, and difficulties between the Welsh Office and Cardiff Council in acquiring the original preferred venue, Cardiff City Hall, encouraged other local authorities to bid to house the Assembly. However, the Assembly eventually located at Ty Hywel in Cardiff Bay in 1999; in 2005, a new debating chamber
Senedd
The Senedd , also known as the National Assembly building, houses the debating chamber and three committee rooms for the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff. The Senedd building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 March 2006 and the total cost was £69.6 million, which included £49.7M in...
on an adjacent site, designed by Richard Rogers
Richard Rogers
Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH Kt FRIBA FCSD is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs....
, was opened.
The city was county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
until the council reorganisation in 1974 paired Cardiff and the now Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
together as the new county of South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan is a preserved county of Wales.It was originally formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a county council area...
. Further local government restructuring in 1996 resulted in Cardiff city's district
Districts of Wales
In 1974, Wales was re-divided for local government purposes into thirty-seven districts. Districts were the second tier of local government introduced by the Local Government Act 1972, being subdivisions of the eight counties introduced at the same time...
council becoming a unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
, the City and County of Cardiff
Cardiff Council
The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council consists of 75 councillors, representing 29 electoral wards. The authority is properly styled as The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff or in...
, with the addition of Creigiau
Creigiau
Creigiau is a dormitory settlement in the north-west of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The village currently has about 1,000 houses and a population of approximately 2,400 people.- History :...
and Pentyrch
Pentyrch
Pentyrch is a suburban community located on the western outskirts of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The village gives its name to a Cardiff local authority electoral ward, which covers the village and surrounding area.-Geography:...
.
Government
Local Government (Wales) Act 1994
The Local Government Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the current local government structure in Wales of 22 unitary authority areas, referred to as principal areas in the Act, and abolished the previous two-tier structure of counties and districts...
, Cardiff has been governed by The City and County Council of Cardiff
Cardiff Council
The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council consists of 75 councillors, representing 29 electoral wards. The authority is properly styled as The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff or in...
, which is based at County Hall
County Hall, Cardiff
The County Hall is the head office of Cardiff Council , located beside the disused Bute East Dock in the Atlantic Wharf area of Butetown, Cardiff.-Design and construction:...
in Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff Bay. Voters elect 75 councillors every four years, with the next elections due to be held in 2012.
Since the 2004 local elections, no individual political party has held a majority on Cardiff County Council. The Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
have 35 councillors, the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
have 17, Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
have 13, Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
have seven and three councillors sit as Independents. The Leader of the Council, Cllr Rodney Berman
Rodney Berman
Rodney Berman, a Liberal Democrat Councillor for the Plasnewydd ward, is leader of Cardiff Council .A Glaswegian by birth, Rodney studied at the University of Glasgow where he helped run Glasgow University Liberal Democrats before moving to Wales to study towards a PhD.He has stood for election to...
, is from the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
. The Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru have formed a partnership administration to run the council.
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
has been based in Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
since its formation in 1999. The building, known as the Senedd
Senedd
The Senedd , also known as the National Assembly building, houses the debating chamber and three committee rooms for the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff. The Senedd building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 March 2006 and the total cost was £69.6 million, which included £49.7M in...
(which translates into English as Legislature, Parliament or Senate) was opened on 1 March 2006, by The Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
. The Assembly Members (AMs), the Assembly Commission and Ministerial support staff are based in Cardiff Bay. Cardiff elects four constituency Assembly Members (AMs) to the Assembly, with the individual constituencies for the Assembly being the same as for the UK Parliament. All of the city's residents have an extra vote for the South Wales Central region which increases proportionality to the Assembly. The most recent Welsh Assembly general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
were held on 5 May 2011
National Assembly for Wales election, 2011
The National Assembly for Wales election 2011 was the most recent election for the National Assembly. The poll was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 and decided the incumbency for all the assembly's seats...
.
In the Assembly Cardiff is represented by Jenny Rathbone (Labour) in Cardiff Central
Cardiff Central (Assembly constituency)
Cardiff Central is a constituency of the National Assembly for Wales. It elects one Assembly Member by the first past the post method of election...
, Julie Morgan
Julie Morgan
Julie Morgan AM is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Cardiff North from 1997 until 2010; she is married to former First Minister of Wales, Rhodri Morgan. Julie Morgan won the Cardiff North seat in the Welsh Assembly in the 2011 elections.-Early life,...
(Labour) in Cardiff North
Cardiff North (Assembly constituency)
Cardiff North is a constituency of the National Assembly for Wales. It elects one Assembly Member by the first past the post method of election...
, Vaughan Gething
Vaughan Gething
Vaughan Gething AM is a Welsh Labour Co-operative politician, who has represented the constituency of Cardiff South and Penarth since the National Assembly for Wales election of 2011.-Early life:...
(Labour) in Cardiff South and Penarth
Cardiff South and Penarth (Assembly constituency)
Cardiff South and Penarth is a constituency of the National Assembly for Wales. It elects one Assembly Member by the first past the post electoral system...
and Mark Drakeford (Labour) in Cardiff West
Cardiff West (Assembly constituency)
Cardiff West is a constituency of the National Assembly for Wales. It elects one Assembly Member by the first past the post method of election...
.
In Westminster, Cardiff is represented by Jenny Willott
Jenny Willott
Jennifer Nancy Willott is a British politician and the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cardiff Central since the 2005 general election. She is the first woman and the first Liberal Democrat to represent her seat....
(Liberal Democrat) in Cardiff Central
Cardiff Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Cardiff Central is a borough constituency in the city of Cardiff. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system....
, Jonathan Evans (Conservative) in Cardiff North
Cardiff North (UK Parliament constituency)
Cardiff North is aborough constituency in the city of Cardiff. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....
, Alun Michael
Alun Michael
Alun Edward Michael is a British Labour Co-operative politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Cardiff South and Penarth since 1987. He was formerly First Minister of Wales and leader of the Welsh Labour Party from 1999 to 2000.-Education:Michael was born at Bryngwran Anglesey, son of...
(Labour) in Cardiff South and Penarth and Kevin Brennan
Kevin Brennan (politician)
Kevin Denis Brennan is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Cardiff West since 2001, and was a Minister of State at both the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Children, Schools and Families before the 2010 general election...
(Labour) in Cardiff West
Cardiff West (UK Parliament constituency)
Cardiff West is a borough constituency in the city of Cardiff. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system...
.
The Welsh Government has its headquarters in Cardiff's Cathays Park
Cathays Park
In addition to the large lawn in front of the City Hall, Cathays Park includes three formal gardens. All of the spaces are within conservation areas and many of the surrounding buildings are listed. The open spaces are very important to the image of the city. Several important buildings overlook...
where most of its civil servants are based, with smaller numbers in other locations in the city centre
Cardiff city centre
Cardiff city centre is the central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bounded by the River Taff to the west, the Civic centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations - Central and Queen Street - to the south and east respectively...
, Coryton, Llanishen
Llanishen
Llanishen is a district in the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Llanishen is well-known as the home of the 'Tax Offices', the tallest buildings in north Cardiff and a landmark for miles around...
, Tremorfa
Tremorfa
Tremorfa is a district of the city of Cardiff, Wales. It falls into the Splott ward of Cardiff.-Transport:Tremorfa is the terminus of the 12/13 routes operating to Culverhouse Cross via Splott, Central Stn, Canton and Ely...
and Morganstown. There are other Welsh Government offices in other parts of Wales such as Llandudno and Aberystwyth and international offices throughout the world.
Geography
The centre of Cardiff is relatively flat and is bounded by hills on the outskirts to the east, north and west. Its geographic features were influential in its development as the world's largest coal port, most notably its proximity and easy access to the coal fields of the south Wales valleys. The highest point in the authority is Garth HillGarth Hill
Garth Hill is a hill located near the village of Pentyrch in Cardiff...
307 metres above sea level.
Cardiff is built on reclaimed marshland on a bed of Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
stones; this reclaimed marshland stretches from Chepstow
Chepstow
Chepstow is a town in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the River Wye, close to its confluence with the River Severn, and close to the western end of the Severn Bridge on the M48 motorway...
to the Ely Estuary, which is the natural boundary of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Triassic landscapes of this part of the world are usually shallow and low-lying which accounts and explains the flatness of the centre of Cardiff. The classic Triassic marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
, sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
and conglomerate
Conglomerate (geology)
A conglomerate is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts...
rocks are used predominantly throughout Cardiff as building materials. Many of these Triassic rocks have a purple complexion, especially the coastal marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
found near Penarth. One of the Triassic rocks used in Cardiff is "Radyr Stone", a freestone which as it name suggests is quarried in the Radyr district. Cardiff has also imported some materials for buildings: Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
sandstones (the Old Red Sandstone
Old Red Sandstone
The Old Red Sandstone is a British rock formation of considerable importance to early paleontology. For convenience the short version of the term, 'ORS' is often used in literature on the subject.-Sedimentology:...
) from the Brecon Beacons
Brecon Beacons
The Brecon Beacons is a mountain range in South Wales. In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of popular peaks south of Brecon, including South Wales' highest mountain, Pen y Fan, and which together form the central section of the Brecon Beacons National Park...
has been used. Most famously, the buildings of Cathays Park
Cathays Park
In addition to the large lawn in front of the City Hall, Cathays Park includes three formal gardens. All of the spaces are within conservation areas and many of the surrounding buildings are listed. The open spaces are very important to the image of the city. Several important buildings overlook...
, the civic centre in the centre of the city, are built of Portland stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
which was imported from Dorset. A widely used building stone in Cardiff is the yellow-grey Liassic
Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period...
limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
rock of the Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
, including the very rare "Sutton Stone", a conglomerate of lias limestone and carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
limestone.
Cardiff is bordered to the west by the rural district of the Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
—also known as The Garden of Cardiff— to the east by the city of Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, to the north by the South Wales Valleys
South Wales Valleys
The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...
and to the south by the Severn Estuary
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
and Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
. The River Taff
River Taff
The River Taff is a large river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons — the Taf Fechan and the Taf Fawr — before joining to form the Taff north of Merthyr Tydfil...
winds through the centre of the city and together with the River Ely
River Ely
The River Ely is a river in South Wales flowing generally south east, from Tonyrefail to the capital city of Cardiff.-Course of the river:...
flows into the freshwater lake of Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
. A third river, the Rhymney
Rhymney River
The Rhymney River is a river in the Rhymney Valley, south-east Wales, flowing through Cardiff into the Severn estuary.The river forms the boundary between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire.-Path of the river:...
flows through the east of the city entering directly into the Severn Estuary.
Cardiff is situated near the Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
Heritage Coast
Heritage Coast
A Heritage Coast is a strip of UK coastline designated by the Countryside Agency in England and the Countryside Council for Wales as having notable natural beauty or scientific significance.- Designated coastline :...
, stretching westward from Penarth and Barry—commuter town
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
s of Cardiff—with striped yellow-blue Jurassic limestone cliffs. The Glamorgan coast is the only part of the Celtic Sea
Celtic Sea
The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portions of Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and Brittany...
that has exposed Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
(blue lias
Blue Lias
The Blue Lias is a geologic formation in southern, eastern and western England and parts of South Wales, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of limestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassic times, between 195 and 200 million years ago...
) geology. This stretch of coast, which has reefs, sandbanks and serrated cliffs, was a ship graveyard
Ship graveyard
A ship graveyard or ship cemetery is a location where the hulls of scrapped ships are left to decay and disintegrate, or left in reserve...
; ships sailing up to Cardiff during the industrial era often never made it as far as Cardiff as many were wrecked around this hostile coastline during west/south-westerly gales. Consequently, smuggling, deliberate shipwrecking and attacks on ships were common.
Cityscape
"Inner Cardiff" consists of the following wards: Penylan
Penylan
Penylan is a district in the east of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, known for its Victorian era period houses and spacious tree lined roads and avenues....
, Plasnewydd
Plasnewydd
Plasnewydd is an electoral ward of Cardiff, Wales. It falls within the parliamentary constituency of Cardiff Central. It is bounded by the wards of Cyncoed to the north; Penylan to the northeast; Adamsdown to the southwest; and Cathays to the west. It mainly covers the district of Roath.-External...
, Gabalfa
Gabalfa
Gabalfa is a district in the north of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is characterised by an enormous fly over road which is part of the large Gabalfa Interchange, and crosses the A48 road in a north-south direction. The area is also the site of the All Nations Centre.The name is derived...
, Roath
Roath
Roath is a district in the east/north-east of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales.It lies just east/north east of the city centre, stretching from Adamsdown in the south to Roath Park in the north. Roath contains the Plasnewydd electoral ward. The name is believed to originate from Irish ráth,...
, Cathays
Cathays (electoral ward)
The Cathays electoral ward of Cardiff consists of some or all of the following areas: Blackweir, Cardiff city centre, Cathays, Cathays Park and Maindy in the parliamentary constituency of Cardiff Central. It is bounded by Gabalfa and Birchgrove to the north; Plasnewydd and Adamsdown to the east;...
, Adamsdown
Adamsdown
Adamsdown is an inner city area and community in the south of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales.-History:In mediaeval times, Adamsdown lay just outside the east walls of Cardiff and was owned by the lords of Glamorgan. The area may be named after an Adam Kygnot, a porter at Cardiff Castle around...
and Splott
Splott
Splott is a district in the south of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, just east of the city centre. It was built up in the late 19th century on the land of two farms of the same name: Upper Splott and Lower Splott Farms. Splott is characterised by its once vast steelworks and rows of tightly...
ward on the north and east of the city centre, and Butetown
Butetown
Butetown is a community in the south of the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It was originally a model housing estate built in the early nineteenth century by John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute, for whose title the area was named...
, Grangetown
Grangetown, Cardiff
Grangetown is a community in the south of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is one of the largest districts in the south of the city and is bordered by Riverside, Canton and Butetown. The River Taff winds its way through the area...
, Riverside
Riverside, Cardiff
Riverside is an inner-city southern area of Cardiff, capital of Wales. Riverside is also the name of the electoral ward, which can be split into two very different parts, Riverside and Pontcanna...
and Canton
Canton, Cardiff
Canton is an inner-city district and community in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales, lying west of the city's civic centre. One of the most ethnically diverse of Cardiff's suburbs, with a significant Asian population such as Pakistanis and Indians, Canton has a population just in excess of...
to the south and west. The inner-city areas to the south of the A4161 road
A4161 road
The A4161 is a main road in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.The road links Cardiff city centre with Ely and the M4 motorway via the A48 and the A4232 to the west and Cardiff city centre with Rumney and the A48 motorway via the A4232 and the A48 to the east.- History of the road number :The original...
(known as the "Southern Arc") are, with the exception of Cardiff Bay, some of the poorest districts of Wales with low levels of economic activity. On the other hand Gabalfa, Plasnewydd and Cathays north of the 'arc' have very large student populations, and Pontcanna (situated north of Riverside and alongside Canton) is a favourite for students and young professionals. Penylan
Penylan
Penylan is a district in the east of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, known for its Victorian era period houses and spacious tree lined roads and avenues....
, which lies to the north east side of Roath Park, is an affluent area popular with those with older children and the retired.
Ely, Cardiff
Ely is a community primarily dominated by council housing in western Cardiff, capital of Wales.-The Roman era:In Roman times, Ely was the site of a Roman villa, near the old racecourse...
, Caerau
Caerau, Cardiff
Caerau is a community in the west of Cardiff, capital city of Wales. Heol Trelai is the main road or avenue which is very much lined with large trees and shrubbery. Dominated mostly by council housing, it has the Western Leisure Centre, supermarkets, schools, churches and an Ely Police Station...
and Fairwater
Fairwater, Cardiff
Fairwater is a district in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is located a few miles from Culverhouse Cross which connects Cardiff to the M4 motorway.- History :The name Tyllgoed, meaning "dark wood" goes back to the 15th century...
which contain some of the largest housing estates in the United Kingdom. With the exception of some of the outlying privately built estates at Michaelston Super Ely and 1930s developments near Waun-Gron Road, this is an economically disadvantaged area with high numbers of unemployed households. Culverhouse Cross
Culverhouse Cross
Culverhouse Cross is suburban district in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales, lying on the border with the Vale of Glamorgan.The busy Culverhouse Cross roundabout is an important part of the primary road network to the west of the city and connects the A4232 , the A4050 , and...
is a more affluent western area of the city. Radyr
Radyr
Radyr is an outer suburb of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The suburb is situated in the west of the city, although it was originally a separate village, and is located around 5 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. According to 2009 estimates, the suburb has a population of 6,000...
, Llandaff
Llandaff
Llandaff is a district in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Church in Wales Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese covers the most populous area of South Wales. Much of the district is covered by parkland known as Llandaff...
, Llandaff North
Llandaff North
Llandaff North , is a community in the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. It is located in the north of Cardiff and can be considered a two part ward, each containing about half the population; a northern section of mainly middle class housing, and a southern section of mainly public...
, Whitchurch
Whitchurch, Cardiff
Whitchurch is a suburb in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is approximately 3 miles north of the centre of the city on the A470 road and A4054 road. Its estimated population as of 2004 was 15,649. It falls within the Whitchurch & Tongwynlais ward.-History:Whitchurch draws its name from...
& Tongwynlais
Tongwynlais
Tongwynlais is a village in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, in the Taff Valley.- Overview :Tongwynlais lies in the River Taff Valley. Its population is 1946 people....
, Rhiwbina
Rhiwbina
Rhiwbina is a prosperous northern suburb of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It used to be a separate village: its core is still locally called "the village" and is given a Welsh village appearance by Beulah United Reformed Church at the village crossroads.Capel Beulah/Beulah URC was a daughter chapel...
, Heath
Heath, Cardiff
Heath is a community in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, originally called the Great Heath and named as a result of the large park and woodland that it once contained. It should be distinguished from the Little Heath which lies to the south of the Great Heath, in the vicinity of Crwys Road...
, Llanishen
Llanishen
Llanishen is a district in the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Llanishen is well-known as the home of the 'Tax Offices', the tallest buildings in north Cardiff and a landmark for miles around...
, Thornhill
Thornhill, Cardiff
Thornhill is a northern suburb in the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, south of Caerphilly . It is a relatively modern area with housing stock dating mainly from the late 1980s and beyond...
, Lisvane
Lisvane
Lisvane is an affluent community in the north of Cardiff, the capital of Wales, located north of the city centre. Lisvane is one of the most desirable areas of both Cardiff and Wales, and as of 2011, has an average house price £410,000 with many properties worth in excess of £1 million...
, Pontprennau
Pontprennau
Pontprennau is a district in the east of the city of Cardiff, Wales.-History:Pontprennau is the Welsh language for Bridge of Trees ....
and Cyncoed
Cyncoed
Cyncoed is a community in the north of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. Located in the north east of the city, Cyncoed is one of the most affluent suburbs of Cardiff, and of Wales in general. It has some of the highest property prices in Wales...
which lie in an arc from the north west to the north east of the centre can be considered the main middle class suburbs of the city. In particular, Cyncoed, Radyr
Radyr
Radyr is an outer suburb of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The suburb is situated in the west of the city, although it was originally a separate village, and is located around 5 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. According to 2009 estimates, the suburb has a population of 6,000...
and Lisvane contain some of the most expensive housing in Wales. Further to the east lie the wards of Pontprennau & Old St Mellons, Rumney, Pentwyn
Pentwyn, Cardiff
Pentwyn is a district in the east of Cardiff, Wales, located northeast of the city centre.- Amenities :Pentwyn has three pubs : The Village Inn, Hollybush and The Grand Slam. Pentwyn has its own shopping centre which has a Post Office, newsagent, fish and chips Shop, Pentwyn Balti, Betfred and the...
, Llanrumney
Llanrumney
Llanrumney is a district and suburb in the east of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales.-History:The land where modern Llanrumney stands was left to Keynsham Abbey by the Lord of Glamorgan after the Norman Conquest...
and Trowbridge
Trowbridge, Cardiff
Trowbridge is an electoral ward in the east of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales.The ward includes some or all of the areas of Cefn Mably, St Mellons estate and Trowbridge in the parliamentary constituency of Cardiff South & Penarth....
. The latter three are again largely of public housing stock, although new private housing is being built in Trowbridge in considerable number. Pontprennau
Pontprennau
Pontprennau is a district in the east of the city of Cardiff, Wales.-History:Pontprennau is the Welsh language for Bridge of Trees ....
is the newest 'suburb' of Cardiff, whilst Old St Mellons
St Mellons
St Mellons is a district and suburb of eastern Cardiff, the capital city of Wales.-History:St Mellons began as a small commercial centre in the historic county of Monmouthshire, relying heavily on rural agriculture, farming and travel...
has a history going back to the Norman Conquest in the 11th century.
To the north west of the city lies a region that may be called "Rural Cardiff" containing the villages of St. Fagans
St. Fagans
St Fagans is an area in the west of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales.To the south lies the village of Michaelston-super-Ely, and to the east the suburb of Fairwater. St Fagans lies on the River Ely, and previously had a railway station on the South Wales Main Line, and currently there is a...
, Creigiau
Creigiau
Creigiau is a dormitory settlement in the north-west of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The village currently has about 1,000 houses and a population of approximately 2,400 people.- History :...
, Pentyrch
Pentyrch
Pentyrch is a suburban community located on the western outskirts of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The village gives its name to a Cardiff local authority electoral ward, which covers the village and surrounding area.-Geography:...
, Tongwynlais
Tongwynlais
Tongwynlais is a village in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, in the Taff Valley.- Overview :Tongwynlais lies in the River Taff Valley. Its population is 1946 people....
and Gwaelod-y-garth
Gwaelod-y-Garth
Gwaelod-y-garth is a village in the parish of Pentyrch, Cardiff in Wales.- Location :It is situated approx 6 miles north of Cardiff and 7 miles from Pontypridd. Castell Coch, the Fairytale castle of South Wales, is within easy reach of the village, by car or by foot.- History :In Elizabethan...
. St. Fagans, home to the Museum of Welsh Life, is protected from further development.
Since 2000, there has been a significant change of scale and building height in Cardiff, with the development of the city centre's first purpose-built high-rise apartments. Tall buildings have been built in the city centre and Cardiff Bay, and more are planned.
Climate
Cardiff lies within the north temperate zone and has an essentially maritime climate, characterised by mild weather that is often cloudy, wet and windy. Summers tend to be warm and sunny, with average maximum temperatures between 19 °C (66.2 °F) and 22 °C (71.6 °F). Winters tend to be fairly wet, but rainfall is rarely excessive and the temperature usually stays above freezing. Spring and autumn feel quite similar and the temperatures tend to stay above 14 °C (57.2 °F)—also the average annual daytime temperature. Rain is unpredictable at any time of year, although the showers tend to be shorter in summer.The northern part of the county, being higher and inland—for example, The Garth
Garth Hill
Garth Hill is a hill located near the village of Pentyrch in Cardiff...
, about 7 miles (11.3 km) north west of Cardiff city centre, (elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
1007 feet (307 m))—tends to be cooler and wetter than the city centre.
Temperature
Cardiff's maximum and minimum monthly temperatures average 21.3 °C (70.3 °F) (August) and 2.1 °C (35.8 °F) (January and February).For Wales, the temperatures average 19.1 °C (66.4 °F) (July) and 1.1 °C (34 °F) (February).
Sunshine hours
Cardiff has 1518 hours of sunshine during an average year (Wales 1388.7 hours). Cardiff is sunniest during July, with an average 203.4 hours during the month (Wales 183.3 hours), and least sunny during December with 44.6 hours (Wales 38.5 hours).Rainfall
Cardiff experiences less rainfall than Wales as a whole.Rain falls in Cardiff on 146 days during an average year, with total annual rainfall of 1111.7 millimetres (43.8 in). Monthly rainfall pattern shows that from September to January average monthly rainfall in Cardiff exceeded 100 millimetres (3.9 in) each month, the wettest month being December with 128 millimetres (5 in). Cardiff's driest months are from April to July, with average monthly rainfall fairly consistent, at between 60.5 millimetres (2.4 in) and 65.9 millimetres (2.6 in).
Rain falls in Wales on 165.5 days during an average year, with total annual rainfall of 1435.9 millimetres (56.5 in). Monthly rainfall pattern shows that from September to January average monthly rainfall in Wales exceeded 120 millimetres (4.7 in) each month, the wettest month being December with 173.3 millimetres (6.8 in) Wales' dryest months are from April to July, with average monthly rainfall fairly consistent, at between 78.4 millimetres (3.1 in) and 85.9 millimetres (3.4 in).
Demography
| Year | Population of Cardiff | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1801 | 6,342 | – |
| 1851 | 26,630 | 320% |
| 1861 | 48,965 | 184% |
| 1871 | 71,301 | 84% |
| 1881 | 93,637 | 31% |
| 1891 | 142,114 | 52% |
| 1901 | 172,629 | 21% |
| 1911 | 209,804 | 22% |
| 1921 | 227,753 | 9% |
| 1931 | 247,270 | 9% |
| 1941 | 257,112 | 4% |
| 1951 | 267,356 | 4% |
| 1961 | 278,552 | 4% |
| 1971 | 290,227 | 4% |
| 1981 | 274,500 | −5% |
| 1991 | 272,557 | −1% |
| 2001 | 292,150 | 7% |
| 2010 | 341,054* | 17% |
| source: Vision of Britain except *, which is the mid 2010 estimate by the Office for National Statistics. Historical populations are calculated with the modern boundaries | ||
Following a period of decline during the 1970s and 1980s, Cardiff's population is growing. The local authority area had an estimated population of 341,054 in mid 2010, compared to a 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
figure of 305,353. Between mid-2007 and mid-2008, Cardiff was the fastest-growing local authority in Wales with population growth rate of 1.2%. According to Census 2001 data, Cardiff was the 14th largest settlement in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and the 21st largest urban area. The Cardiff Larger Urban Zone (a Eurostat
Eurostat
Eurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the integration of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
definition including the Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
and a number of local authorities in the Valleys
South Wales Valleys
The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...
) has 841,600 people, the 10th largest LUZ in the UK. The Cardiff and South Wales Valleys metropolitan area has a population of nearly 1.1 million people.
Official estimates derived from the census regarding the city's total population have been disputed. The city council has published two articles that argue the 2001 census seriously under reports the population of Cardiff and, in particular, the ethnic minority population of some inner city areas.
Cardiff has a ethnically diverse population due to its past trading connections, post-war immigration and the large numbers of foreign students who attend university in the city. The ethnic make-up of Cardiff's population at the time of the 2001 census was: 91.6% white, 2% mixed race, 4% South Asian, 1.3% black, 1.2% other ethnic groups. According to a report published in 2005, over 30,000 people from an ethnic minority live in Cardiff, around 8.4% of the city's total – many of these communities live in Butetown
Butetown
Butetown is a community in the south of the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It was originally a model housing estate built in the early nineteenth century by John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute, for whose title the area was named...
, where ethnic minorities make up around a third of the total population. This diversity, and especially that of the city's long-established African and Arab communities, has been celebrated in a number of cultural exhibitions and events, along with a number of books which have been published on this subject.
Language
Cardiff has a chequered linguistic history with WelshWelsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
and Norman-French preponderant at different times. Welsh was the majority language in Cardiff from the 13th century until the city's explosive growth in the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
. As late as 1850, five of the 12 Anglican churches within the current city boundaries conducted their services exclusively in the Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, while only two worshipped exclusively in English. By 1891, the percentage of Welsh speakers had dropped to 27.9% and only Lisvane
Lisvane
Lisvane is an affluent community in the north of Cardiff, the capital of Wales, located north of the city centre. Lisvane is one of the most desirable areas of both Cardiff and Wales, and as of 2011, has an average house price £410,000 with many properties worth in excess of £1 million...
, Llanedeyrn
Llanedeyrn
-Early history:The name "Llanedeyrn" is believed to be derived from a sixth century monk and a Celtic saint named St. Edeyrn. During the sixth century, St. Edeyrn and a fellow monk, St. Isan, were given the task of spreading the faith and establishing places of worship. The first location chosen by...
and Creigiau
Creigiau
Creigiau is a dormitory settlement in the north-west of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The village currently has about 1,000 houses and a population of approximately 2,400 people.- History :...
remained as majority Welsh-speaking communities. The Welsh language became grouped around a small cluster of chapels and churches, the most notable of which is Tabernacl in the city centre, one of four UK churches chosen to hold official services to commemorate the new millennium. Following the establishment of the city's first Welsh School (Ysgol Gymraeg Bryntaf) in the 1950s, Welsh has slowly regained some ground. Aided by Welsh-medium education and migration from other parts of Wales, the number of Welsh speakers in Cardiff rose by 14,451 between 1991 and 2001; Welsh is now spoken by 11% of Cardiffians. The highest percentage of Welsh speakers is in Pentyrch
Pentyrch
Pentyrch is a suburban community located on the western outskirts of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The village gives its name to a Cardiff local authority electoral ward, which covers the village and surrounding area.-Geography:...
, where 15.9% of the population speak the language.
In addition to English and Welsh, the diversity of Cardiff's population (including foreign students) means that a large number of languages are spoken within the city. One study has found that Cardiff has speakers of at least 94 languages, with Somali
Somali language
The Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies beginning before 1900....
, Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, Bangla
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
and Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
being the most commonly spoken foreign languages.
The modern Cardiff accent
Cardiff dialect
The Cardiff accent and dialect, also known as Cardiff English is the regional accent of English, and a variety of Welsh English, as spoken in and around the city of Cardiff, and is somewhat distinctive in Wales, compared to other Welsh accents...
is distinct from that of the nearby South Wales Valleys. It is marked primarily by:
- The substitution of < iə > by <øː>
- here [hiə] pronounced as [(h)jøː] in the broader form
- A more mid-centralized pronunciation of <ʌ> as in love and other
- The vowel of start may be realised as [æː] or even [ɛː], so that Cardiff is pronounced ['kæːdɪf]
Language schools
Due to its diversity, large student population, and convenient size and location, Cardiff has seen a rise in the number of people coming to the city to learn English. Foreign students are a common sight on the streets of Cardiff with a large percentage coming from Arabic and other European countries. The British CouncilBritish Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
has an office in the city centre and there are six accredited schools in the area.
Religion
Since 1922 Cardiff has included the suburban cathedral 'village' of Llandaff
Llandaff
Llandaff is a district in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Church in Wales Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese covers the most populous area of South Wales. Much of the district is covered by parkland known as Llandaff...
, whose bishop is also Archbishop of Wales
Archbishop of Wales
The post of Archbishop of Wales was created in 1920 when the Church in Wales was separated from the Church of England , and disestablished...
since 2002. There is also a Roman Catholic cathedral
Cardiff Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St David, also known as St David's Cathedral Cardiff is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales and is the centre of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff. Located in Charles Street, the Cathedral remains the focal point for Catholic...
in the city. Since 1916 Cardiff has been the seat of a Catholic archbishop, but there appears to have been a fall in the estimated Catholic population, with estimated numbers in 2006 being around 25,000 less than in 1980. Likewise, the Jewish population of the city also appears to have fallen—there are two synagogues in Cardiff, one in Cyncoed and one in Moira Terrace, as opposed to seven at the turn of the 20th century. There are a significant number of nonconformist
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
chapels, an early-20th century Greek Orthodox church and 11 mosques. In the 2001 census 66.9% of Cardiff's population described itself as Christian, a percentage point below the Welsh and UK averages.
In the 2001 census Cardiff's Muslim population stood at 3.7%, above the UK average (2.7%) and significantly above the Welsh average
Islam in Wales
Islam is the largest non-Christian faith in Wales, with 22,000 members recorded in the country at the 2001 Census. The earliest recorded connections between Wales and the ‘Muslim world’ dates back to the early 12th Century...
. Cardiff has one of the longest-established Muslim populations in the UK, started by Yemeni sailors who settled in the city during the 19th century. The first mosque in the UK (on the site of what is now known as the Al-Manar Islamic Centre
2 Glynrhondda Street
2 Glynrhondda Street in Cathays, Cardiff is accepted as the first mosque in the United Kingdom.The masjid was founded by Yemeni and Somali sailors on their trips between Aden and Cardiff Docks, and recorded by the Register of Religious Sites , as a registered place of worship from 1860.It is still...
) opened in 1860 in the Cathays district of Cardiff. Cardiff is now home to over 11,000 Muslims from many different nationalities and backgrounds, nearly 52% of the Welsh Muslim population.
The oldest of the non-Christian communities in Wales is Judaism. Jews were not permitted to live in Wales between the 1290 Edict of Expulsion
Edict of Expulsion
In 1290, King Edward I issued an edict expelling all Jews from England. Lasting for the rest of the Middle Ages, it would be over 350 years until it was formally overturned in 1656...
—given by Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
—and the 17th century. A Welsh Jewish community was re-established in the 18th century. There was once a fairly substantial Jewish population in South Wales, most of which has disappeared. The modern community is centered in the Cardiff United Synagogue
Cardiff United Synagogue
The Cardiff United Synagogue is the Orthodox Jewish congregation of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales.-History:A Jewish community existed in Cardiff by 1841, when the Marquis of Bute donated land at Highfield for a Jewish Cemetery...
.
The proportion of Cardiff residents declaring themselves to be Hindu, Sikh and Jewish were all considerably higher than the Welsh averages, but less than the UK figures. The city has been home to a sizable Hindu community since Indian immigrants settled there during the 1950s and 1960s. The first Hindu temple in the city was opened in Grangetown
Grangetown, Cardiff
Grangetown is a community in the south of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is one of the largest districts in the south of the city and is bordered by Riverside, Canton and Butetown. The River Taff winds its way through the area...
on 6 April 1979 on the site of an abandoned printing press (which itself was the former site of a synagogue). The 25th anniversary of the temple's founding was celebrated in September 2007 with a parade of over 3000 people through the city centre, including Hindus from across the United Kingdom and members of Cardiff's other religious communities. Today, there are over 2000 Hindus in Cardiff, worshiping at three temples across the city.
In the 2001 census 18.8% of the city's population stated they had no religion, while 8.6% did not state a religion.
Economy
As the capital city of Wales, Cardiff is the main engine of growth in the Welsh economy. The economy of Cardiff and adjacent areas makes up nearly 20% of Welsh GDP and 40% of the city’s workforce are daily in-commuters from the surrounding south Wales area.Industry has played a major part in Cardiff's development for many centuries. The main catalyst for its transformation from a small town into a big city was the demand for coal required in making iron and later steel, brought to the sea by packhorse
Packhorse
.A packhorse or pack horse refers generally to an equid such as a horse, mule, donkey or pony used for carrying goods on their backs, usually carried in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of wheeled vehicles. ...
from Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 15th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It is located in the historic county of...
. This was first achieved by the construction of a 25 miles (40.2 km) long canal from Merthyr (510 feet above sea-level) to the Taff Estuary at Cardiff. Eventually the Taff Vale Railway
Taff Vale Railway
The Taff Vale Railway is a railway in Glamorgan, South Wales, and is one of the oldest in Wales. It operated as an independent company from 1836 until 1922, when it became a constituent company of the Great Western Railway...
replaced the canal barges and massive marshalling yards sprang up as new docks were developed in Cardiff – all prompted by the soaring worldwide demand for coal from the South Wales valleys.
At its peak, Cardiff's port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
area, known as Tiger Bay
Tiger Bay
Tiger Bay was the local name for an area of Cardiff which covered Butetown and Cardiff Docks. It was re-branded as Cardiff Bay following the building of the Cardiff Barrage which dams the tidal rivers Ely and Taff to create a body of water.-History:...
, became the busiest port in the world and—for some time—the world's most important coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
port. In the years leading up to the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, more than 10 million tonnes of coal was exported annually from Cardiff Docks
Cardiff Docks
Cardiff Docks is a port in south Cardiff, Wales. At its peak, the port was one of the largest dock systems in the world with a total quayage of almost...
. In 1907, Cardiff's Coal Exchange was the first host to a business deal for a million pounds Sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
. After a period of decline, Cardiff's port has started to grow again – over 3 million tonnes of cargo passed through the docks in 2007.
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
and business services centre in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and as such there is a strong representation of finance and business services in the local economy. This sector, combined with the Public Administration, Education and Health sectors, have accounted for around 75% of Cardiff's economic growth since 1991. The city was recently placed seventh overall in the top 50 European cities in the fDI 2008 Cities of the Future list published by the fDi magazine
FDi magazine
fDi Magazine is an English-language bi-monthly news and foreign direct investment publication owned by The Financial Times Ltd and edited in London. The A4 glossy pages reach a circulation of 14, 768 ABC “senior decision-makers involved in overseas investment” across the world...
, and also ranked seventh in terms of attracting foreign investment. Notable companies such as Legal & General
Legal & General
Legal & General Group Plc , commonly known as Legal & General, is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its products include life insurance, general insurance, pensions and investments. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Egypt, France, Germany,...
, Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Insurance, HBOS
HBOS
HBOS plc is a banking and insurance company in the United Kingdom, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lloyds Banking Group having been taken over in January 2009...
, Zurich
Zurich Financial Services
Zurich Financial Services AG is a major financial services group based in Zurich, Switzerland.-History:The Company was founded in 1872 as subsidiary of the Schweiz Marine Insurance Company under the name Versicherung Verein...
, ING Direct, The AA
The Automobile Association
The Automobile Association , a British motoring association founded in 1905 was demutualised in 1999 to become a private limited company which currently provides car insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans and motoring advice, and other services...
, Principality Building Society
Principality Building Society
Principality is a Welsh building society based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. With assets of just under £6bn it is the largest building society in Wales and the seventh largest in the United Kingdom. Principality Building Society is mutual, which means it is owned by its members rather than...
, 118118
118 118 (UK)
118 118 is a UK directory enquiries provider based in Cardiff that assists customers with telephone number enquiries and general queries.The service is provided by The Number UK Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of US directory enquiries provider Knowledge Generation Bureau , whose company motto is...
, British Gas, Brains, SWALEC Energy
SWALEC
SWALEC was an electricity supply and distribution company which was bought out in 1996 for £872m following the de-regulation of the electricity supply industry in the UK....
and BT
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
, all operate large national or regional headquarters and contact centres in the city, some of them based in Cardiff's office towers such as Capital Tower
Capital Tower, Cardiff
Capital Tower located in Cardiff, Wales was the tallest structure in Wales until 12th Sept 2008 when Meridian Quay in Swansea was topped out. Standing at 80 metres to roof height, Capital Tower is slightly taller than Stadium House, which stands at 78 metres to roof height, though inclusion of the...
and Brunel House. Other major employers include NHS Wales and the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
. On 1 March 2004, Cardiff was granted Fairtrade City status.
Cardiff is one of the most popular tourist destination cities in the United Kingdom, receiving 18.3 million visitors in 2010 and generating £852 million for the city's economy. One result of this is that one in five employees in Cardiff are based in the distribution, hotels and restaurants sector, highlighting the growing retail and tourism industries in the city. There are a large number of hotels of varying sizes and standards in the city, providing almost 9,000 available bed spaces.
Cardiff is home to the Welsh media and the UK's largest film, TV and multimedia sector outside London with BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
, S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
and ITV Wales
HTV
HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
all having studios in the city. In particular, there is a large independent TV production industry sector of over 600 companies, employing around 6000 employees and with a turnover estimated at £350 m. Just to the north west of the city, in Rhondda Cynon Taff
Rhondda Cynon Taff
Rhondda Cynon Taf, or RCT, is a county borough in the South Wales Valleys of Wales. It consists of 3 valleys: the Rhondda Valley, Cynon Valley and Taff-Ely Valley...
, the first completely new film studios in the UK for 30 years are being built, named Valleywood. The studios are set to be the biggest in the UK. The BBC has announced it is to build new studios in Cardiff Bay to film dramas such as Casualty and Doctor Who, with the BBC intending to double media output from the city by 2016.
Cardiff has several regeneration projects such the St David's 2 Centre and surrounding areas of the city centre, and the $1.4 billion International Sports Village
Cardiff International Sports Village
Cardiff International Sports Village is located in Cardiff Bay in the city of Cardiff, Wales. It is one of the largest regeneration projects currently in the UK...
in Cardiff Bay which will play a part in London 2012 Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
. It features the only Olympic-standard swimming pool in Wales, the Cardiff International Pool
Cardiff International Pool
The Cardiff International Pool is a sport facility located in the Cardiff International Sports Village in Cardiff, capital of Wales. It opened to the public on 12 January 2008 and was officially opened on 26 February 2008 by Duncan Goodhew....
, which opened on 12 January 2008.
According to the Welsh Rugby Union, the Millennium Stadium has contributed GBP1 bn to the Welsh economy in the ten years since it opened (1999), with around 85% of that amount staying in the Cardiff area.
Shopping
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
, Culverhouse Cross
Culverhouse Cross
Culverhouse Cross is suburban district in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales, lying on the border with the Vale of Glamorgan.The busy Culverhouse Cross roundabout is an important part of the primary road network to the west of the city and connects the A4232 , the A4050 , and...
, Leckwith
Leckwith
Leckwith is a district of western Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It is home to Cardiff City F.C.'s and Cardiff Blues home ground Cardiff City Stadium, and to Fitzalan High School...
, Newport Road
Rumney, Cardiff
Rumney is a district in the east of the city of Cardiff, Wales. It lies east of the Rhymney River, and is historically part of Monmouthshire...
and Pontprennau
Pontprennau
Pontprennau is a district in the east of the city of Cardiff, Wales.-History:Pontprennau is the Welsh language for Bridge of Trees ....
, together with markets in the city centre and Splott
Splott
Splott is a district in the south of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, just east of the city centre. It was built up in the late 19th century on the land of two farms of the same name: Upper Splott and Lower Splott Farms. Splott is characterised by its once vast steelworks and rows of tightly...
. A major £675 million regeneration programme for Cardiff's St. David's Centre
St. David's Centre
St. David's is one of the principal shopping centres in the city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. Located in The Hayes area of the southern city centre...
was completed in 2009, which has provided a total of 1400000 square feet (130,064.3 m²) of shopping space, making it one of the largest shopping centres in the United Kingdom. The centre was named the international shopping centre of the year in 2010 by Retail Leisure International (RLI).
The Castle Quarter
Castle Quarter
Castle Quarter is a commercial area in the north of the city centre of Cardiff, Wales.The Castle Quarter includes some of Cardiff's Victorian and Edwardian arcades: Castle Arcade, High Street Arcade and Duke Street Arcade, and principal shopping streets: St Mary Street, High Street, Castle Street...
is a commercial area in the north of the city centre
Cardiff city centre
Cardiff city centre is the central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bounded by the River Taff to the west, the Civic centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations - Central and Queen Street - to the south and east respectively...
which includes some of Cardiff's Victorian and Edwardian arcades: Castle Arcade, High Street Arcade and Duke Street Arcade, and principal shopping streets: St Mary Street, High Street
St. Mary Street/High Street
St. Mary Street and High Street are major commercial streets in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff city centre, Wales, which form a major north–south thoroughfare in the centre. High Street begins at the junction of Castle Street on the A4161 and ends at the junction of Church Street and Quay Street,...
, Castle Street and Duke Street. Development of the area began in February 2010 and is expected to be completed by July 2011. Cardiff Council
Cardiff Council
The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council consists of 75 councillors, representing 29 electoral wards. The authority is properly styled as The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff or in...
says that work to create the Castle Quarter as a pedestrian friendly environment for High Street and St Mary Street is designed to enhance the city centre.
Cardiff is sixth best city in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for shopping, according to a poll in November 2009, surpassing other cities such as Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
.
Landmarks and attractions
Cardiff has many landmark buildings such as the Millennium StadiumMillennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
, Pierhead Building
Pierhead Building
The Pierhead Building is a Grade 1 listed building of the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff Bay, Wales. It stands as one of the city of Cardiff's most familiar landmarks and was built in 1897 as the headquarters for the Bute Dock Company....
the Welsh National Museum and the Senedd
Senedd
The Senedd , also known as the National Assembly building, houses the debating chamber and three committee rooms for the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff. The Senedd building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 March 2006 and the total cost was £69.6 million, which included £49.7M in...
, the home of the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
. However Cardiff is also famous for Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
, St David's Hall
St David's Hall
St David's Hall is a performing arts and conference venue in the heart of Cardiff city centre, the capital of Wales...
, Llandaff Cathedral
Llandaff Cathedral
Llandaff Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is situated in the district of Llandaff in the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The current building was constructed in the 12th century over the site of an earlier church...
and the Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert...
.
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
is a major tourist attraction in the city and is situated in the heart of the city centre. The National History Museum at St Fagans
St Fagans National History Museum
St Fagans National History Museum , commonly referred to as St Fagans after the village where it is located, is an open-air museum in Cardiff chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture and architecture of the Welsh people...
in Cardiff is a large open air museum housing dozens of buildings from throughout Welsh history that have been moved to the site in Cardiff. The Civic Centre in Cathays Park
Cathays Park
In addition to the large lawn in front of the City Hall, Cathays Park includes three formal gardens. All of the spaces are within conservation areas and many of the surrounding buildings are listed. The open spaces are very important to the image of the city. Several important buildings overlook...
comprises a collection of Edwardian
Edwardian architecture
Edwardian architecture is the style popular when King Edward VII of the United Kingdom was in power; he reigned from 1901 to 1910, but the architecture style is generally considered to be indicative of the years 1901 to 1914....
buildings such as the City Hall
City Hall, Cardiff
City Hall is a civic building in Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales. Built of Portland stone, it became the fifth building to serve as Cardiff's centre of local government when it opened in October 1906. The competition to design a town hall and adjacent law courts for Cardiff was won in 1897 by the firm...
, National Museum and Gallery of Wales
National Museum Cardiff
National Museum Cardiff is a museum and art gallery in Cardiff, Wales. The museum is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales...
, Cardiff Crown Court
Cardiff Crown Court
Cardiff Crown Court is a historic building situated in Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales. The building is a Grade I listed building. The Crown Court is part of the Wales Circuit of Her Majesty's Courts Service.-External links:*...
, and buildings forming part of Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
, together with more modern civic buildings. These buildings surround a small green space containing the Welsh National War Memorial
Welsh National War Memorial
The Welsh National War Memorial is situated in Alexandra Gardens, Cathays Park, Cardiff. The memorial was designed by Sir Ninian Comper and unveiled in June 1928 by the Prince of Wales...
and a number of other smaller memorials.
In addition to Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
, Castell Coch
Castell Coch
Castell Coch is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built on the remains of a genuine 13th-century fortification. It is situated on a steep hillside high above the village of Tongwynlais, to the north of Cardiff in Wales, and is a Grade I listed building as of 28 January 1963.Designed by William...
(Red Castle) is located in Tongwynlais
Tongwynlais
Tongwynlais is a village in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, in the Taff Valley.- Overview :Tongwynlais lies in the River Taff Valley. Its population is 1946 people....
, in the north of the city. The current castle is an elaborately decorated Victorian folly
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
designed by William Burges
William Burges (architect)
William Burges was an English architect and designer. Amongst the greatest of the Victorian art-architects, Burges sought in his work an escape from 19th century industrialisation and a return to the values, architectural and social, of an imagined mediaeval England...
for the Marquess and built in the 1870s, as an occasional retreat. However, the Victorian castle stands on the footings of a much older medieval castle possibly built by Ifor Bach
Ifor Bach
Ifor Bach also known as Ifor ap Meurig and in anglicised form Ivor Bach, lord of Senghenydd, was a twelfth century resident in and a leader of the Welsh in south Wales.- Welsh Lord of Senghenydd :...
, a regional baron with links to Cardiff Castle also. The exterior has become a popular location for film and television productions. It rarely fulfilled its intended role as a retreat for the Butes, who seldom stayed there. For the Marquess, the pleasure had been in its creation, a pleasure lost following Burges's death in 1881.
Situated on the narrowest part of the south Wales coastal plain, Cardiff had a crucial strategic importance in the wars between the Normans (who had occupied lowland Wales) and the Welsh who maintained their hold on the uplands. As a result Cardiff claims to have the largest concentration of castles of any city in the world. As well as Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch, the remains of Twmpath Castle, the Llandaff Bishop's Palace and Saint Fagans Castle
St Fagans National History Museum
St Fagans National History Museum , commonly referred to as St Fagans after the village where it is located, is an open-air museum in Cardiff chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture and architecture of the Welsh people...
are still in existence, whilst the site of Treoda (or Whitchurch Castle) has now been built over.
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
|
Castell Coch
Castell Coch
Castell Coch is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built on the remains of a genuine 13th-century fortification. It is situated on a steep hillside high above the village of Tongwynlais, to the north of Cardiff in Wales, and is a Grade I listed building as of 28 January 1963.Designed by William...
|
St Fagans Castle
St Fagans National History Museum
St Fagans National History Museum , commonly referred to as St Fagans after the village where it is located, is an open-air museum in Cardiff chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture and architecture of the Welsh people...
|}
Other major tourist attractions are the Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
regeneration sites which include the recently opened Wales Millennium Centre and the Senedd
Senedd
The Senedd , also known as the National Assembly building, houses the debating chamber and three committee rooms for the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff. The Senedd building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 March 2006 and the total cost was £69.6 million, which included £49.7M in...
, and many other cultural and sites of interest including the Cardiff Bay Barrage
Cardiff Bay Barrage
The Cardiff Bay Barrage lies across the mouth of Cardiff Bay, Wales between Queen Alexandra Dock and Penarth Head. It was one of the largest civil engineering projects in Europe during construction in the 1990s.-History:...
and the famous Coal Exchange. The New Theatre
New Theatre (Cardiff)
The New Theatre although it usually uses its English name as a title) is one of the principal theatres in Cardiff, capital city of Wales, and celebrated its centenary in 2006...
was founded in 1906 and completely refurbished in the 1980s. Until the opening of the Wales Millennium Centre in 2004, it was the premier venue in Wales for touring theatre and dance companies. Other venues which are popular for concerts and sporting events include Motorpoint Arena, St David's Hall
St David's Hall
St David's Hall is a performing arts and conference venue in the heart of Cardiff city centre, the capital of Wales...
and the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
. Cardiff Story
Cardiff Story
Cardiff Story is a museum in Cardiff, Wales which exhibits the history of the city. The museum will open on 1 April 2011 and entrance will be free...
, a museum documenting the city's history, is to open in Spring 2011.
Cardiff has over 1,000 listed buildings, ranging from the more prominent buildings such as the castles, to smaller buildings, houses and structures.
Cardiff has walks of special interest for tourists and ramblers
Walking
Walking is one of the main gaits of locomotion among legged animals, and is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults over the stiff limb or limbs with each step...
alike, such as the Centenary Walk
Cardiff Centenary Walk
The Cardiff Centenary Walk is a tourist walkway through Cardiff city centre in Wales. Established as part of Cardiff's centennial celebrations to mark 100 years of city status in 2005, it has 41 points of interest, either Cardiff landmarks or significant historic sites. The route is marked by...
, which runs for 2.3 miles (3.7 km) within Cardiff city centre
Cardiff city centre
Cardiff city centre is the central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bounded by the River Taff to the west, the Civic centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations - Central and Queen Street - to the south and east respectively...
. This route passes through many of Cardiff's landmarks and historic buildings.
Culture and recreation
Cardiff has many cultural sites varying from the historical Cardiff CastleCardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
and out of town Castell Coch
Castell Coch
Castell Coch is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built on the remains of a genuine 13th-century fortification. It is situated on a steep hillside high above the village of Tongwynlais, to the north of Cardiff in Wales, and is a Grade I listed building as of 28 January 1963.Designed by William...
to the more modern Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert...
and Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
. Cardiff was a finalist in the European Capital of Culture
European Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
2008. In recent years Cardiff has grown in stature as a tourist destination, with recent accolades including Cardiff being voted the eighth favourite UK city by readers of the Guardian. The city was also listed as one of the top 10 destinations in the UK on the official British tourist boards website Visit Britain, and US travel guide Frommers have listed Cardiff as one of 13 top destinations worldwide for 2008. Annual events in Cardiff that have become regular appearances in Cardiff's calendar include Sparks in the Park
Sparks in the Park
Sparks in the Park is an annual fireworks display held each year on or around Guy Fawkes Night in Cardiff, Wales.The event takes place in Cooper's Field in Bute Park, behind Cardiff Castle...
, The Great British Cheese Festival
The Great British Cheese Festival
The Great British Cheese Festival, is a festival held in Wales on the last weekend of every September.- History :The first annual event was held in 1994 in Oxfordshire, and was founded by Juliet Harbutt...
, Cardiff Mardi Gras, Cardiff Winter Wonderland and Cardiff Festival.
Music and performing arts
A large number of concerts are held within the city, the larger ones being performed in St David's HallSt David's Hall
St David's Hall is a performing arts and conference venue in the heart of Cardiff city centre, the capital of Wales...
, the Motorpoint Arena (previously known as the Cardiff International Arena) and occasionally the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
. A number of festivals are also held in Cardiff—the largest of these is the Cardiff Big Weekend
Cardiff Big Weekend
The Cardiff Big Weekend has taken place annually since 1995 as part of the Cardiff Festival organised by Cardiff Council. Billed as the UK’s biggest free outdoor music festival, it offers three days of quality live music and entertainment. Alongside the live music stage runs the UK’s largest...
Festival, which is held annually in the city centre during the summer and plays host to free musical performances (from artists such as Ash
Ash (band)
Ash are an alternative rock band that formed in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland in 1992. The band has sold 8 million albums worldwide.-Band beginning, Trailer and 1977 :...
, Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff, OM is a Jamaican musician, singer and actor. He is the only currently living musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievement in the arts and sciences...
, Cerys Matthews
Cerys Matthews
Cerys Elizabeth Matthews is a Welsh singer and songwriter. She is known as the lead singer of the Welsh rock band Catatonia, her more recent bilingual solo career, and for a 1998 Christmas duet with Tom Jones.-Biography:...
, the Fun Loving Criminals, Soul II Soul
Soul II Soul
Soul II Soul are a British group that was created in London in 1988. They are best known for their 1989 UK chart-topper and U.S. Top 5 hit, "Back to Life ".-Career:...
and The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers are an English pop rock band comprising two pairs of brothers and sisters from Greenford. The group was formed in 2002, releasing their critically acclaimed debut album titled The Magic Numbers on 13 June 2005...
), fairground rides and cultural events such as a Children's Festival that takes place in the grounds of Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
. The annual festival claims to be the UK's largest free outdoor festival, attracting over 250,000 visitors in 2007.
Cardiff hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1883, 1899, 1938, 1960, 1978 and 2008. Cardiff is unique in Wales in having two permanent stone circles used by the Gorsedd of Bards during Eisteddfodau. The original circle stands in Gorsedd Gardens in front of the National Museum
National museum
A national museum is a museum maintained by a nation.The following is a list of national museums:-Australia:*Australian National Aviation Museum*Australian National Maritime Museum*, Sydney*Australian War Memorial*Museum Victoria...
while its 1978 replacement is situated in Bute Park
Bute Park
Bute Park in Cardiff, Wales, is an extensive area of mature parkland easily accessible from the city centre. Flanked by the River Taff, Sophia Gardens, Pontcanna Fields and Cardiff Castle, Bute Park is a very popular 'green lung' full of historic and wildlife interest. Few cities have such a...
. Since 1983, Cardiff has hosted the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, a world renowned event on the opera calendar which is held every two years. The city also hosts smaller events.
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation in Wales, occupying a dual role as both a broadcasting orchestra and national orchestra.The BBC NOW has its...
. St David's Hall
St David's Hall
St David's Hall is a performing arts and conference venue in the heart of Cardiff city centre, the capital of Wales...
(which hosts the Singer of the World competition) has regular performances of classical music and ballet as well as music of other genres. The largest of Cardiff's theatres is the New Theatre
New Theatre (Cardiff)
The New Theatre although it usually uses its English name as a title) is one of the principal theatres in Cardiff, capital city of Wales, and celebrated its centenary in 2006...
, situated in the city centre just off Queen Street. Other such venues include the Sherman Theatre
Sherman Theatre
Sherman Cymru, also known by its previous name Sherman Theatre, is a performing arts venue in the Cathays district of Cardiff. It was built as a twin-auditorium venue in 1973 with financial support from University College, Cardiff....
, Chapter Arts Centre
Chapter Arts Centre
Chapter Arts Centre is an arts centre in Canton, Cardiff, Wales. It hosts films, plays, performance art and live music, and includes a free art gallery, café and bars. There are also over 60 work spaces, used for an eclectic range of purposes including Chapter's own training courses.Income for...
and The Gate Arts Centre
The Gate Arts Centre
The Gate Arts Centre is a vibrant community building which is located in Keppoch Street, just off City Road, in the Roath suburb of Cardiff...
.
The Cardiff music scene is established and wide-ranging—it is home to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation in Wales, occupying a dual role as both a broadcasting orchestra and national orchestra.The BBC NOW has its...
and Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
, has produced several leading acts itself and, as a capital city, has acted as a springboard for numerous Welsh bands to go and become famous both nationally and internationally. Acts who hail from Cardiff include Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...
, Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, The Oppressed
The Oppressed
The Oppressed is a Welsh anti-fascist Oi! band that formed in 1981 in Cardiff. Most of the musicians in the band's various lineups were skinheads. Throughout the band's career, the members openly expressed opposition to racism and fascism — in their lyrics, interviews, on-stage comments and other...
, Kids In Glass Houses
Kids in Glass Houses
Kids in Glass Houses are a Welsh rock band from Cardiff, and are considered a significant part of the Cardiff music scene. The band's name is inspired by the lyrics "not throwing stones at you anymore" from Glassjaw song "Tip Your Bartender". The band achieved success on the strength of the singles...
, Los Campesinos, The Hot Puppies, Pagan Wanderer Lu
Pagan Wanderer Lu
Pagan Wanderer Lu is a one-man indie/electronica or 'Indietronica' band originally formed in Aberystwyth but now based in Cardiff. The act consists of Andy Regan .-Discography:...
, Budgie
Budgie (band)
Budgie is a Welsh Hard Rock/Heavy Metal band from Cardiff. They are widely considered as one of the first heavy metal bands and a seminal influence to many acts of that scene, with fast, heavy rock being played as early as 1971. The band has been noted as "among the heaviest metal of its day"...
, and Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens, also known as "Shaky" is a platinum selling Welsh rock and roll singer and songwriter who holds the distinction of being the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s . His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, although it was not until 1980 that he saw...
. Also, performers such as The Automatic
The Automatic
The Automatic , are a Welsh rock band. The band is composed of Robin Hawkins on vocals, bass and synthesizers, James Frost on guitar, synthesizers, backing vocals and occasional bass, Iwan Griffiths on drums and Paul Mullen on vocals, guitar and synthesizer - since 2007...
, Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
, Lostprophets
Lostprophets
Lostprophets is a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997. Founded by vocalist Ian Watkins, bassist Mike Lewis, drummer Mike Chiplin and guitarist Lee Gaze, they were originally a side-project to hardcore punk band Public Disturbance. To date, Lostprophets have released four studio...
, Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...
, Catatonia
Catatonia (band)
Catatonia were an alternative rock band from Wales who gained a national following in the United Kingdom in the mid to late 1990s. The band consisted of Cerys Matthews on vocals, Mark Roberts on guitar, Paul Jones on bass , Owen Powell on...
and Bullet for My Valentine
Bullet for My Valentine
Bullet for My Valentine are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matt Tuck , Michael Paget , Jason James , and Michael Thomas . They were formed under the name Jeff Killed John and started their music career by covering songs by Metallica and Nirvana...
have links with the city and are associated with the Cardiff music scene. In 2010, Cardiff was named the UK's second 'most musical' City by PRS for Music.
Recreation
Cardiff has a strong nightlife and is home to many bars, pubs and clubs. Most clubs and bars are situated in the city centre, especially St. Mary Street, and more recently Cardiff Bay has built up a strong night scene, with many modern bars & restaurants. The Brewery Quarter on St. Mary Street is a recently developed venue for bars and restaurant with a central courtyard. Charles Street is also a popular part of the city.
Bute Park
Bute Park in Cardiff, Wales, is an extensive area of mature parkland easily accessible from the city centre. Flanked by the River Taff, Sophia Gardens, Pontcanna Fields and Cardiff Castle, Bute Park is a very popular 'green lung' full of historic and wildlife interest. Few cities have such a...
(which was formerly the castle grounds) extends northwards from the top of one of Cardiff's main shopping street (Queen Street); when combined with the adjacent Llandaff Fields
Llandaff Fields
Llandaff Fields is a large parkland spanning parts of central and northern Cardiff, Wales.The park is owned by Cardiff Council and managed by its Parks department. The parkland is highly visible and accessed from local communities. The parkland is lined with avenues of trees and large grassed areas...
and Pontcanna Fields to the north west it produces a massive open space skirting the River Taff
River Taff
The River Taff is a large river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons — the Taf Fechan and the Taf Fawr — before joining to form the Taff north of Merthyr Tydfil...
. Other popular parks include Roath Park
Roath Park
Roath Park Cardiff, Wales, is one of Cardiff's most popular parks, owned by Cardiff County Council and managed by the Parks Section. It retains a classic Victorian atmosphere and has many facilities. The park has recently been awarded the prestigious Green Flag award to recognise its high quality...
in the north, donated to the city by the 3rd Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute
John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute KT, KSG, KGCHS was a landed aristocrat, industrial magnate, antiquarian, scholar, philanthropist and architectural patron.-Early life:...
in 1887 and which includes a very popular boating lake; Victoria Park
Victoria Park, Cardiff
Victoria Park is a public park in the Canton district of Cardiff in south Wales at Cowbridge Road East.As its name suggests, it is a traditional Victorian era park named after Queen Victoria and has retained much of its original charm...
, Cardiff's first official park; and Thompson's Park
Thompson's Park
Thompson's Park is a park in Cardiff, Wales, located in the Canton area. It is one of the city's oldest parks that features areas of woodland mixed with open grassed areas and ornamental planting...
, formerly home to an aviary
Aviary
An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds. Unlike cages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages...
removed in the 1970s. Wild open spaces include Howardian Local Nature Reserve, 32 acres (129,499.5 m²) of the lower Rhymney valley in Penylan noted for its Orchids, and Forest Farm Country Park, over 150 acre (0.607029 km²) along the river Taff in Whitchurch.
Cardiff is one of the top ten retail destinations in the UK, with two main shopping streets (Queen Street and St. Mary Street), and three main shopping arcades; St. David's Centre
St. David's Centre
St. David's is one of the principal shopping centres in the city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. Located in The Hayes area of the southern city centre...
, Queens Arcade and the Capitol Centre
Capitol Centre
Capitol Centre is an indoor shopping centre in the city of Cardiff, Wales. The building is built on the site of the former Capitol Cinema and theatre, and is situated at the eastern end of Queen Street near the Dumfries Place bus terminus and Cardiff Queen Street railway station.It advertises...
. The current expansion of St. David's Centre as part of the St. David's 2 project has seen it become one of the largest shopping centres in the United Kingdom. As well as the modern shopping arcades, the city is also home to many Victorian shopping centres, such as High Street Arcade, Castle Arcade, Wyndham Arcade, Royal Arcade and Morgan Arcade. Also of note is The Hayes
The Hayes
The Hayes is a commercial area in the southern city centre of the Welsh capital, Cardiff. Based around the road of that name leading south towards the east end of the city centre, the area is mostly pedestrianised....
, home to Spillers Records
Spillers Records
Spillers Records, established in 1894, is the oldest record shop in the world. It is located in Cardiff, Wales. In addition to selling music, it is the city's main location for buying tickets for alternative music concerts....
, the world's oldest record shop. Cardiff has a number of markets, including the vast Victorian indoor Cardiff Central Market
Cardiff Market
Cardiff Market , also known as Cardiff Central Market , is a Victorian indoor market in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff city centre, capital city of Wales.Originally the site of Cardiff gaol, the gallows were located on the site of the current St...
and the newly established Riverside Community Market, which specialises in locally produced organic produce. Several out-of-town retail parks exist, such as Newport Road, Culverhouse Cross, Cardiff Gate and Cardiff Bay.
Media
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
, ITV1 Wales and S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
). Capital TV, a locally-based free-to-air analogue terrestrial television station operating on a Restricted Service Licence
Restricted Service Licence
A UK Restricted Service Licence , is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event...
, served the city between 2002 and 2009.
The main local newspaper, the South Wales Echo
South Wales Echo
The South Wales Echo is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff, Wales and distributed throughout the surrounding area.The newspaper was founded in 1884 and was based in Thomson House, Cardiff city centre. It is published by Media Wales Ltd , part of the Trinity Mirror group...
and the national paper the Western Mail are based in Park Street in the city centre. Capital Times, Echo Extra and the South Wales edition of Metro
Metro (Associated Metro Limited)
Metro is a free daily newspaper in the United Kingdom published by Associated Newspapers Ltd . It is available from Monday to Friday each week on many public transport services across the United Kingdom.-History:The paper was launched in London in 1999, and can now be found in 14 UK urban centres...
are also based and distributed in the city. There are also a number of magazines based in the city including Buzz magazine
Buzz (magazine)
Buzz is a free, monthly culture and what's on magazine for the South Wales region, established in 1991. It has a small staff, and relies on advertising revenues for funding. The magazine focuses on art, films, music, entertainment and dining in the South Wales area, and features a comprehensive...
, Primary Times
Primary Times
Primary Times is a free family magazine which is distributed to schools across the UK and Republic of Ireland. The magazine aims to inform families and children about current educational issues, forthcoming events, courses and attractions to give teachers, pupils and parents the opportunity to...
and a monthly Welsh language paper called Y Dinesydd
Y Dinesydd
Y Dinesydd is a monthly, local Welsh language newspaper for Cardiff, Wales, established in April 1973. It's available at schools, chapels, various organisations and companies for free. It contains news and articles about organisations in Cardiff and includes paid advertisements...
(The Citizen).
A number of other radio stations serve the city and are based in Cardiff, including Capital FM South Wales, Real Radio
Real Radio
Real Radio is a network of adult contemporary independent local radio stations in England, Scotland and Wales and is operated by . Each station broadcasts local breakfast through to drive time shows and network programming in the evening and through the night...
, BBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Wales is the BBC's national radio station broadcasting to Wales in the English language. Operated by BBC Wales, it began broadcasting on 12 November 1978 following the demise of the old "Radio 4 Wales" when BBC Radio 4 became a national network and moved from medium wave to long wave...
, BBC Radio Cymru
BBC Radio Cymru
BBC Radio Cymru is BBC Cymru's Welsh-language radio station, broadcasting throughout Wales from studios in Cardiff, Bangor, and Aberystwyth on FM since 1977. At the time of its launch it was one of the few FM-only radio services in the UK...
, Radio Cardiff
Radio Cardiff
Radio Cardiff is a community radio station serving Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It broadcasts locally on 98.7 FM and via live streaming on the Internet....
, Gold and Xpress Radio
Xpress Radio
Xpress Radio is a national award-winning student radio station based at Cardiff University in Cardiff, Wales, focussed on current, popular and new music. The station broadcasts from 10am-11pm daily with programming ranging from comedy to film review, to the best in new and local music.Xpress is...
. Xfm started broadcasting from Cardiff on 29 November 2007, making the South Wales region its fourth dedicated area. Transmissions have now been replaced by Nation Radio
Nation Radio
Nation Radio launched on 16 June 2008 as a regional radio station broadcasting to the South Wales area from Neath.Nation Radio took over the Ofcom broadcasting licence held by Xfm South Wales when GCap Media sold the station to Town and Country Broadcasting for an unspecified fee on 30 May 2008....
which is based in Neath.
Google Street View
Google Street View
Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides panoramic views from various positions along many streets in the world...
is available throughout Cardiff. The introduction of this was controversial at the time, but an online poll has since voted the Millennium Stadium to be one of six locations in the UK to be specially photographed and made available on Google Street View as a 360-degree virtual tour.
Several contemporary television programmes and films are filmed in and/or set in Cardiff, such as Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
, Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
, Upstairs Downstairs and Pobol y Cwm
Pobol y Cwm
Pobol y Cwm is a Welsh-language television soap opera which has been produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, Pobol y Cwm was originally transmitted on BBC Wales television and later transferred to the Welsh-language station S4C when it...
.
Sport
Countries of the United Kingdom
Countries of the United Kingdom is a term used to describe England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. These four countries together form the sovereign state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is also described as a country. The alternative terms, constituent...
's sports governing bodies
Governing bodies of sports in Wales
The governing bodies of sports in Wales perform an organisational, regulatory or sanctioning function at a national level in Wales, some tracing their history to the 19th Century. Many cooperate with similar bodies from other countries to agree rule changes for their sport. Most implement decisions...
have their headquarters in Cardiff and the city's many top quality venues have attracted world famous sports events, sometimes unrelated to Cardiff or to Wales. In 2008/09, 61% of Cardiff residents regularly participated in sport and active recreation, the highest percentage out of all 22 local authorities in Wales.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
fans around the world have long been familiar with the Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
, and its successor the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
, which hosted the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
for six years (from 2001 to 2006) it took to rebuild Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
. In 2009, Cardiff hosted the first Ashes
Australian cricket team in England in 2009
The Australia national cricket team toured Great Britain to play a series of cricket matches during the 2009 English cricket season. The team played five Test matches – one in Wales – seven one-day internationals and two Twenty20 internationals against England. The Australians also...
cricket test, between England and Australia, to be held in Wales. Cardiff will host eight football matches of the London 2012 Olympics
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
(founded 1899 as Riverside FC) played their home games at Ninian Park
Ninian Park
Ninian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship...
from 1910 until the end of the 2008–09 season. The club's new home is the Cardiff City Stadium, which they rent to the Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, the team have played at Cardiff City Stadium since the start of the 2009/2010 season and are owned by Cardiff Rugby Football Club....
the cities professional rugby union team. Cardiff City have played in the English Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
since the 1920–21 season, climbing to Division 1 after one season. Cardiff City are the only non-English team to have won FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
, beating Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
in the 1927 final at Wembley Stadium. They were runners up to Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
in the 2008 final
2008 FA Cup Final
The 2008 FA Cup Final was a football match held at Wembley Stadium on 17 May 2008 and was the final match of the 2007–08 FA Cup competition. The match was the 127th FA Cup Final, and the second to be held at the new Wembley Stadium since its redevelopment. The match was contested by Portsmouth and...
, losing 1–0 at the new Wembley Stadium. Cardiff City currently play in the Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
, the second-highest division overall in the English football league system
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in England, with six teams from Wales also competing...
. Cardiff has numerous smaller clubs including Grange Harlequins A.F.C.
Grange Harlequins A.F.C.
Cardiff Grange Harlequins is a Welsh football team which plays in the Welsh Football League Division Three. In the 2005/2006 season, they played in the Welsh Premier League. However, a lack of finances and fan support led to the departure of key players, leaving the club to rely on youth and...
, UWIC Inter Cardiff F.C.
UWIC Inter Cardiff F.C.
UWIC Inter Cardiff F.C. are a Welsh football club. Their name is inspired by Internazionale The club is currently in the Welsh Football League Division Three, though they have played as high as the League of Wales...
, Cardiff Corinthians F.C.
Cardiff Corinthians F.C.
Cardiff Corinthians F.C. are a football club from Cardiff, Wales. They play in the Welsh Football League.-History:The club was formed in 1898 when players from the Alpha Cricket Club decided to form a football teamto keep in touch during the winter months...
and Ely Rangers A.F.C.
Ely Rangers A.F.C.
Ely Rangers Association Football Club are a Welsh association football team founded in 1965. They are based in Ely, Cardiff and they play at Station Road.-History:...
who all play in the Welsh football league system
Welsh football league system
The Welsh football league system is a series of football leagues with regular promotion and relegation between them.-Structure of Welsh football:...
.
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
, in central Cardiff, is among the world's most famous venues—being the scene of three Welsh
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
Grand Slams
Grand Slam (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
in the 1970s (1971
1971 Five Nations Championship
The 1971 Five Nations Championship was the forty-second series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the seventy-seventh series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played...
, 1976
1976 Five Nations Championship
The 1976 Five Nations Championship was the forty-seventh series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the eighty-second series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship...
and 1978
1978 Five Nations Championship
The 1978 Five Nations Championship was the forty-ninth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the eighty-fourth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played...
) and six Five Nations
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
titles in nine years—and was the venue for Wales' games in the 1991 Rugby World Cup
1991 Rugby World Cup
The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; at that time, the five European countries that participated in the Five Nations Championship making it the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the...
. The Arms Park has a sporting history dating back to at least the 1850s, when Cardiff Cricket Club (formed 1819) relocated to the site. The ground was donated to Cardiff CC in 1867 by the Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute
John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute KT, KSG, KGCHS was a landed aristocrat, industrial magnate, antiquarian, scholar, philanthropist and architectural patron.-Early life:...
. Cardiff Cricket Club shared the ground with Cardiff Rugby Football Club (founded 1876)—forming Cardiff Athletic Club
Cardiff Athletic Club
Cardiff Athletic Club is a multi-sport club in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. It is the owner of the world famous Cardiff Arms Park rugby ground, however, it is also a major shareholder of Cardiff Rugby Football Club Ltd and therefore has a large influence over the rugby club's two...
between them—until 1966, when the cricket section moved to Sophia Gardens. Cardiff Athletic Club and the Welsh Rugby Union
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board.The union's patron is Queen Elizabeth II, and her grandson Prince William of Wales became the Vice Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union as of February 2007.-History:The roots of the...
established two stadia on the site—Cardiff RFC played at their stadium at the northern end of the site, and the Wales national rugby union team
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
played international matches at the National Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park, which opened in 1970. The National Stadium was replaced by the 74,500 capacity Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
in 1999—in time for the 1999 Rugby World Cup
1999 Rugby World Cup
The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, and the first to be held in rugby union's professional era. The principal host nation was Wales, although the majority of matches were played outside the country, shared between England, France, Scotland and Ireland...
—and is home stadium to the Wales national rugby
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
and football
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
teams for international matches. In addition to Wales' Six Nations Championship
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
and other international games, the Millennium Stadium held four matches in the 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
and six FA Cup finals (from the 2001–02 to 2005–06 seasons) while Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
was being rebuilt.
Sophia Gardens
Sophia Gardens , currently known as SWALEC Stadium under a naming rights deal, is a cricket stadium on the west bank of the River Taff in Cardiff, 1.6 kilometres north of Cardiff Arms Park. It was named after Lady Sophia Rawdon-Hastings...
, since moving from Cardiff Arms Park in 1966. The Sophia Gardens stadium underwent a multi-million pound improvement since being selected to host the first ‘England’ v Australia Test Match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
of the 2009 Ashes series
Australian cricket team in England in 2009
The Australia national cricket team toured Great Britain to play a series of cricket matches during the 2009 English cricket season. The team played five Test matches – one in Wales – seven one-day internationals and two Twenty20 internationals against England. The Australians also...
.
Cardiff has a long association with boxing, from 'Peerless' Jim Driscoll
Jim Driscoll
James "Jim" Driscoll commonly known as Peerless Jim was a Welsh boxer who learned his trade in the boxing ring and used it to fight his way out of poverty....
—born in Cardiff in 1880—to more recent, high profile fights staged in the city. These include the WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno
Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno
Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno, also known as the Battle of Britain, was a boxing match that took place on 1 October 1993, at the National Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, Wales...
heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
championship fight at the Arms Park in 1993, and many of Joe Calzaghe
Joe Calzaghe
Joseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....
's fights, between 2003 and 2007.
Cardiff's professional ice hockey team, the Cardiff Devils
Cardiff Devils
The Cardiff Devils are a Welsh ice hockey team who play in the British Elite Ice Hockey League. The team currently plays in the temporary Cardiff Arena...
, play in the temporary Cardiff Arena
Cardiff Arena
The Cardiff Arena, also known as Cardiff Bay Ice Arena and also known by ice hockey fans as the Big Blue Tent, is a temporary ice rink in Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, Wales. It has a capacity of 2,500 for ice hockey and is home to the Cardiff Devils after leaving the Wales National Ice Rink, in order to...
in the Cardiff International Sports Village
Cardiff International Sports Village
Cardiff International Sports Village is located in Cardiff Bay in the city of Cardiff, Wales. It is one of the largest regeneration projects currently in the UK...
. They play in the 10 team professional Elite Ice Hockey League
Elite Ice Hockey League
Several competitions fall under the jurisdiction of the Elite League. In 2006–07, the EIHL ran a total of four competitions: the league, playoffs, Challenge Cup and Knockout Cup. The league consists of a single division, each team playing three home games and three away games against the other...
. Founded in 1986, and one of the most successful British teams during the nineties, due to rising attendances the Devils are looking to move to a new, bigger arena.
1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Cardiff, capital of Wales from 18–26 July 1958.Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games and 23 countries and dependencies won medals, including, for the first time, Singapore, Ghana, Kenya...
were hosted by Cardiff. The Games involved 1,130 athletes from 35 national teams competing in 94 events. One of the venues for those Games—The Wales Empire Swimming Pool—was demolished in 1998 to make way for the Millennium Stadium. The GBP32m Cardiff International Pool
Cardiff International Pool
The Cardiff International Pool is a sport facility located in the Cardiff International Sports Village in Cardiff, capital of Wales. It opened to the public on 12 January 2008 and was officially opened on 26 February 2008 by Duncan Goodhew....
in Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
, opened to the public on 12 January 2008—part of the GBP1bn International Sports Village (ISV)
Cardiff International Sports Village
Cardiff International Sports Village is located in Cardiff Bay in the city of Cardiff, Wales. It is one of the largest regeneration projects currently in the UK...
—is the only Olympic-standard swimming pool in Wales. When complete, the ISV complex will provide Olympic standard facilities for sports including boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
, gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
, white water events (including canoeing
Whitewater canoeing
Whitewater canoeing is the sport of paddling a canoe on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater river. Whitewater canoeing can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater. River rapids are graded like ski runs according to the difficulty, danger or...
and kayaking
Whitewater kayaking
Whitewater kayaking is the sport of paddling a kayak on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater river. Whitewater kayaking can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater. River rapids are graded like ski runs according to the difficulty, danger or...
) and wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
as well as a snow dome
Snow Dome
Snow Dome can refer to:* Snow Dome mountain near Concordia in Northern Areas of Pakistan* Snow Dome mountain in Chaprot Pass in Northern Areas of Pakistan...
with real snow for skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
and snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
, an Arena
Cardiff Arena
The Cardiff Arena, also known as Cardiff Bay Ice Arena and also known by ice hockey fans as the Big Blue Tent, is a temporary ice rink in Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, Wales. It has a capacity of 2,500 for ice hockey and is home to the Cardiff Devils after leaving the Wales National Ice Rink, in order to...
for public ice skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
and ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
and an hotel. Some of the sports facilities at the ISV will be used as training venues for the London 2012 Olympics.
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
, as part of Wales Rally GB. The first ever indoor special stages of the World Rally Championship were held at the Millennium Stadium in September 2005 and have been an annual event sincve then. The British Speedway Grand Prix
Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain
The Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain is a speedway event that is a part of the Speedway Grand Prix Series.-Winners:-See also:...
, one of the World Championship events, is held at the Millennium Stadium. While the track—a temporary, purpose built, shale oval—is not universally loved, the venue is considered the best of the World Championship's 11 rounds.
The Cardiff International Sports Stadium, opened 19 January 2009, replacing the Cardiff Athletics Stadium
Cardiff Athletics Stadium
The Cardiff Athletics Stadium was an athletics and football stadium in Cardiff, Wales. It opened in 1989 and was demolished in 2007, replaced by the Cardiff International Sports Stadium....
—demolished to make way for the Cardiff City Stadium—is a 4,953 capacity, multi sport/special event venue, offering fully certificated international track and field athletics facilities, including an international standard external throws area. The stadium houses the Headquarters of Welsh Athletics
Welsh Athletics
Welsh Athletics is the national governing body for the sport of athletics in Wales.The current limited company, set up in 2007, replaced the former Athletic Association of Wales...
, the sport's governing body for Wales. The city's indoor track and field athletics sports venue is the National Indoor Athletics Centre
National Indoor Athletics Centre
The National Indoor Athletics Centre is an indoor track and field athletics sports venue in the Cyncoed area of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is sited on the Cardiff Metropolitan University Campus and is one of the main facilities used by Welsh Athletics, which organises the Cardiff branch of the...
, an international athletics and multi sports centre at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff
University of Wales Institute, Cardiff
Cardiff Metropolitan University is a university situated in Cardiff. It operates from three campuses: Llandaff on Western Avenue, Cyncoed, and Howard Gardens in the City Centre. The university serves over 12,000 students...
Campus, Cyncoed
Cyncoed
Cyncoed is a community in the north of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. Located in the north east of the city, Cyncoed is one of the most affluent suburbs of Cardiff, and of Wales in general. It has some of the highest property prices in Wales...
.
Notable people
- See also :Category:People from Cardiff
Many notable people have hailed from Cardiff, ranging from historical figures such as the 12th century Welsh leader Ifor Bach
Ifor Bach
Ifor Bach also known as Ifor ap Meurig and in anglicised form Ivor Bach, lord of Senghenydd, was a twelfth century resident in and a leader of the Welsh in south Wales.- Welsh Lord of Senghenydd :...
and to more recent figures such as Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
, Ken Follett
Ken Follett
Ken Follett is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels. He has sold more than 100 million copies of his works. Four of his books have reached the number 1 ranking on the New York Times best-seller list: The Key to Rebecca, Lie Down with Lions, Triple, and World Without End.-Early...
, Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
and the former Blue Peter presenter Gethin Jones
Gethin Jones
Gethin Clifford Jones is a Welsh television presenter who has co-presented the BBC children's programme Blue Peter....
. In particular, the city has been the birthplace of sports stars such as Tanni Grey-Thompson
Tanni Grey-Thompson
Carys Davina "Tanni" Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson, DBE is a Welsh athlete and TV presenter.Grey-Thompson was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. She is considered to be one of the most successful disabled athletes in the UK...
and Colin Jackson
Colin Jackson
Colin Ray Jackson CBE is a British former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. Over his career representing Great Britain and Wales he won an Olympic silver medal, became world champion three times, went undefeated at the European Championships for 12 years and...
as well as many Premier League, Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
and international footballers, such as Craig Bellamy
Craig Bellamy
Craig Douglas Bellamy is a Welsh footballer who plays as a striker for Liverpool and the Welsh national team. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy was the captain of the Welsh national side for four years after taking over from Ryan Giggs in 2007, but stood down in January 2011 due to constant injuries...
, Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale
Gareth Frank Bale is a Welsh footballer who plays for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Wales national team. Bale began his professional career with Southampton in 2005 and was transferred to Tottenham two years later...
, Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...
, Joe Ledley
Joe Ledley
Joseph Christopher Ledley is a Welsh footballer who plays for Scottish Premier League club Celtic and the Welsh national team as a central or left midfielder....
, and former managers of the Wales national football team
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
Terry Yorath
Terry Yorath
Terence Charles Yorath is a former footballer and has been a manager at both club and international level. He is also the father of television presenter Gabby Logan....
and John Toshack
John Toshack
John Benjamin Toshack OBE is a Welsh former footballer and manager. He is currently the manager of Macedonia. He has also managed several others clubs including Swansea City, who he took from the Fourth Division to the First in four seasons.As a player, he is remembered for being part of the...
. International rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
players from Cardiff include Frank Whitcombe
Frank Whitcombe
Frank William Whitcombe was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1930s and '40s who played rugby union for Cardiff RFC, London Welsh RFC, and Army Rugby Union, playing at Prop, i.e...
, Billy Boston
Billy Boston
William John "Billy" Boston MBE is a former Wales and Great Britain professional Rugby League World Cup winning footballer. Boston is a member of the Rugby League Hall of Fame, Welsh Sports Hall of Fame and was, along with Shaun Edwards the first to be voted into the Wigan Hall Of Fame...
and Colin Dixon
Colin Dixon
Colin J. Dixon was a Welsh rugby union and professional Rugby League World Cup winning footballer who at club level has played rugby union for , and at representative level has played rugby league for Great Britain, and Wales, and at club level for Halifax, Salford, and Hull Kingston Rovers,...
, and baseball internationals include George Whitcombe
George Whitcombe
George Charles Whitcombe was a Welsh footballer. He also captained Wales at baseball, winning a total of five caps....
and Ted Peterson
Ted Peterson
Ted Peterson MBE was a baseball player, whose unparalleled achievements in the sport earned him the title ‘Mr Baseball’....
Cardiff is also well-known for its musicians such as Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
, after whom the Ivor Novello Awards
Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Cardiff born entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They are presented annually in London by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and were first introduced in 1955.Nicknamed The Ivors, the awards take place...
are named. Idloes Owen
Idloes Owen
Evan Idloes Owen principal founder of the Welsh National Opera Company- Early life :Idloes Owen, was born in late 1894 in the mining village of Merthyr Vale in Glamorgan. His parents Richard and Jane originally came from Llanidloes a market town in Montgomeryshire mid-Wales. They moved to Merthyr...
founder of the Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
,lived in Llandaff, Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
is familiar to many as the singer of three James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
movie theme tunes, while Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...
is famous as a crossover classical/pop singer, and Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens, also known as "Shaky" is a platinum selling Welsh rock and roll singer and songwriter who holds the distinction of being the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s . His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, although it was not until 1980 that he saw...
was one of the top selling male artists in the UK during the 1980s. A number of Cardiff-based bands, such as Catatonia
Catatonia (band)
Catatonia were an alternative rock band from Wales who gained a national following in the United Kingdom in the mid to late 1990s. The band consisted of Cerys Matthews on vocals, Mark Roberts on guitar, Paul Jones on bass , Owen Powell on...
and Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...
were popular during the 1990s.
Transport
Cardiff is the major transport hub in Wales and is the focus for many arterial road and rail routes that connect the city with the rest of Wales, and with England.Road
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
is the principal motorway in the region that connects Cardiff with Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
to the west, and Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to the east. Cardiff is served by three junctions of the M4, plus A48(M)
A48(M) motorway
The A48 is a motorway in Wales between Cardiff and Newport. It is a spur off the M4 into eastern Cardiff. It is long and is a 2-lane motorway throughout its length. At St Mellons it runs continuously into a further of the dual-carriageway A48, which also features hard shoulders.It opened in...
, which leads onto the M4. The A470
A470 road
The A470 is a major long-distance connective spine road in Wales, running from Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. It covers approximately 186 miles , over a zig-zagging route through the entirety of the country's mountainous central region, including the Brecon Beacons and...
is another major road within the city that provides an important link to the north with the Heads of the Valleys road
A465 road
The A465 is a major road in south Wales. It is more commonly known as the Heads of the Valleys Road because it joins together the north ends of the South Wales Valleys...
, mid and north Wales. The A4232
A4232 road
The A4232, which is also known either as the Peripheral Distributor Road or the Cardiff Link Road , is a distributor road in Cardiff, the capital of Wales....
(also known as the Peripheral Distributor Road or PDR) when completed, will form part of the Cardiff ring-road system along with the M4 motorway between junctions 30 and 33.
Rail
Cardiff Central railway station
Cardiff Central railway station
Cardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08...
is the largest railway station in Wales with seven platforms, and one of the busiest in the UK. It provides direct services to nearby Bridgend
Bridgend
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...
and Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, long distance 'Cross-Wales' services to Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
and Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
, and other major cities such as Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. Cardiff Queen Street railway station
Cardiff Queen Street railway station
Cardiff Queen Street railway station is Wales' second busiest railway station in Cardiff, Wales. It is one of 20 stations in the city and two in the city centre, the other being Cardiff Central...
is the second busiest in Wales and is the hub for routes via the Valley Lines
Valley Lines
Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes is the busy network of passenger suburban railway services radiating from Cardiff, Wales. It includes lines within the city itself, the Vale of Glamorgan and the South Wales Valleys....
services that connect the South Wales valleys
South Wales Valleys
The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...
and the Cardiff suburbs with the city centre on the former site of Temperance Town
Temperance Town, Cardiff
Temperance Town, Cardiff, was the unofficial name for a working-class inner-city suburb established on reclaimed land next to the River Taff. The land was owned by Colonel Edward Wood, a teetotaller, who imposed a condition on the developer that the sale of alcohol would be not be allowed - hence...
. It is located at the eastern end of the city centre, and also provides services to Cardiff Bay.
Cardiff has a suburban rail system
Commuter rail in the United Kingdom
Urban rail, commuter rail, regional rail, or suburban rail, plays a key role in the public transport system of many of the United Kingdom's major cities. Urban rail is defined as a rail service between a central business district and suburbs or other locations that draw large numbers of people on a...
known as Valley Lines
Valley Lines
Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes is the busy network of passenger suburban railway services radiating from Cardiff, Wales. It includes lines within the city itself, the Vale of Glamorgan and the South Wales Valleys....
, which is operated by Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
. There are eight lines which serve 20 stations in the city, 26 in the wider urban area (including Taffs Well, Penarth
Penarth
Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...
and Dinas Powys
Dinas Powys
Dinas Powys is a large village and a community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales which takes its name from the Dinas Powys hillfort that dates from the Iron Age...
) and more than 60 in the South Wales valleys and the Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
.
Bus
Cardiff has a comprehensive busBus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
network, with municipal bus company
Municipal bus companies
A municipal bus company is an operator of bus services owned by the local government authority. This article lists all current municipal bus companies in the United Kingdom....
Cardiff Bus
Cardiff Bus
Cardiff Bus is the dominant operator of bus services in Cardiff, Wales and the surrounding area, including Barry and Penarth. Its hub is Cardiff central bus station...
providing the vast majority of routes in the city and to Newport, Barry and Cardiff International Airport
Cardiff International Airport
Cardiff Airport is an international airport serving Cardiff, and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales. Around 1.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010....
, its hub is Cardiff Central Bus Station
Cardiff Central bus station
Cardiff Central bus station is the main bus transport interchange in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. With 34 stands, it is the largest bus station in the city and in Wales. It is located adjacent to Cardiff Central railway station forming a major bus-rail-cycle-taxi interchange.The station used...
. National Express
National Express
National Express Coaches, more commonly known as National Express, is a brand and company, owned by the National Express Group, under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in Great Britain are operated,...
and Megabus
Megabus (United Kingdom)
Megabus is a UK coach service operated by Stagecoach Group. It started in 2003 and as of February 2010 operated 19 UK coach routes serving 41 destinations in England, Scotland and Wales. Some services link with Megatrain services which are also operated by Stagecoach...
provides direct services to major cities such as Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
Air
Domestic and international air links to Cardiff and South & West Wales are provided from Cardiff Airport (CWL), the only international airport in Wales. The airport is situated in the village of RhooseRhoose
Rhoose is a village and community located near the sea in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, near Barry.The village is the location of Cardiff International Airport, formerly RAF Rhoose, a Holiday Park , some shops, two public houses , Rhoose Social Club, and an active Surf Life Saving Club Rhoose is...
, 10 miles (16.1 km) west of the city. There are regular bus services linking the airport with the Cardiff Central Bus Station as well as a train service from Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station
Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station
Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station is a railway station that serves the village of Rhoose and Cardiff Airport. A dedicated shuttle bus connects this station with the airport terminal building....
to Cardiff Central.
Cycle
The Taff TrailTaff Trail
The Taff Trail is a popular walking and cycle path that runs for between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in Wales. It is named so because it follows the course of the River Taff...
is a walking
Walkway
In US English, a walkway is a composite or umbrella term for all engineered surfaces or structures which support the use of trails. These include sidewalks, footbridges, stiles, stairs, ramps, paseos or tunnels...
and cycle path running for 55 miles (88.5 km) between Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
and Brecon
Brecon
Brecon is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901. It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre...
in the Brecon Beacons
Brecon Beacons
The Brecon Beacons is a mountain range in South Wales. In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of popular peaks south of Brecon, including South Wales' highest mountain, Pen y Fan, and which together form the central section of the Brecon Beacons National Park...
National Park. It runs through Bute Park
Bute Park
Bute Park in Cardiff, Wales, is an extensive area of mature parkland easily accessible from the city centre. Flanked by the River Taff, Sophia Gardens, Pontcanna Fields and Cardiff Castle, Bute Park is a very popular 'green lung' full of historic and wildlife interest. Few cities have such a...
, Sophia Gardens
Sophia Gardens
Sophia Gardens , currently known as SWALEC Stadium under a naming rights deal, is a cricket stadium on the west bank of the River Taff in Cardiff, 1.6 kilometres north of Cardiff Arms Park. It was named after Lady Sophia Rawdon-Hastings...
and many other green areas within Cardiff. It is possible to cycle the entire distance of the Trail
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
almost completely off-road, as it largely follows the River Taff
River Taff
The River Taff is a large river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons — the Taf Fechan and the Taf Fawr — before joining to form the Taff north of Merthyr Tydfil...
and many of the old disused railways of the Glamorganshire valleys. On Sundays in summer the Beacons Bike Bus enables cyclists to take their bikes into the Beacons and then ride back to Cardiff along the Trail.
Education
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
, Cardiff Metropolitan University, University of Glamorgan
University of Glamorgan
The University of Glamorgan is a university based in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales with campuses in Treforest, Glyntaff, Merthyr Tydfil, Tyn y Wern and Cardiff...
and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama is a conservatoire within the University of Glamorgan Group located in Cardiff, Wales....
.
Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
was founded by Royal Charter in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire, is a "red brick
Red Brick universities
Red brick university is an informal term used to refer to six particular universities founded in the major industrial cities of England. Five of the six red brick institutions gained university status before World War I and were initially established as civic science and/or engineering colleges...
" university and member of the Russell Group
Russell Group
The Russell Group is a collaboration of twenty UK universities that together receive two-thirds of research grant and contract funding in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1994 to represent their interests to the government, parliament and other similar bodies...
of leading research led universities, having most of its campus in Cathays
Cathays
Cathays is a district in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is an old suburb of Cardiff established in 1875. It is very densely populated and contains many older terraced houses giving it a Victorian era atmosphere...
and the city centre
Cardiff city centre
Cardiff city centre is the central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bounded by the River Taff to the west, the Civic centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations - Central and Queen Street - to the south and east respectively...
. Cardiff Metropolitan University has campuses in the Llandaff
Llandaff
Llandaff is a district in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Church in Wales Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese covers the most populous area of South Wales. Much of the district is covered by parkland known as Llandaff...
, Cyncoed
Cyncoed
Cyncoed is a community in the north of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. Located in the north east of the city, Cyncoed is one of the most affluent suburbs of Cardiff, and of Wales in general. It has some of the highest property prices in Wales...
and city centre
Cardiff city centre
Cardiff city centre is the central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bounded by the River Taff to the west, the Civic centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations - Central and Queen Street - to the south and east respectively...
areas, and is part of the confederal University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
. The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama is a conservatoire within the University of Glamorgan Group located in Cardiff, Wales....
is a conservatoire
Music school
The term music school refers to an educational institution specialized in the study, training and research of music.Different terms refer to this concept such as school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department or conservatory.Music instruction can be provided...
established in 1949 and is based in the grounds of Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
. The University of Glamorgan
University of Glamorgan
The University of Glamorgan is a university based in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales with campuses in Treforest, Glyntaff, Merthyr Tydfil, Tyn y Wern and Cardiff...
's Cardiff campus, Atrium
Atrium (Cardiff)
ATRiuM is a campus of the University of Glamorgan, in Cardiff, Wales.Opened on 29 November 2007, it is home to one of the University's five faculties, CCI...
, is home to the Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries and is located in the city centre.
The total number of higher education students in the city is around 43,900. The city also has two further education
Further education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
colleges: Coleg Glan Hafren
Coleg Glan Hafren
Coleg Glan Hafren is a Further Education college based in Cardiff. The college has over 12,000 students and provides over 800 courses, including A levels , GCSE re-sits and languages; Business and Professional courses such as Law, Marketing and Accounting; Hair and Beauty; Access, ESOL and Open...
and St. David's College
St David's Catholic College
St David's Catholic College is a sixth form college located in Cardiff, Wales. It is the only Roman Catholic sixth form college in Wales.The college enrols students aged between 16 and 19 years from Cardiff, although admissions priority is given to students from Roman Catholic secondary schools in...
, although further education is offered at most high schools in the city.
Cardiff has 86 state primary schools (two bilingual, ten Welsh medium
Education in Wales
Education in Wales differs in certain respects from education elsewhere in the United Kingdom. For example, a significant number of students all over Wales are educated either wholly or largely through the medium of Welsh: in 2008/09, 22 per cent of classes in maintained primary schools used Welsh...
), 11 infant schools, ten junior schools and 20 state secondary schools, of which two are Welsh medium. There are also a number of independent schools in the city, including St John's College, Cardiff
St John's College, Cardiff
St John's College in Cardiff is a leading independent co-educational day school educating girls and boys aged 3 to 18 . The school warmly welcomes the outstanding report produced by ESTYN on its achievements, quality and standards, and especially the exceptional school ethos.- External links :**...
, Llandaff Cathedral School
The Cathedral School, Llandaff
The Cathedral School, Llandaff is a coeducational Welsh independent senior, prep and pre-prep day school. It is located in Llandaff, Cardiff. The school is part of the Woodard Schools foundation, as well as having many links to the neighbouring Llandaff Cathedral.In 1880 Dean John Vaughan opened a...
, Kings Monkton and Howell's School
Howell's School Llandaff
Howell’s School Llandaff is an independent school in Llandaff, Cardiff. The school teaches girls from the age of 3 years up to 18, and contains a nursery, junior, senior school and a sixth form college...
, a single-sex girls' school (until sixth form). Notable schools include Whitchurch High School
Whitchurch High School
Whitchurch High School is a large, co-educational, comprehensive secondary school in the suburb of Whitchurch in Cardiff, Wales. It is considered to be one of the better secondary schools in Cardiff, and was described in its 2009 Estyn report as a 'good school' which is 'moving forward from...
(the largest in Wales), Fitzalan High School
Fitzalan High School
Fitzalan High School is an 11-19 mixed, large, co-educational, community comprehensive secondary school in Cardiff. The school is located in the suburb of Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. The school serves some areas which are economically disadvantaged. Over 40 different languages are spoken...
(which is one of the most multi-cultural state schools in the UK), and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf is the largest Welsh-medium school in Wales. It is located on Bridge Road, Llandaff North, Cardiff, on the banks of the river Taff. The name 'Glantaf' means 'The bank of the river Taf' in Welsh. Of the two Welsh-medium secondary schools serving Cardiff, it was the first...
, which is the largest Welsh medium secondary in the country.
As well as academic institutions, Cardiff is also home to other educational and learning organisations such as Techniquest
Techniquest
Techniquest is a Welsh science and discovery centre. It has locations in Cardiff Bay, Glyndŵr University in Wrexham, Llanberis in Gwynedd, and the Adventure Center in Narberth, Pembrokeshire....
, a hands-on science discovery centre that now has franchises throughout Wales, and is part of the Wales Gene Park in collaboration with Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
, NHS Wales and the Welsh Development Agency
Welsh Development Agency
The Welsh Development Agency was a QUANGO and later an Assembly Sponsored Public Body established in 1976 to encourage business development and investment in Wales, to clear derelict land and to encourage growth of local businesses...
(WDA). Cardiff is also home of the largest regional office of the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO). This office is home to the organisation's curriculum and assessment centre, which is responsible for overseeing the creation and grading of various IBDP assessments.
Health
There are seven NHS hospitals in the city, the largest of which is the University Hospital of WalesUniversity Hospital of Wales
University Hospital of Wales , opened in November 1971, is a major 1000-bed hospital situated in the inner city district of Heath in Cardiff, Wales...
. The University Hospital of Wales is the third largest hospital in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and deals with most accidents and emergencies. The University Dental Hospital, which provides emergency dental treatment, is also located on this site. Llandough Hospital is located in the south of the city.
The city's newest hospital, St. David's Hospital (built behind the former building) is located in the Canton area and provides services for the elderly and children. Cardiff Royal Infirmary is located on Newport Road, near the city centre. The majority of this hospital was closed in 1999 but with the West Wing remaining open for clinic services, genitourinary medicine and rehabilitation treatment. Rookwood Hospital
Rookwood Hospital
Rookwood Hospital is a rehabilitation hospital situated in Llandaff, in the city of Cardiff in South Wales. It is the site of one of only twelve spinal rehab units in whole of United Kingdom...
and Whitchurch Hospital
Whitchurch Hospital
Whitchurch Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Whitchurch, an area in the north of Cardiff. As well as general psychiatry, services include elderly psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, forensic psychiatry, rehabilitation and addiction services. It is part of the Cardiff and Vale University Health...
are also located within the city, along with Rookwood Hospital and Velindre Cancer Centre. All hospitals in Cardiff are administered by the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, with the exception of the Velindre site which is run by a separate trust. In addition Spire Healthcare
Spire Healthcare
Spire Healthcare is a large British healthcare organisation with 37 hospitals in the UK, and the second largest private hospital group in the UK. It was formed when private equity firm Cinven acquired Bupa Hospitals in 2007....
has a private hospital in the city which is located in Pentwyn.
International relations
Cardiff has twinningTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
arrangements with: Luhansk
Luhansk
Luhansk also known as Lugansk is a city in southeastern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Luhansk Oblast . The city itself is also designated as its own separate municipality within the oblast...
, Luhansk Oblast
Luhansk Oblast
Luhansk Oblast ) is the easternmost oblast of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the name Voroshilovgrad Oblast in honor of Kliment Voroshilov....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Hordaland county
Hordaland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
, Pays de la Loire
Pays de la Loire
Pays de la Loire is one of the 27 regions of France. It is one of the regions created in the late 20th century to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful so-called "balancing metropolises" ¹...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. (Nantes is one of the traditional capitals of the Celtic region of Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
) Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Xiamen
Xiamen
Xiamen , also known as Amoy , is a major city on the southeast coast of the People's Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of and population of 3.53 million...
, Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
A total of 28 countries have a diplomatic presence in Cardiff. Many of these nations, such as Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
are represented by honorary consulates
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
. The British Embassy of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
operates a satellite office.
Telecommunications
029 is the current telephone dialling code for Cardiff, as well as for the neighbouring towns of PenarthPenarth
Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...
, Dinas Powys
Dinas Powys
Dinas Powys is a large village and a community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales which takes its name from the Dinas Powys hillfort that dates from the Iron Age...
and Caerphilly
Caerphilly
Caerphilly is a town in the county borough of Caerphilly, south Wales, located at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of approximately 31,000. It is a commuter town of Cardiff and Newport, which are located some 7.5 miles and 12 miles away, respectively...
. The dialling code is optional when dialling within the area, with it being possible to dial between any two phones within the 029 code using only the eight-digit local number.
Prior to the Big Number Change
Big Number Change
The Big Number Change was an update of telephone dialling codes in the UK in response to the rapid late-1990s growth of telecommunications and impending exhaustion of numbers. The change greatly expanded the pool of available numbers while helping to retain 'local dialling'...
on 22 April 2000 the area had shorter, six-digit local numbers with an area code of 01222 (with 0222 preceeding this, prior to May 1995). There remains a common misconception that local numbers are still six digits long and that the code is 02920, despite the existence of newer Cardiff numbers in the ranges (029) 21xx xxxx and (029) 22xx xxxx.
See also
- Cardiff North
- Cardiff South
- Cardiff East
- Cardiff West
- Cardiff BayCardiff BayCardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
- Cardiff city centreCardiff city centreCardiff city centre is the central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bounded by the River Taff to the west, the Civic centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations - Central and Queen Street - to the south and east respectively...
- Cardiff music sceneCardiff music sceneThe music of Cardiff has been dominated mainly by rock music since the early 1990s with later trends developing towards more extreme styles of the genre such as heavy metal, post-hardcore and emo music....
- List of cultural venues in Cardiff
- List of Parliamentary constituencies in South Glamorgan
- List of places in Cardiff
- National Assembly for WalesNational Assembly for WalesThe National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
- Big Number ChangeBig Number ChangeThe Big Number Change was an update of telephone dialling codes in the UK in response to the rapid late-1990s growth of telecommunications and impending exhaustion of numbers. The change greatly expanded the pool of available numbers while helping to retain 'local dialling'...
- Telephone numbers in the United KingdomTelephone numbers in the United KingdomThe UK telephone numbering plan, also known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, is the system used for assigning telephone numbers in the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies...
- OPENCitiesOPENCitiesOPENCities is a project initiated by British Council Spain, to help cities to become more open and competitive. OPENCities demonstrates how international populations contribute to cities long term economic success and advocates for openness as a way forward for cities willing to play an...
- UK telephone code misconceptions
- Wikitravel:Cardiff
External links
- Cardiff, BBC
- Cardiff Council site
- Cardiff Records: the full text of the edition of historical records for Cardiff, edited by J. H. Matthews (1898–1905.) Part of British History Online.
- OPENCities Monitor participant