Wales: Cities and Wannabe Cities Quiz

Situated on the River Usk, near where it joins the Severn estuary, Newport has been a port since Norman times. The importance of the docks has reduced, as south Wales coal exports dwindled over the twentieth century, but the city is still important for industry in Wales.

City status: Granted in 2002
Cathedral: St Woolos Cathedral
Sight: Transporter bridge
Known for: Chartist uprising for democracy in 1839
Quirky facts: Kurt Cobain was said to have proposed to Courtney Love in Newport's legendary club, TJ's. Newport, as a part of Monmouthshire, was legally part of England until local government changes in 1974.
Famous people: John Frost, Chartist leader; Desmond Llewelyn, "Q" from the James Bond movies; Goldie Lookin Chain, rap group.

The capital and largest city in Wales, Cardiff had a rapid growth in the 19th century due to the south Wales coal industry. It was made the capital city in 1955. Previously Wales had gone without one.

City status: Granted in 1905
Cathedral: Llandaff Cathedral
Sights: Cardiff Castle - originally Roman, with a Victorian refit by the architect William Burges. Bute Park is a 130 acres green area accessible from the centre of the city.
Known for: Home of Welsh Rugby Union Internationals at the city centre Millennium Stadium; Brains Beer; Clark's Pies.
Quirky fact: The world's first £1,000,000 cheque was written at Cardiff's Coal Exchange in 1904.
Famous people: Roald Dahl, author; Shirley Bassey, singer; Ivor Novello, composer.

Wales's second largest city, Swansea is on the coast, near to the Gower Peninsula. In the nineteenth century it was nicknamed "Copperopolis", an important centre for copper smelting.

City status: Granted in 1969.
Cathedral: St Joseph's Cathedral.
Sights: Mumbles Pier, The National Waterfront Museum.
Known for: Its large indoor market, selling local cockles and laverbread (seaweed).
Quirky fact: Cyril the Swan, Swansea City's notorious nine foot tall mascot, has been banned from matches for misbehaviour.
Famous people: Dylan Thomas, poet; Catherine Zeta-Jones, movie star; Ian Hislop, editor of "Private Eye".

With a population of less than 2,000, St Davids is the smallest city in the UK. It is dedicated to Wales's patron saint and 6th century Christian pioneer.

City status: Confirmed 1994 (previous city status had been revoked).
Cathedral: St Davids Cathedral (12th century), his burial place.
Sights: Non's Chapel and Well, named for his mother, the assumed birthplace of St David.
Known for: The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, scenery and beaches.
Quirky fact: The cathedral has a marked slope of around 14 feet, because of the weight of its tower, and the marshy ground on which it was built.
Famous people: Asser, bishop and mentor to Alfred the Great; Rowland Phillips, Welsh international at both rugby codes.

Situated in Gwynedd in north Wales, Bangor is the oldest of the places that are cities in Wales, being founded in the 6th century. It is near to the Menai Strait, that separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales.

City status: Granted/confirmed in 1974 (although Bangor had historic city title).
Cathedral: Bangor Cathedral - a place of worship since the 6th century, rebuilt multiple times.
Sights: Garth Pier - 1500 feet in length.
Known for: Bangor is said to have the longest high street in Wales.
Quirky fact: Bangor Mountain, a local landmark, is actually a hill, less than 400 feet high.
Famous people: Duffy, singer; Wayne Hennessey, international footballer.

On the River Elwy in north Wales, St Asaph is one of the smallest UK cities. It is situated near to the coast, in the historic county of Flintshire, in the rural setting of the Vale of Clwyd.

City status: Granted 2012 (although St Asaph had previously had city status).
Cathedral: St Asaph Cathedral - originally dating from 6th century, although current building is from the 13th.
Sight: The Welsh Bible at the Cathedral, which was used at Prince Charles's investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969.
Known for: Hosts the annual North Wales International Music Festival.
Quirky fact: The Cathedral has had many threats and instances of damages from figures like Edward I and Owain Glyndŵr. It suffered the indignity during the rule of Cromwell of being used as a house for farm animals.
Famous people: Ian Rush, footballer; William Morgan, Bishop who translated the Bible into Welsh in the sixteenth century.

Wrexham is the largest urban settlement in north Wales, situated near the Welsh border with Cheshire. It was a market town that came to prominence for its leather industry during the Industrial Revolution.

City status: Granted in 2022
Cathedral: Wrexham Cathedral, also known as The Cathedral Church of Our Lady of Sorrow.
Sights: Shopping arcades, Overton Arcade and Central Arcade; St Giles' Church, with the burial place of Elihu Yale, founder of the university in the USA.
Known for: The football team, Wrexham AFC; and the production of lager since the nineteenth century.
Quirky fact: Wrexham AFC was bought by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Famous people: William Davies, highwayman; Andy Scott, guitarist with The Sweet.

Aberystwyth is on Cardigan Bay, half way up the west coast of Wales. It is home to a university, and the arrival of the railway, in the 1860s led to somewhat of a tourism boom. A centre of Welsh cultural life, it has hosted the Eisteddfod multiple times.

City status: Not granted. Applied in 2002.
Cathedral: None - St Michael's Church is near to the Castle.
Sights: The Royal Pier, Wales's first pleasure pier.
Known for: Aberystwyth University, frequently cited as a favourite for student experience; The National Library of Wales.
Quirky fact: In 2009, the mayor, Sue Jones-Davies, organised a showing of "Monty Python's Life of Brian", "unbanning" a movie in which she had played Judith Iscariot.
Famous people: Steve Jones, geneticist; Roger Rees, actor.

Merthyr Tydfil is situated about 20 miles north of Cardiff, in the south Wales valleys. Its proximity to all the necessary raw materials made it a centre for rapid development during the Industrial Revolution. The conditions in Merthyr were brutal, with workers subject to terrible working conditions. The loss of industry in the late 20th century caused mass unemployment and further deprivation.

City status: Was proposed for 2022, but withdrawn
Cathedral: None. St Tydfil's Old Parish Church was built in 1894, although some form of church is thought to have been there for 1500 years.
Sights: The disused Cyfarthfa Ironworks, and Cyfarthfa Castle, which was built for the Crawshay family.
Known for: The 1831 Merthyr Rising against exploitation of workers by William Crawshay. The first time the red flag was used in a protest in the UK.
Quirky fact: Iron workers from Merthyr established works all over the world, including Ukraine, where John Hughes established the town of Donetsk in 1869.
Famous people: Laura Ashley, fashion designer and businesswoman; Howard Winstone, The Welsh Wizard, World Champion boxer; Joseph Parry, composer.

Machynlleth is a market town situated in the Dyfi Valley in mid-Wales. It was the seat of the Welsh Parliament under Owain Glyndŵr in the 15th century, and makes claims to be the ancient Welsh capital.

City status: Applied and rejected, 2002.
Cathedral: None. St Peter's Church is at a site reputed to have been a place of Christian worship since the 6th century.
Sights: Owain Glyndŵr's Parliament House; Plas Machynlleth, former residence of Marquesses of Londonderry.
Known for: Centre for Alternative Technology, dedicated to teaching and demonstrating ways of sustainable living.
Quirky fact: Home to an annual comedy festival.
Famous people: Hywel Swrdwal, 15th century poet; John Evans, miner and politician in British Columbia.