Portal:Wales

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

The Wales Portal

Wales (Welsh: Cymru [ˈkəmrɨ] ^ⓘ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic Sea to the south-west. As of 2021^[update], it had a population of 3.2 million. It has a total area of 21,218 square kilometres (8,192 sq mi) and over 2,700 kilometres (1,680 mi) of coastline. It is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate. Its capital and largest city is Cardiff.

A distinct Welsh culture emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales was briefly united under Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in 1055. After over 200 years of war, the conquest of Wales by King Edward I of England was completed by 1283, though Owain Glyndŵr led the Welsh Revolt against English rule in the early 15th century, and briefly re-established an independent Welsh state with its own national parliament (Welsh: senedd). In the 16th century the whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by David Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century: a nationalist party, Plaid Cymru, was formed in 1925, and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. A governing system of Welsh devolution is employed in Wales, of which the most major step was the formation of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament, formerly the National Assembly for Wales) in 1998, responsible for a range of devolved policy matters. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

edit

Selected article

The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. The International Rugby Board (IRB) regards Wales as a Tier One rugby nation, and ranks them seventh in the world as of 28 February 2011. Wales play in red jerseys embroidered with the Prince of Wales's feathers. Their current home ground is the Millennium Stadium, completed in 1999 to replace the National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park. Ten former Welsh players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, and two of the ten have been inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame.

The governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. Welsh rugby struggled between the first and second World Wars, but experienced a second 'golden age' between 1969 and 1980 when they won eight Five Nations Championships (including 3 shared wins). They played in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 where they achieved their best ever result of third. Wales hosted the 1999 World Cup and, won their first Six Nations Grand Slam in 2005, which was followed by a second in 2008. Their 2005 Grand Slam is notable for being the first ever team to gain the accolade playing most matches away from home.

edit

Selected image

The national flag of Wales is The Red Dragon (Welsh: Y Ddraig Goch), consisting of a red dragon passant on a green and white field. As with any heraldic charge, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardised and many interpretations exist.

edit

Did you know...?

... that near Tresilian Bay in Wales, there is a cave where couples throw stones to find out how long they should wait before they get married?
... that the Welsh village name Ynysddu means "black island", although the village is not located on an island?
... that Welsh comedienne Gladys Morgan was renowned for her toothless, ear-splitting, infectious laugh?
... that jazz pianist Geoff Eales played the French horn with the National Youth Orchestra of Wales and piano with the BBC Big Band?|

edit

Selected quote

edit

Selected biography

Alfred Ernest Jones (1 January 1879 – 11 February 1958) was a Welsh neurologist, psychoanalyst and Sigmund Freud’s official biographer. As the first English-language practitioner of psychoanalysis and as President of both of the British Psycho-Analytical Society and the International Psychoanalytic Association in the 1920s and 1930s, Jones exercised unmatched influence in the establishment of its organisations, institutions and publications in the English-speaking world. After obtaining his medical degrees Jones specialised in neurology and took a number of posts in London Hospitals. It was through his association with the surgeon Wilfred Trotter that Jones recalled first hearing of Freud’s work. Having worked together as surgeons at University College Hospital they had become close friends, with Trotter taking the role of mentor and confidant to his younger colleague. They had in common a wide-ranging interest in philosophy and literature, as well as a growing interest in Continental psychiatric literature and the new forms of clinical therapy it surveyed. By 1905 they were sharing accommodation above Harley Street consulting rooms with Jones’s sister, Elizabeth ( later to become Trotter’s wife), installed as housekeeper. Jones, appalled at what he had seen of the institutionalised treatment of the "insane", began experimenting with hypnotic techniques in his clinical work.

edit

In the news

Wikinews Wales portal

General images

The following are images from various Wales-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Medieval crwth instrument (from Culture of Wales)
Image 2Two of the furnaces of the Blaenavon Ironworks (from History of Wales)
Image 3Portrait of William Morgan. (from History of Wales)
Image 4Gravestone of King Cadfan ap Iago of Gwynedd (died c. 625) in Llangadwaladr church (from History of Wales)
Image 5Bryn Celli Ddu, a late Neolithic chambered tomb on Anglesey
Image 6King Hywel Dda depicted enthroned in a 13th-century manuscript (from History of Wales)
Image 7Medieval kingdoms of Wales shown within the boundaries of the present day country of Wales and not inclusive of all (from History of Wales)
Image 8Medieval map of Welsh realms (from History of Wales)
Image 9Owain Glyndŵr (from History of Wales)
Image 10Facsimile of Part of Column 579 from the Red Book of Hergest (from Culture of Wales)
Image 11Standard of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, King of Powys 1063-1075. (from History of Wales)
Image 12Battle at Mametz Wood by Christopher Williams (1918), commissioned by Secretary of State for War at the time, David Lloyd George. (from History of Wales)
Image 13A Plaid Cymru rally in Machynlleth in 1949, where the Parliament for Wales Campaign began (from History of Wales)
Image 14The Flag of Saint David (from Culture of Wales)
Image 15Cawl, a Welsh dish of meat and vegetables (from Culture of Wales)
Image 16Harlech Castle was one of a series built by Edward I to consolidate his conquest. (from History of Wales)
Image 17Dowlais Ironworks (1840) by George Childs (1798–1875) (from History of Wales)
Image 18Big Pit, National Coal Museum. (from History of Wales)
Image 19Britain in AD 500: The areas shaded pink on the map were inhabited by the Britons, here labelled Welsh. The pale blue areas in the east were controlled by Germanic tribes, while the pale green areas to the north were inhabited by the Gaels and Picts. (from History of Wales)
Image 20Caradog by Thomas Prydderch. Caradog was leader of the north Walian Celtic tribe, the Ordovices, and led multiple Celtic tribes against the Romans. (from History of Wales)
Image 21Opening of the Sixth Senedd in Cardiff in 2021 (from History of Wales)
Image 22Map of the Roman invasion of Wales (from History of Wales)
Image 23Red Dragon of Wales (from Culture of Wales)
Image 24Offa's Dyke (Clawdd Offa) Map. (from History of Wales)
Image 25The Bard, 1774, by Thomas Jones (1742–1803) (from Culture of Wales)
Image 26Crempog - Anglesey style (from Culture of Wales)
Image 27Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper (1910) (from Culture of Wales)
Image 28Statue of Owain Glyndŵr (c. 1354 or 1359 – c. 1416) at Cardiff City Hall
Image 29Senedd-Welsh Parliament, Cardiff Bay. (from History of Wales)
Image 30Owain Glyndŵr painting by AC Michael (from Culture of Wales)
Image 31"Cymdeithas yr Iaith" (Society for the Language) bilingual road sign protest, 1972. (from History of Wales)
Image 32Tom Jones performing with Janis Joplin in 1969 (from Culture of Wales)

edit

Wales topics

edit

Featured content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Wales}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.