Cardiff << KAHR dihf >> is the capital and largest city of Wales, a division of the United Kingdom. It is also the chief economic, industrial, and cultural center of Wales. Cardiff lies on the southeast coast of Wales. It borders the Bristol Channel, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. The Cardiff unitary authority (local government area) has a population of 362.310.
Three rivers—the Taff, the Ely, and the Rhymney—flow through Cardiff into the Bristol Channel. A number of docks line the coast, and many factories are nearby.
A large area of parkland lies near the center of Cardiff. The Civic Center and many of the city’s major commercial buildings are clustered around Cathays Park in this area. The Civic Center includes the Law Courts, City Hall, National Museum Cardiff, and Cardiff University. Nearby are many fashionable shops and modern hotels, and Cardiff Castle. The castle was built in 1090. Cardiff is also the home of the medieval Llandaff Cathedral and the Welsh Folk Museum.
Factories in Cardiff produce automobile parts, chemicals, electronics equipment, engineering products, and processed food and tobacco. The city is a busy shipping center. Modern railroad and highway systems connect Cardiff with the rest of Great Britain. Cardiff International Airport lies outside the edge of the city.
About A.D. 75, Roman soldiers built a fort on the site of what is now Cardiff. The name Cardiff means fort on the Taff. Normans settled the area in the late 1000’s. They built Cardiff Castle on the site of the old Roman fort. A walled town grew up around the castle and served as a market and port for Welsh farm products.
By the early 1800’s, Cardiff was still a small town. Then, Wales became a major center of coal mining and iron and steel production. Cardiff was the shipping center for these products and grew rapidly. By 1890, it had become known as the Coal Metropolis of the World.
Cardiff coal trade declined after World War I ended in 1918, and the city soon developed new industries. Since the mid-1940’s, Cardiff has grown steadily as the administrative and commercial center of Wales. In 1955, it became the capital of Wales.
