Swansea

:This page is about Swansea in Wales. For others, see Swansea (disambiguation).

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Swansea (Welsh: Abertawe, "mouth of the Tawe") is a city and county in South Wales, situated on the coast immediately to the east of the Gower peninsula. The name Swansea is believed to come from "Sweyn's Ey" ("ey" being a Germanic word for "island") and to have originated in the period when the Vikings plundered the south Wales coast.

Related Topics:
Welsh - Tawe - South Wales - Gower peninsula - Germanic - Viking

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The city boundaries are widely drawn: they include a large amount of open countryside, towns like Gorseinon and Loughor, and the Gower peninsula. A healthy proportion of the population of the local authority area are Welsh speakers: 13.4% at the 2001 census, as compared with 11% for the capital city, Cardiff.

Related Topics:
Gorseinon - Loughor - Gower peninsula - Welsh

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Swansea is Wales' second city, and it grew to its present importance during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, becoming a centre of heavy industry. However, it did not enjoy the same degree of immigration as Cardiff and the eastern valleys. Consequently, it retains close links with agriculture and rural life. According to the mid-year estimates for 2002, the population of Swansea was about 230,000.

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