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| Home - City Guide - Cardiff - City Overview | ||
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City Overview Visitors should not go to Cardiff (Caerdydd) expecting the international glamour of more established urban centres; the city only achieved recognition as the capital of Wales in 1955 and is Europe's youngest capital city. It retains a small-town quality that spirited self-promotion and inward investment are unlikely to completely shake off. However, there is still a vibrant atmosphere, successful music scene and a lively nightlife, thanks to the 26,000 students based at the city's universities. The central area, with its delightful Victorian arcades interspersed with uninspiring urban concrete, extends from the railway station to the castle. This is the heart of the commercial and entertainment life of the city. The surprise for the visitor is Cathays Park, with its tree-lined boulevards and Portland stone buildings. It is a superb example of Edwardian town planning and a reminder of the city's former self-confidence. Today Cardiff is on the up; in May 1999, HM Queen Elizabeth II opened the Welsh National Assembly - the first self-governing national body in Wales for over 500 years. The nation's revival is spearheaded by the development of Cardiff Bay, where an 800m-long (0.5-mile) barrage has been built across the mouth of the bay, creating a 200-hectare (500-acre) freshwater lake. The docklands area is being redeveloped - Techniquest (a hands-on science centre), two five-star hotels and Mermaid Quay (a mix of shops, bars and restaurants) are already located there. Still to come are the Wales Millennium Arts Centre, which will house the Welsh National Opera, and the National Assembly building. This forward-looking development revisits the glory days of the nineteenth century, when Caer-daf (Fort on the river Taff) grew from a sleepy rural outpost to a booming industrial port thanks to the docks and the coal industry. By World War I, Cardiff had become the world's most important coal exporter, and the docklands, known as 'Tiger Bay', became home to a cosmopolitan mix of industrialists, merchants and seamen. New confidence generated by shipping, trade and engineering led to a flurry of grandiose building schemes. However, just as the coal and steel industries provided the backbone of Cardiff's prosperity, so a post-war decline in these key assets caused a drastic slump in the city's fortunes. It is only now, after years of provincialism, that an atmosphere of national optimism and civic pride is restoring Cardiff's former sense of prestige. In the 1997 referendum to decide whether Wales should have some form of self-government, the results were less than conclusive. The turnout barely scraped the halfway mark (50.3%), and of the votes cast, the 'Yes' vote polled just 6721 more than the 'No' vote. In Cardiff, the turnout was 47%, and the 'Yes' vote lost to those who preferred being governed from London. It remains to be seen whether the new assembly can unite Cardiff's international aspirations with the nationalistic demands of the country it serves. However, if in the early 1990s, a Cardiff pop singer had sung 'Every day when I wake up, I thank the Lord I'm Welsh', she would have been accused of sarcasm, or pilloried by the London music press. Not any more; Cerys Matthews of Catatonia sings with a conviction that is neither forced nor wistful - 'Cool Cymru' is making itself heard and forcing Britain to sit up and take notice. |
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