Welsh+Castles

Wales has hundreds castles that were built over the years throughout the country's history; it is now even sometimes called the Castle Capitol of the World. The Welsh Castles that we'll see in the mountains of Northern Wales were built during the Medieval Era by Edward I when he took over Gywnedd. Edward hired the best architect during this time - Master James of St. George - to ensure he had the strongest fortifications possible. Construction on these castles started in 1278, shortly after Edward came to Wales and the people rebelled. Edwards’s initial strategy for building the castle was to intimidate the people and show power over them. While several structures have survived through the centuries, many of the buildings have returned to which they came; most of them are mounds of dirt or ditches across Wales.

King Edward I started off building four castles, Flint, Rhuddlan, Builth and Aberystwyth. These magnificent castles were just the beginning. He thought that by building many castles across the Northwest coast of Wales it would show his superiority over the people of Wales. The castles were built very fast for their size and quantity, especially for the Medieval era - back then the technology was not what it is today. Almost all the castles were built quickly because the people of Wales were rebelling against Edward's control. For example Conway and Cuernarfor were built after the second rebellion. Alone they are not very famous castles like Nottingham or Warwick castle, but together they are impressive. In fact, that was the whole idea - not one castle, but a string of them throughout the mountains. Grouped together like that, they became impenetrable, so they were known as the Ring of Steel.

Their importance was that they symbolize when King Edward I took over Wales and built all of these structures just to show how powerful he was against the people of Wales and the Enemies of Wales. They also served as a form of protection to Wales. The castles architecture is similar to features in other castles like York Castle. Even to this day you can enjoy the sight of these beautiful creations. You can witness the places where the Welsh fought against Celts, the Romans, the Saxons, and the Vikings.