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The Coastal City Of Swansea Neath - Port Talbot
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by: FrederickHoymer
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Word Count: 434
A few quick facts about Swansea Neath-Port Talbot shows a city that has a rich past and which resides in the Welsh Vale of Glamorgan. Over 270,000 people call the area in and around Swansea -- which is also its own county -- home. Port Talbot, or Neath Port Talbot -- is actually a county borough, though anybody living in the area really doesn't seem to mind what is placed where.
When it comes to this particular Welsh city, it can be easy to become a bit confused about what constitutes Swansea, Swansea Neath or Swansea Neath-Port Talbot or several other variations that describe the Welsh county, wider urban area and county borough in addition to a unitary authority. What's not difficult to appreciate is that there is much to see and do around the area.
It sits on the southwestern coast of Wales, along an area of sandy prominence and is also the second-most populous city in all of the country next to Cardiff. At one point in its long history, Swansea was one of the key players in the global copper industry. It carried around it nickname of 'Copperopolis' quite proudly, for a fact.
The region in and around the city has shown evidence of human settlement in all three of the major ages (Stone, Bronze and Iron). Additionally, the Romans were quite active in the area as well as the Vikings at one time. In fact, Swansea itself started as an old Viking trading port and its name comes from the Old Norse.
As a port, Swansea dealt greatly in various goods that reflected the eras in which it existed, including wines, wool and -- later -- coal. In the 19th century, the city was world-famous for its copper works although it processed many other metal and metal alloys than just copper itself.
Swansea made sure that it was fully involved in the progress gained during the Industrial Revolution, not only from coal mining but several other heavy industries and the work done around its port. The 20th century hit Swansea hard on several occasions and it was in a period of general decline throughout the entire time, it seems. Nowadays, the city is undergoing an extensive renaissance, though.
The county borough of Neath Port Talbot shouldn't be confused with Port Talbot or any other of several different variations on the name of the region that has lived extremely close-in with Swansea. Both are a big part of the Welsh Vale of Glamorgan, it has to be said, and both are quite emblematic of the history and sweep of Wales and its part in the United Kingdom.
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