Gwynedd

Gwynedd
/gwin"edh/, n.
a county in E Wales. 224,200; 1493 sq. mi. (3866 sq. km).

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or Gwyneth

County (pop., 2001: 116,838), northwestern Wales.

It encompasses most of the historic counties of Caernarfonshire and Merioneth. Its administrative centre is Caernarfon. The ancient region of Gwynedd comprised most of northern Wales. The Normans built castles at Caernarfon and Conwy but did not penetrate inland. It thus remained a stronghold of Welsh culture, with a high proportion of Welsh-speaking people. The landscape is mostly mountains of old hard rock cut by Ice Age glaciers. It includes Snowdonia National Park (1951), which covers about half its total area. Tourism is economically important.

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 county of northwestern Wales, extending from the Irish Sea in the west to the mountains of Snowdonia in the east. It encompasses most of the historic counties of Caernarvonshire and Merioneth.

      The county is named for the medieval Welsh princedom of Gwynedd, which, under the Llewellyns, proudly held out against the territorial ambitions of Edward I of England in the late 13th century. From their great castles at Caernarfon and Conwy, the Normans did not penetrate inland. Gwynedd thus has remained a stronghold of Welsh culture, with a far higher proportion of Welsh-speaking people (two-thirds) than any other county in the principality. Apart from the concentrations at the coastal resorts, the present dispersed settlement pattern is a complex product of Welsh family homestead inheritance practices.

      The county largely comprises mountains of old hard rock cut by Ice Age glaciers. It includes most of Snowdonia National Park, which in turn covers much of the county. The park takes its name from Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), a peak with an elevation of 3,560 feet (1,085 metres), the highest point in England and Wales. The area's ruggedness and wetness largely restrict farming to breeding hardy sheep. Increasingly the family farms have proved to be uneconomical, and many have been merged into larger units with associated depopulation. Since the 1950s, English people from the metropolitan areas of the Midlands and Lancashire have bought the vacated farm buildings as “second homes.” There are slate quarries in the hills and extensive forests managed by the Forestry Commission. Tourist attractions include hill climbing. The county's lakes furnish water for large English cities, Liverpool and Birmingham in particular.

      North of the mountains are the lowlands of the scenic Lleyn Peninsula (a popular tourist destination) and the Menai coast. Prehistoric dolmens, stone circles, and standing stones show that these lowlands have been inhabited since early times. Agricultural activities include potato farming and dairying on the Lleyn Peninsula. The most populous part of the county is along the Menai Strait around Caernarfon and Bangor. Caernarfon, with its castle, attracts tourists and is the administrative centre of the county. Bangor is a cultural centre with a university and cathedral. Area 979 square miles (2,535 square km). Pop. (2005 est.) 118,000.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Gwynedd — (IPA2| ɡwɪ.nɛð) is a principal area in north west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although one of the biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated. A large proportion of the population is… …   Wikipedia

  • Gwynedd — Principal Area Verwaltungssitz Caernarfon Fläche 2.548 km² Einwohner 118.800[1] (2009) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Gwynedd — Gwynedd, der alte Name von Nord Wales …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Gwynedd — m Welsh: name taken from a region of medieval North Wales (now resurrected as the name of a new composite county in Wales) …   First names dictionary

  • Gwynedd — [gwin′əth] county in NW Wales, on the Irish Sea & St. George s Channel: 1,491 sq mi (3,862 sq km); pop. 235,000 …   English World dictionary

  • Gwynedd — Área Principal de Gwynedd Geografía Área Total  % Agua Clasif.: 2da 2.548 km² ? % Centro administrativo …   Wikipedia Español

  • Gwynedd — 52°50′N 3°55′W / 52.833, 3.917 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gwynedd — /gwin edh/, n. a county in E Wales. 224,200; 1493 sq. mi. (3866 sq. km). * * * Gwynedd [Gwynedd] a county of north Wales, governed by a ↑unitary authority. Its administrative centre is ↑Caernarfon …   Useful english dictionary

  • Gwynedd — ► Condado de Gran Bretaña, en el NO de Gales, junto al mar de Irlanda; 3 868 km2 y 241 100 h. Cap., Caernarvon. Parque Nacional de Snowdonia (1 085 m). * * * o Gwyneth Condado en el noroeste de Gales (pob., 2001: 116.838 hab.). Comprende gran… …   Enciclopedia Universal

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