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County Population: 170,000 (estimate)
Carmarthenshire
has an area of approximately 2,398 sq km (926 sq miles) and is a hilly
county, the highest areas being in the east where the Black Mountains
rise. Fan Brycheiniog climbs to a height of 804 m (2,632 feet) on the
border between Carmarthenshire and Powys, but the coast is mainly low-lying
with fine stretches of sandy beaches.
There
are numerous relics in Carmarthenshire of prehistoric and Roman occupation;
Carmarthen itself being founded by the Romans, and Dolaucothi, about 12
km (8 miles) northwest of Llandovery, an area mined for gold by both Celts
and Romans. Arriving toward the end of the 11th century the Normans built
castles at Carmarthen, Kidwelly, Llanstephan, and Laugharne. Edward I
of England created the county of Carmarthenshire in 1284, at which point
it had become the Welsh centre of the wool trade. Following Bishop Richard
Davies' first translation of the Bible and the Prayer Book into Welsh,
Carmarthenshire was the source of many religious revivals in the 17th
and 18th centuries.
There
are now many industries supporting the economy of Carmarthenshire, of
which the largest are agriculture and tourism. The Brecon Beacons National
Park extends into the east of the county, occupying 227 sq km (87 sq miles)
of land, and there are many sites of archaeological interest; Carmarthen
was the site of a Roman amphitheatre, and near Llandeilo are Carn Goch,
an Iron Age hill fort, and Carreg Cennen Castle, a fortress built in the
14th century on a cliff edge. The National Botanic Garden of Wales, a
centre of education, conservation, and leisure, can be found near Llanarthney,
east of Carmarthen. The first national botanic garden to be established
in the United Kingdom for over 200 years, it contains walled gardens,
lakes, cascades, and parkland, as well as a futuristic oval-shaped glasshouse.
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