Portal:Wales

The Wales Portal

Wales (Welsh: Cymru [ˈkəmrɨ] ^ⓘ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Located on the island of Great Britain, 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 3.2 million. 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. Its 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 Gruffudd ap Llywelyn in 1055. After over 200 years of war, the conquest of Wales was completed by King Edward I of England in 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 late 19th and 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 Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, 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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Wales Millennium Centre (Welsh: Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of 4.7 acres (1.9 ha). Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert. The centre has hosted performances of opera, ballet, dance, comedy and musicals.

Locally nicknamed "the Armadillo", the Centre comprises one large theatre and two smaller halls with shops, bars and restaurants. It houses the national orchestra and opera, dance, theatre and literature companies, a total of eight arts organisations in residence. The main theatre, the Donald Gordon Theatre, has 1,897 seats, the BBC Hoddinott Hall 350 and the Weston Studio Theatre 250. In 2001 Lord Rowe-Beddoe was appointed chairman of Wales Millennium Centre, a company limited by guarantee. Board members include Sir Michael Checkland.

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Credit: Stemonitis

Tryfan is one of the most recognisable peaks in Snowdonia, having a classic pointed shape with rugged crags. At 917.5 metres (3,010 ft) above sea level it is the fifteenth highest mountain in Wales.

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Did you know...?

... that the Welsh library educator Peter Havard-Williams served as Chief Librarian to the Council of Europe?
... that tree-ring dating shows that the wood for the rood screen in St Brothen's Church, Llanfrothen, Gwynedd, came from trees felled between 1496 and 1506?
... that troops of both the 28th Infantry Division and 75th Infantry Division were stationed at Seabank Hotel in Porthcawl during World War II?
... that St Cynhaearn's Church, Ynyscynhaearn in Gwynedd is located in an isolated position on a former island in a lake, and is approached by an ancient causeway?

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The main difference between playing league and union is that now I get my hangovers on Monday instead of Sunday.

— Tom David, former Welsh rugby union international, after switching codes.

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Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, CBE (born 31 December 1937), best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh-born, naturalized American actor of film, stage and television. Considered to be one of the greatest living actors, Hopkins is perhaps best known for his portrayal of cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (for which he received the Academy Award for Best Actor), its sequel Hannibal, and its prequel Red Dragon. Other prominent film credits include The Lion in Winter, Magic, The Elephant Man, 84 Charing Cross Road, Dracula, Legends of the Fall, The Remains of the Day, Amistad, Nixon, and Fracture.

Hopkins was born and brought up in Margam, Port Talbot. He became a U.S. citizen on 12 April 2000, retaining his British citizenship. Hopkins' films have spanned a wide variety of genres, from family films to horror. As well as his Academy Award, Hopkins has also won three BAFTA Awards, two Emmys, a Golden Globe and a Cecil B. DeMille Award. Hopkins was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 for services to the arts. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003, and was made a Fellow of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2008.

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Welsh news

29 June 2026 –: Rough sleeping is formally decriminalized in England and Wales following the repeal of the Vagrancy Act 1824 by the government of the United Kingdom. (Housing Today)
28 June 2026 –: The British government announces that it will scrap the 202-year-old Vagrancy Act that criminalizes rough sleeping in England and Wales, saying that a new law will aim at "preventing homelessness" rather than "punishing" it. (The Independent)
1 June 2026 – Murder of Henry Nowak: Vickrum Digwa, a 23-year-old Sikh man, is sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 21 years, for murdering 18-year-old University of Southampton student Henry Nowak in Southampton, England, on 3 December 2025. Digwa's mother is also found guilty of assisting an offender by hiding the murder weapon, a knife. (The Guardian)
8 May 2026 – 2026 United Kingdom local elections: The Labour Party concedes defeat in Wales with Plaid Cymru and Reform UK making significant gains, while the nationalist Scottish National Party claims victory in Scotland. (BBC News) (Reuters); Welsh Labour leader and First Minister of Wales Eluned Morgan resigns after losing her seat in the Senedd as Plaid Cymru claims victory in Wales. (The National)

General images

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

Image 1Tom Jones performing with Janis Joplin in 1969 (from Culture of Wales)
Image 2A Plaid Cymru rally in Machynlleth in 1949, where the Parliament for Wales Campaign began (from History of Wales)
Image 3Bryn Celli Ddu, a late Neolithic chambered tomb on Anglesey
Image 4Britain in AD 500: The areas shaded pink on the map were inhabited by the Britons, here labelled Welsh. The pale blue areas in the east were controlled by Germanic tribes, while the pale green areas to the north were inhabited by the Gaels and Picts. (from History of Wales)
Image 5"Cymdeithas yr Iaith" (Society for the Language) bilingual road sign protest, 1972. (from History of Wales)
Image 6Standard of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, King of Powys 1063-1075. (from History of Wales)
Image 7Statue of Owain Glyndŵr (c. 1354 or 1359 – c. 1416) at Cardiff City Hall
Image 8Gravestone of King Cadfan ap Iago of Gwynedd (died c. 625) in Llangadwaladr church (from History of Wales)
Image 9Owain Glyndŵr (from History of Wales)
Image 10Medieval map of Welsh realms (from History of Wales)
Image 11Crempog - Anglesey style (from Culture of Wales)
Image 12Battle at Mametz Wood by Christopher Williams (1918), commissioned by Secretary of State for War at the time, David Lloyd George. (from History of Wales)
Image 13Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper (1910) (from Culture of Wales)
Image 14Big Pit, National Coal Museum. (from History of Wales)
Image 15Portrait of William Morgan. (from History of Wales)
Image 16Map of the Roman invasion of Wales (from History of Wales)
Image 17King Hywel Dda depicted enthroned in a 13th-century manuscript (from History of Wales)
Image 18Harlech Castle was one of a series built by Edward I to consolidate his conquest. (from History of Wales)
Image 19The Senedd (Welsh Parliament), Cardiff Bay. (from History of Wales)
Image 20Two of the furnaces of the Blaenavon Ironworks (from History of Wales)
Image 21Opening of the Sixth Senedd in Cardiff in 2021 (from History of Wales)
Image 22Dowlais Ironworks (1840) by George Childs (1798–1875) (from History of Wales)
Image 23The Flag of Saint David (from Culture of Wales)
Image 24The Bard, 1774, by Thomas Jones (1742–1803) (from Culture of Wales)
Image 25Caradog by Thomas Prydderch. Caradog was leader of the north Walian Celtic tribe, the Ordovices, and led multiple Celtic tribes against the Romans. (from History of Wales)
Image 26Cawl, a Welsh dish of meat and vegetables (from Culture of Wales)
Image 27Red Dragon of Wales (from Culture of Wales)
Image 28Facsimile of Part of Column 579 from the Red Book of Hergest (from Culture of Wales)
Image 29Medieval crwth instrument (from Culture of Wales)
Image 30Offa's Dyke (Clawdd Offa) Map. (from History of Wales)
Image 31Owain Glyndŵr painting by AC Michael (from Culture of Wales)
Image 32Medieval kingdoms of Wales shown within the boundaries of the present day country of Wales and not inclusive of all (from History of Wales)

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