The busy Cardiff City Centre is not the most likely place to find a castle and a big one at that. Towering above the busy city streets filled with vehicular traffic and walkways bustling with business executives and shoppers, is the Cardiff castle a reminder of the long and rich history of Wales. Of course some historians disapprove calling Cardiff Castle a castle-they say that it was constructed to recently to be classified as a historic monument.
The history of the castle is long and interesting; it dates back to the Roman invasion of Britain in the first century. It possible that there were at least two Roman forts on the site, excavations found the first one to be built in 55 AD. The second major construction on the site was most probably of Norman origin, it was a keep of which the shell still remains that was built in 1091 AD. Subsequently the castle became the property of the 3rd Earl of Bute who reconstructed and expanded the castle in the Gothic Revival style.
In 1947 the Bute family sold the castle to the city of Cardiff and subsequent to acquisition by the government the castle was opened to the public. Its elaborate furnishings, and ornate sculptures and the awe inspiring Norman fortress are a definite tourist attraction.
Cardiff castle is a proud part of British history that catalogues the various races and civilizations that invaded Britain. Each room in the has its own theme, time is the theme of the Clock Tower where the signs of the zodiac decorate the ceiling, the Norse Gods adorn the stained glass window representing the days of the week, and an ornately-decorated carved stone fireplace shows activities throughout the seasons.
Tourists will be taken on guided tours that usually last for about an hour where the history and architecture of the great castle will be explained in detail. Cardiff hotels have sprung up around the attraction and many a Cardiff Hotel will provide details about the castle in their pamphlets or brochures. Any hotel in Cardiff is an active promoter of this historically significant site, as it a definite crowd puller.
Naveen Marasinghe is an Online Marketing Executive at eMarketingEye which is a search engine marketing company that offers integrated Internet marketing solutions and specializes in serving the online travel and hospitality industry. (http://www.emarketingeye.com/)
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