Transcript Wales 644KB 25.01.2007 03:34:53 PM

Helen Veikar, Liisi Kondio
Carl Robert Jakobson Gymnasium
11c
Viljandi
Supervisors: T. Pukk, M. Maasen
• Part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland.
• Area: 20,760 sq km (8,015 sq miles)
• Population: 2,798,200
• Languages: English (100%), Welsh (20%)
• Capital City: Cardiff
• National Motto: Cymru am Byth ("Wales for
Ever")
• Roman invasion in AD 48.
• Independent 400AD to 13th Century.
• Partial Norman occupation 11th, 12th and 13th
centuries.
• Wales made Dominion of English King 1282-1535.
• Independent Principality 1400-1416.
• Constituent of Kingdom of Great Britain (17071801) and United Kingdom (from 1801).
• Wales came into existence as a country with
Henry the VIII’s Act of Union in 1536.
• Celtic tribes from Europe came to settle the
whole of the British isles around 500 - 100 BC,
alongside the original Iron Age population.
• The origin of the word Wales is a strange one. It
is a variation on a common word used hundreds of
years ago by the Anglo-Saxons to mean foreigners
or outsiders.
• The Celts dominated Mid and Western Europe for
a thousand years.
• The Celts as an ethnic group have long since
disappeared, except in places such as Ireland and
the Scottish Highlands.
• The Celts transmitted their culture orally, never
writing down history or facts.
• They were well educated, particularly on topics
such as religion, philosophy, geography and
astronomy.
• Wales has always been known as a country of
music and song.
• Eisteddfod – since the 12th century. An annual
competition which was held to find the best
poets, writers and musicians.
• The Red Dragon of Wales was introduced to
Britain by the Romans some eighteen hundred
years ago.
• All over Wales you will find wishing wells into
which people still throw money.
• On March 1 is St. David's Day—the Welsh
national holiday.
• The daffodil is a Welsh national emblem.
• St. David is the patron saint of Wales.
• The leek is the emblem of Wales since the 16th
century.
• The origins of the Red
Dragon flag, or "y
Draig Goch" could date
back to the Roman
period.
• The dragon was used
by Roman military.
• After the Romans left,
the Red Dragon
remained as a key
emblem of Wales.
• Amaethon - The Welsh god of agriculture.
• Arianrhod - Celtic earth goddess.
• Bran - he is a hero god and perhaps also the god of
poetry and the underworld.
• Branwen - is the Celtic goddess of love and beauty.
• Dylan - Welsh sea god.
• Gwydion - Welsh warrior and magician god.
• Lleu - his festival, the Lugnasad, was held on the
first day of August.
• Laverbread - local eggs and bacon combined with
the more unusual ingredients.
• Afternoon tea can be served with Bara Brith ( a
fruit bread) or Welsh cakes.
• The traditional meat for dinner in the evening is
Welsh Lamb or for a snack Welsh Rarebit.
• Belongs to a branch of Celtic, an Indo-European
language.
• Their language is a distant cousin to Irish and
Scots Gaelic and a close brother to Breton.
• Welsh is still used by about half a million people
within Wales and possibly another few hundred
thousand in England and other areas overseas.
• English 100%, Welsh 20%.
• Anglo-Welsh poets, on the other hand, such as
Dylan Thomas are famous throughout the literary
world.
• The Welsh writers wrote in English.
• Welsh can claim to be the oldest attested
vernacular literature in Europe.
• The 6th century poets Taliesin and Aneirin.
• Eldest son of Queen
Elizabeth II and
Prince Philip.
• He was born at
Buckingham Palace on
14 November 1948.
• He has two sons:
Harry and William.
• The archbishop of
Wales is Rowan
Williams.
• Some parishes:
St.Woolos Cathedral,
St. Mary´s Church,
Newport Churches.
• Wales is home to some
of Europe's finest
surviving examples of
medieval castle
construction.
• Mold castle
• Chepstow
• Ewloe
• Beaumaris
• National Museum
and Gallery
• Roman Legionary
Museum
• Museum of Welsh
Life
• Museum of the
Welsh Woollen
Industry
Pistyll Rhaeadr
Wrexham Steeple
Overton Yew
Trees
Snowdon´s Mountain
Llangollen Bridge
St. Winifred´s Well
Gresford Bells
Wales is a land
of beautiful
nature, rich
culture and
amazing
architecture.