Brecon

Brecon ; Welsh Aberhonddu
Coordinates	51 ° 57 ′ N , 3 ° 23 ′ W Coordinates: 51 ° 57 ′ N , 3 ° 23 ′ W
	Brecon
	Brecon
Residents	7901 (2001)
administration
Post town	BRECON
prefix	01874
Part of the country	Wales
Preserved County	Powys
Unitary authority	Powys
British Parliament	Brecon & Radnorshire
Website: www.brecontowncouncil.org.uk

Brecon [ ˈbɹɛkən ] ( Welsh : Aberhonddu [ ˌabɛrˈhɔnðɪ ]) is a historic market town in central Wales with around 8,000 inhabitants. Another 6,000 inhabitants are distributed among the surrounding villages belonging to the city.

Surname

According to legend, the name Brecon is said to be derived from the Welsh Prince Brychan .

Brecon is the English name, the Welsh name of the city is Aberhonddu , after the Honddu River , which joins the Usk River near the city center .

Brecon, also known as Brecknock in the 19th century , is the capital of the historic county of Brecknockshire .

history

Center of Brecon with St. Mary's Church

Brecon

Flint finds suggest a settlement as early as 4,000 to 5,000 years ago.

There was a Roman camp near the city, but the current place was not built until the 12th century after the construction of a Norman castle and a Benedictine monastery. Before a bridge was built over the Usk, Brecon was one of the few towns where there was a ford through the river.

The confluence of the Usk and Honddu rivers provided a good strategic location for the Norman Brecon Castle , which overlooks the city. The castle was built by Bernard de Neufmarché in the late 11th century. Today the Castle Hotel stands in the same place.

In the 17th century , the residents of the city razed their fortress and most of the city wall so as not to be a target during the civil war .

Not far from the castle is the Brecon Cathedral, which was built on the site of the former Benedictine monastery and which became a place of pilgrimage in the 15th century. Only the baptismal font remains of the Norman church. After the dissolution of the monastery, it became a parish church before it was elevated to the cathedral of the newly established diocese of Swansea and Brecon of the Anglican Church in Wales in 1923 .

Economy and Transport

tourism

Today Brecon is a tourist town, as the Brecon Beacons National Park begins right on the southern edge of the city . From the city you have a good view of the Brecon Beacons mountains, u. a. the Pen y Fan , the highest point in the south of Great Britain with 886 m.

View from Corn Du (873 m) over the Brecon Beacons

Events

In August, the annual Brecon Jazz Festival takes place in the city center, where various musicians give open-air concerts as well as perform in the town hall and in the new Brycheiniog Theater.

Attractions

Cathedral in Brecon

Brecon Cathedral dates back to around 1100.
The Castle Hotel is now located in the castle.
Brecknock local museum and art gallery
Military and Regiment Museum
Christ College
Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal
Ffostil North and South , two Cotswold Severn Tombs northeast of Talgarth and Brecon.

Military training area

12 kilometers west of the city is an important training area for the British Army, the Sennybridge Training Area .

Cattle market

Brecon has a small industrial area that is now home to the livestock market that used to be held in the city center.

traffic

The city is the school center for the surrounding villages and farms and it is not uncommon for students to have to travel by bus for more than an hour to attend school in Brecon.

In terms of traffic, Brecon is at the meeting point of the A40 and A470 state roads.

There is no longer a railway connection in the city since the Brecon and Merthyr Railway no longer operates the line.