Cardiff Castle, Medieval castle in Cardiff, Wales
Cardiff Castle is a fortified complex in the centre of the Welsh capital that combines Roman foundations, medieval stone walls and a mansion from the 19th century. The site includes a Norman keep on an artificial mound, a defensive tower and wide courtyards surrounded by high walls.
The Romans built a fortified camp here in the first century after Christ, which later fell into ruin before Norman conquerors constructed a fortress on the old foundations in the 11th century. In the 19th century the Marquess of Bute transformed the site into a grand estate with new Gothic rooms.
This fortress takes its name from the stronghold that has stood here for over nine hundred years and now shows rooms in Victorian Gothic style with coloured wall paintings and gilded decoration. Visitors walk through chambers designed in the 19th century for the third Marquess of Bute, with themes from antiquity and the Middle Ages covering the walls.
The complex opens every day in the morning and closes in the late afternoon, with guided tours through the state rooms and the defensive tower running several times daily. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes as many stairs and uneven paths lead through the courtyards and towers.
The walls of the complex served as a shelter for residents of the city during air raids in the Second World War and offered space for almost two thousand people in the underground rooms. The tunnels and bunkers are now partly accessible and show how the inhabitants spent their nights in the vaults.
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