Wales is a land with a rich history and picturesque landscapes located in the West of the British Isles. The capital of Wales is Cardiff. It is the largest city in the country.
It’s hard to believe that the capital with a population of more than 300,000 inhabitants got its status not so long time ago. The population of the city was around 1800 people in 1801. Cardiff was not even called a city till 1905, it was just a small village. Later the city became one of the largest coaling centres of Great Britain and in 1955 Cardiff was officially called “the capital” of Wales. Cardiff is the youngest capital of Europe; it is also the largest European port that exports coal today.
The city has a very rich history. It still preserves a lot of ancient monuments and buildings and presents great modern buildings. Cardiff was developed in a fast pace so nowadays it is a city of contrast. The streets combine buildings and air of all times simultaneously.
Even the meaning of the word “Cardiff” is enigmatic. The first part of the word Caerdydd means Fort, while the second part is still not decrypted by scientists. The core of the city is the CardiffCastle. It is a great combination of different styles: classic, Arabic and medieval.
Cardiff is the greenest city of the UK. It contains more than 330 parks and park zones. The most famous parks are the ButePark around the CardiffCastle and the SouthPark (also known as RoathPark). The park is over 100 years old, it attracts visitors with a huge Botanic pavilion and a picturesque lake. Another amazing place of Cardiff is the CosmestonMedievalVillage. It’s an open air museum that reproduces real size exhibitsof the medieval Welsh village.
NationalMuseum of Wales is another pearl of Cardiff. It contains a large collection of impressionists’ and postimpressionists’ paintings. The entrance is free so the museum attracts a lot of visitors daily. The museum is also very interesting because of free movie about Wales history called “Wales Evolution”. The movie is rather short but it holds all important facts about the country. It is a very good idea to start your acquaintance with the country from this movie.
Cardiff also holds the largest roofed stadium in Europe. The Millennium Stadium was built in 1999, it is the most favourite place for all fans of Rugby. The stadium is unique because its roof can be opened and closed. There’s no anysimilar roof in the world.
The city is also famous all over the Britain for shopping. It is a real paradise for shopaholics. The main shopping street is called Queen StreetCardiff. You can find anything there: from antique things to luxurious and from very cheap to hugely high. The most famous shoppingcentres are Capitol, The Rhiw, Dominions Arcade, Queens and St David’s DewiSant.
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