Bits of Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales . The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for many national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales.


Within the compact city centre you'll find unique attractions, top class entertainment - and quality shopping with a difference. Innovative architecture sits alongside historic buildings, the bustle of the city centre is only a few strides from acres of peaceful parklands, and Cardiff Bay offers indoor and outdoor entertainment for everyone.

There are two rival theories regarding the precise origins of the name Cardiff or Caerdydd in Welsh. There is uncertainty concerning the origin of "Caerdydd" — "Caer" means "fort" or "castle," but although "Dydd" means "Day" in modern Welsh, it is unclear what was meant in this context. Some believe that "Dydd " or "Diff" was a corruption of "Taff", the river on which Cardiff castle stands, in which case "Cardiff" would mean "the fort on the river Taff" (in Welsh the T mutates to D).

A rival theory favours a link with Aulus Didius Gallus who was a Roman governor in the region at the time the fort was established. The name may have originated as Caer Didius – The Fort of Didius.

Cardiff lies at the centre of three river systems, the Taff, the Ely and the Rhymney. Its location allowed its first residents to control trade and movement along these rivers, giving them power over a large area. The first people to take advantage of this location were the Romans who set up a fort here on the site of Cardiff Castle about AD55-60. Some of the original Roman walls can still be seen and the new interpretation centre, opened in June 2008, is set against the backdrop of the original Roman foundation walls. This dominating fort protected its inhabitants until about AD350-375 when it was abandoned at the end of Roman rule in Britain.

The Vikings and the Normans also made their presence felt in Cardiff, and in 1091 Robert Fitzhamon began work on the castle keep, which has been at the heart of the city ever since.