Aberystwyth

Commercial, tourist, and educational centre in Ceredigion, mid-Wales, situated at the mouths of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol in Cardigan Bay; population (2001) 15,900. It is the site of the University College of Wales (1872), which dominates the town, and during term time the population swells to around 20,000 (2000 est). Aberystwyth is the largest town in mid-Wales and houses many of Wales's national organizations and institutions.

In 1999, the town council launched an unsuccessful bid for city status for Aberystwyth; Newport was the winner. The town is home to National Library of Wales (1911), the College of Librarianship (Wales), the Welsh Plant Breeding Station, and the office of the Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments in Wales. The Welsh Language Society was founded here in 1963. Aberystwyth Arts Centre is the largest in Wales and is based on the university campus. The university was founded in 1872 and was the first in Wales.

The town is overlooked by Pen Dinas, an Iron Age hill fort. The remains of Edward I's castle dominate the sea front. Built by his brother, Edmund of Lancaster, it was finally completed in 1307 but was destroyed by Cromwellian forces during the Civil War. A mint was opened here by Charles I; it used silver from a local mine. Some of the coins produced can be seen in the university museum. The longest electric cliff railway in Britain is also here.