Swansea

The Welsh name, Abertawe, translates as "mouth or estuary of the Tawe" and was likely used as a name for the area before a settlement was established. The Welsh name Abertawe was first recorded with written records dating from 1150, under the spelling Aper Tyui. Thomas Morgan notes that the original name of the town was Caer Wyr, meaning the "Caer" of Gower. and was the name used by the fifteenth century bard Lewis Glyn Cothi in reference to a great fortress that stood in the Swansea area, but was in ruins by his time. The name Swansea first appears as Sweynesse in the town's first Royal charter (1158–1184), with alternative versions of this name found on coins minted around 1140. First appearing as "Sweynsei" in 1188 and "Sweineshie" in 1234, with different derivations gaining favour over the centuries. …

The area around Swansea has a unique archaeological history dating back to the Palaeolithic. Finds at Long Hole Cave on the Gower Peninsula have been interpreted as those of the first modern humans in Britain, and the same area is also home to the oldest ceremonial burial in Western Europe, discovered at Paviland in 1823 and dated to 22,000 BC. The area also has many Bronze Age and Iron Age sites, such as the burial mound at Cillibion and the hill forts at Llwynheiernin and Cil Ifor. There are also the remains of a Roman villa also on the Gower peninsula. The area that would become Swansea was known as the Cantref Eginog in ancient times, located on the eastern edge of the cwmwd (commote) of Gwyr, the easternmost cantref of Ystrad Tywi. This area was noted for its valuable land and was highly contested by the early Welsh kingdoms. …

Swansea may be divided into four physical areas. The geology is complex, providing diverse scenery. The Gower Peninsula was the first area in the United Kingdom to be designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Apart from the southeast corner, the whole of the Gower Peninsula is within the AONB. Swansea has numerous urban and country parklands. The region has featured regularly in the Wales in Bloom awards. To the north are the Lliw uplands which are mainly open moorland, reaching the foothills of the Black Mountain range. To the east is the coastal strip around Swansea Bay. Cutting through the middle from the south-east to the north-west is the urban and suburban zone stretching from the Swansea city centre to the towns of Gorseinon and Pontarddulais. The most populated areas of Swansea are Morriston, Sketty and the city centre. …

The Royal Institution of South Wales was founded in 1835 as the Swansea Literary and Philosophical Society. The Grand Theatre in the centre of the city is a Victorian theatre which celebrated its centenary in 1997 and which has a capacity of a little over a thousand people. It was opened by the celebrated opera singer Adelina Patti and was refurbished from 1983 to 1987. The annual programme ranges from pantomime and drama to opera and ballet. Fluellen Theatre Company is a professional theatre company based in Swansea who perform at the Grand Theatre and the Dylan Thomas Centre. The Taliesin building on the university campus has a theatre, opened in 1984. Other theatres include the Dylan Thomas Theatre (formerly the Little Theatre), near the marina, and one in Penyrheol Leisure Centre near Gorseinon. …

Swansea originally developed as centre for metals and mining, especially the copper industry, from the beginning of the 18th century. The industry reached its apogee in the 1880s, when 60% of the copper ores imported to Britain were smelted in the Lower Swansea valley. However, by the end of the Second World War these heavy industries were in decline, and over the post-war decades Swansea shared in the general trend towards a post-industrial, service sector economy. …

A number of beaches around Gower are promoted to visitors. Surfing is possible at Langland Bay, Caswell Bay and Llangennith, with the latter winning accolades from two national newspapers for the quality of its waves. The five-mile (eight-kilometre) promenade from the Marina to Mumbles offers views across Swansea Bay. The seaside village of Mumbles has a Victorian pier, small independent shops and boutiques, restaurants and cafes. The south coast of Gower is the chief magnet for walkers, with a path stretching from Mumbles Head across the cliff tops, beaches and coastal woodland to Rhossili. On the waterfront, Swansea Bay has a five-mile (eight-kilometre) sweep of coastline which features a beach, promenade, children's lido, leisure pool, marina and maritime quarter featuring the museums the National Waterfront Museum and Swansea Museum, the oldest museum in Wales. …