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It is the largest city in Wales and is an important administrative, commercial, and industrial centre that until the local government reforms of 1996 was part of the county of South Glamorgan. The population of Cardiff in 1991 was 277,182, comprising about a tenth of the population of Wales.

History: An early Roman outpost was established in c. AD 75. In the 11th century, a Norman castle was erected when Robert FitzHamon built a fort on the motte (fortified hillock) which today stands within Cardiff Castle's walls. A small market town developed close to the castle, and the town grew in importance as a market for the surrounding region. However, it was the Industrial Revolution, and the consequent need for coal, that was the impetus for Cardiff's growth. In the 19th century, the coal-export trade grew rapidly.

Mines and quarries in the South Wales valleys sent their coal and iron to Cardiff along the Glamorganshire canal and later by the Taff railway. The West Bute (1839) and East Bute docks (1859) were constructed in the marshy land near the estuaries of the Taff and Ely rivers, and by the end of the century Cardiff was the world's leading coal-exporting port. Cardiff received a civic charter in 1905 and became the Welsh capital in 1955.

Education and Culture: The University of Wales central registry is at Cathays Park: the city is also the location of the University of Wales College of Cardiff (which includes the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology, founded in 1866) and the National School of Medicine at University of Wales College Hospital.

The city's museums include the National Museum of Wales, and the Welsh Folk Museum in the suburb of St Fagan's, which has a large open-air collection of dwellings brought from other parts of the country. The National Museum of Wales contains a collection of natural history exhibits as well as art collections, including paintings by Corot, Manet, Van Gogh, and Renoir. Works by Welsh painters including Augustus John, Gwen John, Ceri Richards, and Frank Brangwyn are also represented. Culturally, the city has a strong musical background. It is home to the Welsh National Opera as well as the BBC Welsh Orchestra, and venues include St David's Concert Hall and the Cardiff International Arena. The "Cardiff Singer of the World" is a biennial international arts competition for young classical singers. Sports venues include the Cardiff Athletic Stadium, the Wales Empire Pool (constructed for the 1958 Commonwealth Games), the Maindy Cycle Track, and the National Ice Rink (home to the Cardiff Devils ice hockey team). Cardiff Arms Park rugby ground is to be replaced by a new stadium (the Millennium Stadium) costing over £100 million (US$150 million), which will host the opening ceremony of the 1999 Rugby Union World Cup. Association football and cricket are represented respectively by Cardiff City at Ninian Park and Glamorgan county cricket club at Sophia Gardens.

Places of Interest: Cathays Park in the city centre contains the impressive baroque-style buildings of the Civic Centre begun in 1901, including the City Hall, the Welsh Office, Assize Courts, the Temple of Peace, and the National Museum of Wales. Close by is Cardiff Castle, reconstructed in the 19th century by William Burges for the Marquis of Bute. The Welch Regiment Museum as well as the Welsh School of Music and Drama are in the castle. Nearby is the 15th-century church of St John the Baptist. Llandaff Cathedral, with its modern Epstein, Christus, was founded in the 6th century; badly damaged in World War II, it has been completely restored.

Economy: Cardiff is a seaport that relied on coal exports until the mid-20th century but has since greatly declined. Now, coal is imported rather than exported, and along with grain, timber, fruit and vegetables, motor vehicles, and steel is among the main imports. Modern cargo-handling facilities are available at the Roath and Queen Alexandra docks. Light engineering and high-tech industries are replacing heavy engineering industries. Manufactures include steel wire and ropes, glass, plastics, electronic machinery, computer parts, processed foods, textiles, and paper. In addition there are regional and national office developments attracted by the good communications, including Cardiff-Wales International Airport at Rhoose, 20 km (12 mi) to the west. As an administrative centre, Cardiff houses the Welsh Office and the Cardiff County Offices at Atlantic Wharf, as well as the offices of the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation.

Cardiff Bay

Cardiff Bay is the site of a major urban regeneration project, the largest of its kind in Europe. The area, comprising 1,093 hectares (2,700 acres) south of the railway and between the Rhymney and Ely rivers, contains most of the older run-down docks and the industrial area formerly associated with coal exports and heavy metal industries. The development is coordinated by the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation, set up in 1987, and has involved the clearance and drainage of derelict land for sale to investors. A number of small and medium-sized companies operating in printing and publishing, insurance, mechanical services, and computer and engineering consultancies, are now located within the area, which has attracted both local and overseas (notably East Asian) investment.

The Cardiff Bay (Taff) Barrage between Penarth Head and Queen Alexandra Head was approved in 1993. On completion in the late 1990s it will enclose an area of 200 hectares (495 acres) of mudflats, creating a freshwater lake in the estuaries of the Taff and Ely rivers where the present tidal range is one of the world's largest at over 14 m (46 ft).

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