Cardigan (Wales)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Welsh Aberteifi cardigan
High street, cardigan
High street, cardigan
Coordinates 52 ° 5 ′  N , 4 ° 39 ′  W Coordinates: 52 ° 5 ′  N , 4 ° 39 ′  W
OS National Grid SN175465
Cardigan (Wales)
Cardigan
Cardigan
Residents 4184 (2011)
administration
Post town CARDIGAN
ZIP code section SA43
prefix 01239
Part of the country Wales
Preserved County Dyfed
Unitary authority Ceredigion
British Parliament Ceredigion
Welsh Parliament Ceredigion
Website: www.cardigan.gov.uk

Cardigan ( Welsh : Aberteifi ) is a Welsh town of 4,203 inhabitants (2001) on Cardigan Bay . The city is in the county of Ceredigion , which was called Cardiganshire until 1996 .

location

The town of Cardigan is located on the north bank of the Teifi, not far from its confluence with Cardigan Bay on the Ceredigion- Pembrokeshire border . The A487 from Fishguard to Caernarfon passes the village. Cardigan was the capital of Cardiganshire until 1974. In 2007 it had an estimated 4,000 residents. The regional center for West Wales houses a hospital, college, cultural center with cinema, town hall, theater and shopping facilities. Cardigan is twin town of Brioude , France .

history

In 1093 the Anglo-Norman Lord Arnulf de Montgomery built Cardigan Castle at the mouth of the Teifi, which was destroyed by the Welsh only a few years later. Another castle was built in 1110, around which a settlement soon emerged. After several unsuccessful sieges, the castle was conquered in 1165 by Rhys ap Gruffydd , the prince of Deheubarth . Rhys ap Gruffydd built a stone castle in place of the wooden castle, making Cardigan Castle the first castle in Wales to be built as a stone castle by a Welsh prince. In 1376, a poets and musicians' competition took place in the castle, which is considered to be the first iceddfod . After Rhys ap Gruffydd's death in 1197, the castle and town were fiercely contested between his heirs and the English and changed hands several times. King Johann Ohneland awarded the city its first charter in 1199 . In 1240 Cardigan finally fell to the English, who built a stone city wall to protect the city. During the English Civil War , the castle was attacked by parliamentary troops. Cromwell had a free school built, which was demolished in the 19th century.

Cardigan has had a port since the early Middle Ages. It grew in importance and until the time of Elizabeth I was the most important port in Wales after Milford Haven . In the 17th century a small shipyard and a Reeperbahn were built . At the beginning of the 19th century there were over 300 sailing ships and over 1,000 sailors registered in Cardigan harbor; 300 ships were built there in five shipyards. Slate from Cilgerran was exported through the port. In addition, the port was used for fishing and the export of herrings and salmon. When the river silted up, port operations came to a standstill at the beginning of the 20th century. Plans to expose the harbor basin were never realized. In 1942 and 1976 the National Eisteddfod of Wales took place in Cardigan .

Cardigan, St. Mary Street

Culture

Cardigan's attractions include a six-arched river bridge (1726), a neo-Gothic town hall (1859) in Ruskin's style , a market hall and a warehouse at the harbor with an artisan workshop. The ruins of the castle were privately owned until 2003 and fell into disrepair, since then they have been extensively restored and will serve as an educational and cultural center from 2014.

Welsh language

The Welsh language is predominantly spoken in Cardigan . Over 70% of the population understand and speak Welsh; 48% can write it too. In 2003, the city council and the Welsh Language Board approved a language action plan to preserve and promote the language.

various

literature

  • HE Conrad: Wales ; Prestel Verlag, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-7913-0594-8 , p. 291.
  • Peter Sager: Wales , Cologne, DuMont, 1995

Web links

Commons : Cardigan, Ceredigion  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Town population 2011 . Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  2. ^ Castles of Wales: Cardigan Castle. Retrieved September 20, 2013 .
  3. ↑ Cardigan Castle. Retrieved September 20, 2013 .
  4. ↑ 2001 Census. Neighborhood Statistics: Cardigan