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Cardiff ( Welsh: Caerdydd, from caer, "fort," and dydd, "Antonius Didius") is the capitalThis article concerns places that serve as centers of government and politics. For alternative meanings see capital (disambiguation In politics a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meanin and largest cityA city is an urban area, differentiated from a town, village, or hamlet by size, population density, importance, or legal status. City can also be a synonym for " downtown. Introduction A city usually consists of residential, industrial and business areas of WalesFor alternate meanings, see Wales (disambiguation Wales ( Welsh: Cymru pronounced /"k@mrI/ SAMPA, km IPA, 'Kumree' approximate pronunciation) is one of the four nations comprising the United Kingdom (the other three being England, Scotland and Northern Ir. It is located in the traditional countyWales has thirteen traditional counties. They serve many cultural and geographic roles and were also the basis of local government in Wales from 1888 until 1974. Since then, local government has moved away from using traditional counties as the basis of a of Glamorgan, and since 1996 has been administered by Cardiff County Council. It was a small town until the early nineteenth century and came to prominence following the arrival of industry in the region and the use of Cardiff as a major port for the transport of coal. Cardiff was made a city in 1905 and was proclaimed capital of Wales on December 20, 1955.

Cardiff's port, known as Tiger Bay, was once one of the busiest ports in the world. After a long period of neglect as " Cardiff Bay," it is now being revived as a popular area for arts, entertainment and nightlife. Much of the growth has been thanks to the building of the Cardiff Barrage. The Welsh National Opera will move into the Wales Millennium Centre in autumn 2004.

In the 2001 census the population of Cardiff was 305,340. People from Cardiff are called Cardiffians.

The name Cardiff is an Anglicisation of Welsh name "Caerdydd". There is uncertainty concerning the origin of "Caerdydd"—"Caer" means "fort" or "castle," but although "Dydd" means "Day" in modern Welsh, it is unclear what was means in this context. For many years it was believed that "Dydd" or "Diff" was a corruption of "Taff" the river on which Cardiff stands, in which case "Cardiff" would mean the fort on the river Taff (in Welsh the T mutates to D). Modern research casts doubt on this meaning, and it is now known the Romans under Antonius Didius established a fort in Cardiff. Considering this it is now believed that Cardiff means the fort of Antonius Didius. A Norman castle still exists, on the site of an earlier Roman fort, but was substantially altered and extended during the Victorian period by John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, the 3rd Marquess of Bute, and the architect William Burges .

There is a second castle to the north west of the city centre, called Castell Coch (Welsh: "the Red Castle"). This is an elaborately decorated Victorian folly designed by Burges for the Marquess and built in the 1870s. The exterior has been used for filming several television series, for example as the outside of Cackles Academy in the ITV presentation of The Worst Witch.

The city has its own university, Cardiff University, as well as two University of Wales colleges, the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama . The University of Wales College of Medicine merged with Cardiff University in 2004.

The city has a professional football team, Cardiff City F.C., nicknamed "The Bluebirds." There is also the Cardiff Blues regional rugby union team, and the Cardiff Devils Ice Hockey team. The city also features an international sporting venue, the Millennium Stadium.

Cardiff is home to Cardiff Castle, the National Assembly for Wales, St. Davids Hall , the National Museum and Gallery, and Cathays Park (including municipal buildings modelled on those in New Delhi).

Caroline Street is one of the third oldest streets in Cardiff and is a major link between two of the busiest streets (St. Mary Street and the Hayes). The street has been a host to all kinds of stores but more recently has been taken over by chip and kebab shops, and as such is commonly known as Chip Row, or Chip Alley, and is a popular post- club location. As of 2003, luxury flats were being built and plans were made to refurbish the street. As part of the development a Hard Rock Cafe and a Nandos have opened in the Old Brewery Quarter.

The city is also host to S A Brain, a brewery with premises in Cardiff since 1882.

Following the 2004 local elections, Cardiff County Council is not controlled by any individual political party. The Liberal Democrats have 33 councillors, Labour have 27, the Conservatives have 12 and Plaid Cymru have 3.

People born in Cardiff

• Michael Aspel
• Jeremy Bowen
• Ryan Giggs
• John Humphrys
• Griff Rhys Jones
• Shirley Bassey
• Ivor Novello
• James Callaghan
• Charlotte Church
• Rhodri Morgan