Cardiff

Cardiff (Caerdydd in Welsh) is the capital of Wales, located in the south-east of the country and is its largest city. It was a relatively small town until the early nineteenth century, and came to prominence quite suddenly, as a result of the influx of industry into the region and the use of Cardiff as a major port for the transport of coal. At the 1991 census, the population of Cardiff was about 269,000.

Cardiff was probably named after a Norman family dominant in the area in medieval times. A Norman castle still exists, on the site of an earlier Roman fort, but was substantially altered and extended during the Victorian period by the Marquess of Bute and the architect, William Burges.

Apart from the castle, the city is home to: the National Assembly for Wales (recently renamed the Welsh Assembly Government), St. Davids Hall, the Millennium Stadium, the National Museum of Wales, Cathays Park (including municipal buildings modelled on those in New Delhi, Chip Alley and Spillers Records.