The Welsh call their country Cymru ¹⁾

It is a beautiful land strewn with hundreds of medieval castles and forts where more sheep than people live. ²⁾

The capital of Wales is Cardiff. Back in the 19th century, it was a small port town. It was granted municipal rights in April 1889. From that moment the city started to develop rapidly. King Edward VII granted Cardiff city status on October 28, 1905, and on December 20, 1955, the city became the capital of Wales. The population of the city is over 366 thousand. ³⁾

Wales is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As such, the head of state is the Queen of England. ⁴⁾

Legislative power is concentrated in the hands of a unicameral parliament, the Senedd Cymru. The Welsh Assembly consists of 60 parliamentarians who are democratically elected every 4 years. The first general election for Senedd Cymru was held on May 6, 1999. ⁵⁾

The Welsh celebrate their national holiday on March 1. On this day, people wear daffodils and leeks, symbols of Wales and Saint David. Traditional Welsh dishes such as cawl and Welsh rarebit are eaten. Women wear traditional Welsh costumes and there are festive parades in the larger towns. ⁶⁾

The area of Wales was inhabited as early as 29,000 years ago. The continuous settlement has continued here since the end of the last ice age about 10,000 years ago. This is the period when the retreating glacier exposed new areas previously inaccessible. Gathering and hunting tribes from mainland Europe then began to migrate to the British Isles. ⁷⁾

Wales, being a center of Celtic culture, was conquered by the Roman Empire. The Roman invasion began in AD 48 and lasted about 30 years. The conquered territories were occupied for another three hundred years. As Wales is rich in mineral resources, the Romans used their mining technology to extract gold, lead, copper, and small amounts of zinc and silver. ⁸⁾

By the year 410, the Romans had left the area of Wales. Their presence was quickly replaced by Germanic tribes of Anglo-Saxons. By 500, several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms had been established in what is now Wales, among them: Gwynedd, Powys, Deheubarth, Glywysing, and Gwent. ⁹⁾

The national symbols of Wales are the dragon, daffodil, and leek. According to legend, King Gwynedd Cadwaladr ordered the vegetable to be worn by his soldiers during battles with the Saxons in the 7th century to help identify allied troops. The earliest certain mention of the leek as a Welsh symbol dates from 1537, when Princess Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, was given a leek by a guard on St. David's Day. ¹⁰⁾

Wales is sometimes referred to as the “Castle Capital of the World”. Over six hundred castles have been built in the country's history and over a hundred survive to this day. Some of them are ruins and some have been successfully restored. ¹¹⁾

The largest castle in Wales is Caerphilly Castle. It covers an area of about 12 hectares. Its construction began in Norman times, specifically in 1268 by order of the English nobleman Gilbert de Clare. It has a ring wall system, with the inner ring being higher than the outer one and allowing it to be defended from the second line of walls. The castle also had an elaborate network of moats and dams, considered to be the most sophisticated water defense in all of Britain. ¹²⁾

Laverbread is a dish prepared from edible seaweed. The harvested seaweed is rinsed repeatedly to remove any remaining sand and then cooked until it is a green purée with a smooth texture. ¹³⁾

Welsh cuisine includes a sweet yeasty bread called bara brith, to which tea, dried fruit, and spices are added. ¹⁴⁾

Cawl is a type of traditional Welsh soup cooked with a base of lamb or beef to which leeks, potatoes, swede, carrots, and other vegetables were added depending on the region and season. ¹⁵⁾

Welsh rarebit is toasted bread topped generously and baked with cheese sauce. The sauce can be enhanced with mustard, beer, paprika, or Worcestershire sauce. ¹⁶⁾

There are only 6 cities in Wales - Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Bangor, St Asaph, and St Davids. The most populous is of course Cardiff (population 366,000) and the least populous is St Davids (population 1600). ¹⁷⁾

This is not any discount code but the name of a town located in northwest Wales on the island of Anglesey. You don't have to count the letters, there are 58 of them. It is the longest administrative name in the whole United Kingdom. It was so named in the 19th century to become a tourist attraction. ¹⁸⁾