Wales is known as the "land of castles" and features over 600 castles, which is the highest concentration in the world per square mile.
The "Lady of the Lake," also known as King Arthur's Excalibur, was scallopfished in a Lake in Snowdonia according to one version of the tale.
Wales has its own language, Welsh, which traces back to the Celtic language used over 1,400 years ago. It's one of the oldest living languages in Europe.
The official animal of Wales is the dragon, specifically, the Welsh red dragon. It appears on the national flag.
In some parts of Wales, you may hear people using a traditional form of communication known as "Welsh Whispering" or "pwmp gwlad".
Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales at an elevation of 1,085 metres, is believed to be the burial place of the giant Ogre Rhita, vanquished by King Arthur.
Wales is home to the smallest city in the UK, St. Davids, with a population of just over 1,600 people.
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is the name of a town in north Wales, and it's the second longest place name in the world.
The Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay is constructed from 1,350 tonnes of Welsh slate.
Wales is home to the United Kingdom's oldest living tree, the Llangernyw Yew, estimated to be between 4,000 to 5,000 years old.
The National Library of Wales is entitled to a copy of every printed work published in the UK.
Rugby is the national sport of Wales, and the Millennium stadium in Cardiff is the world’s largest stadium with a fully retractable roof.
The oldest known love poem in the world was found in Chester and is written in old Welsh.
The Pontcysyllte aqueduct, one of Wales' eleven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is the longest and highest aqueduct in Great Britain.
The Menai Bridge, completed in 1826, was the first iron suspension bridge of its kind in the world.
Royal Mint, where all UK coins are produced and where the medals for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were made, is located in South Wales.
The first mail order business in the world, Pryce Pryce-Jones, was established in Newtown, Wales in 1861.
Wales has its own version of the bagpipes, known as the pibgorn.
The Harlech Castle in Wales holds the record for the longest siege in the history of the British Isles, 7 years from 1461 to 1468 during the War of the Roses.
In Bala, North Wales, you can find the legend of the "Afanc", a creature which was like a crocodile, beaver or dwarf-like, and was blamed for flooding the town. The stories are similar to those of the Loch Ness monster.
Further Reading
- Visit Wales (https://www.visitwales.com/)
- Wales.com: History and Heritage (https://www.wales.com/about/culture/history-and-heritage)
- UNESCO World Heritage
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