Portal:Wales

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The Wales Portal

Wales (Welsh: Cymru [ˈkəmrɨ] ^ⓘ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic Sea to the south-west. As of 2021^[update], it had a population of 3,107,494. It has a total area of 21,218 square kilometres (8,192 sq mi) and over 2,700 kilometres (1,680 mi) of coastline. It is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate. The capital and largest city is Cardiff.

A distinct Welsh culture emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales was briefly united under Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in 1055. After over 200 years of war, the conquest of Wales by King Edward I of England was completed by 1283, though Owain Glyndŵr led the Welsh Revolt against English rule in the early 15th century, and briefly re-established an independent Welsh state with its own national parliament (Welsh: senedd). In the 16th century the whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by David Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century: a nationalist party, Plaid Cymru, was formed in 1925, and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. A governing system of Welsh devolution is employed in Wales, of which the most major step was the formation of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament, formerly the National Assembly for Wales) in 1998, responsible for a range of devolved policy matters. (Full article...)

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The Millennium Stadium (Welsh: Stadiwm y Mileniwm) is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage of Wales Rally Great Britain, Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain, boxing and many music concerts, including Tina Turner, Madonna, The Rolling Stones, U2, Stereophonics, Paul McCartney, and the Tsunami Relief concert. It was built to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

The Millennium Stadium is owned by Millennium Stadium plc which is a subsidiary company of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). The stadium was designed by a team led by architects Bligh Lobb Sport Architecture, who merged to become HOK Sport Venue Event, which would be renamed Populous in early 2009. WS Atkins were the structural engineers, and the building contractor was Laing. The total construction cost of the stadium was £121 million, of which the Millennium Commission funded £46 million. With total seating capacity of 74,500, it is the third largest stadium in the Six Nations Championship. It is also the second largest stadium in the world with a fully retractable roof and was only the second stadium in Europe to have this feature.

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Tintern Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey, now in ruins, situated in the village of Tintern in Monmouthshire, on the Welsh bank of the River Wye. Founded in 1131, it was only the second Cistercian foundation in Britain and the first in Wales. It inspired William Wordsworth's poem "Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey", Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Tears, Idle Tears", Allen Ginsberg's "Wales Visitation" and more than one painting by J. M. W. Turner.

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Did you know...?

... that according to legend, water from a holy well in Penrhys, Wales, can be used to cure rheumatism and poor eyesight?
... that Wales Triple Crown winner Norman Biggs was killed after being struck by a poison arrow while on military duty in Northern Nigeria?
... that Henry Bracy was one of the most popular comic tenors of the Victorian era?
... that Tara Bethan, finalist in the BBC One TV show I'd Do Anything, was the daughter of "El Bandito"

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David Watts Morgan CBE DSO JP (18 December 1867 – 23 February 1933) was a Welsh trade unionist, a Labour politician, and a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1918 to 1933, described as "[straddling] the transition in south Wales miners' politics from Lib-Labism to socialism, but ... never fully representative of either".

Born in Skewen in 1867, Morgan began to work in coal mines from the age of eleven. He was elected unopposed to Glamorgan County Council in 1902, in which year he also joined the newly-founded South Wales Miners' Federation. He enlisted in 1914, and encouraged Rhondda miners to enlist in the army in 1914 following the outbreak of the First World War, for which he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He initially served in the Welsh Regiment, before becoming a lieutenant-colonel in the Labour Corps. Morgan was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for bravery at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, earning him the nickname Dai Alphabet in South Wales. In February 1918, he was selected as the Labour candidate for the newly formed Rhondda East constituency, and was returned again in the 1922, 1923 and 1931 general elections.

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In the news

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General images

The following are images from various Wales-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Two of the furnaces of the Blaenavon Ironworks (from History of Wales)
Image 2Tom Jones performing with Janis Joplin in 1969 (from Culture of Wales)
Image 3Portrait of William Morgan. (from History of Wales)
Image 4Standard of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, King of Powys 1063-1075. (from History of Wales)
Image 5Senedd-Welsh Parliament, Cardiff Bay. (from History of Wales)
Image 6Red Dragon of Wales (from Culture of Wales)
Image 7Owain Glyndŵr painting by AC Michael (from Culture of Wales)
Image 8Offa's Dyke (Clawdd Offa) Map. (from History of Wales)
Image 9Roman invasion of Wales. (from History of Wales)
Image 10Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper (1910) (from Culture of Wales)
Image 11Caradog by Thomas Prydderch. Caradog led multiple celtic tribes against the Romans. (from History of Wales)
Image 12Gravestone of King Cadfan ap Iago of Gwynedd (died c. 625) in Llangadwaladr church (from History of Wales)
Image 13Island of Britain in AD 500. (from History of Wales)
Image 14Cawl, a Welsh dish of meat and vegetables (from Culture of Wales)
Image 15'The Welsh at Mametz Wood' painted by Christopher Williams, commissioned by Secretary of State for War at the time, David Lloyd George. (from History of Wales)
Image 16Owain Glyndŵr (from History of Wales)
Image 17Medieval crwth instrument (from Culture of Wales)
Image 18The Bard, 1774, by Thomas Jones (1742–1803) (from Culture of Wales)
Image 19Facsimile of Part of Column 579 from the Red Book of Hergest (from Culture of Wales)
Image 20Crempog - Anglesey style (from Culture of Wales)
Image 21Medieval kingdoms of Wales shown within the boundaries of the present day country of Wales and not inclusive of all (from History of Wales)
Image 22Harlech Castle was one of a series built by Edward I to consolidate his conquest. (from History of Wales)
Image 23King Hywel Dda depicted in a 13th-century manuscript (from History of Wales)
Image 24The Flag of Saint David (from Culture of Wales)
Image 25Big Pit, National Coal Museum. (from History of Wales)

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