Caernarfon ( ; Welsh: [kaɨrˈnarvɔn] ) is a royal town, community and port, in Gwynedd, Wales. The community (which includes Caeathro) has a population of 9,852. It lies along the A4871 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the island of Anglesey. Bangor is 9 miles (14 km) to the north-east, Porthmadog is 20 miles (32 km) southeast and Holyhead is 29 miles (47 km) northwest, via the Britannia Bridge. Snowdonia (Eryri) is located to the east and south-east of the town. The town is the historic county town of Caernarfonshire.
Abundant natural resources in and around the Menai Strait enabled human habitation in prehistoric Britain. The Ordovices, a Celtic tribe, lived in the region during the period known as Roman Britain. The Roman fort Segontium was established around AD 80 to subjugate the Ordovices during the Roman conquest of Britain. The Romans occupied the region until the end of Roman rule in Britain in 382, after which Caernarfon became part of the Kingdom of Gwynedd. In the late 11th century, William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a motte-and-bailey castle at Caernarfon as part of the Norman invasion of Wales. He was unsuccessful, and Wales remained independent until around 1283.
In the 13th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, ruler of Gwynedd, refused to pay homage to Edward I of England, prompting the English conquest of Gwynedd. This was followed by the construction of Caernarfon Castle, one of the largest and most imposing fortifications built by the English in Wales. In 1284, the English-style county of Caernarfonshire was established by the Statute of Rhuddlan; the same year, Caernarfon was made a borough, a county and market town, and the seat of English government in north Wales.
The ascent of the Welsh House of Tudor to the throne of England eased hostilities with the English and resulted in Caernarfon Castle falling into a state of disrepair. The town has flourished, leading to its status as a major tourist centre and seat of Gwynedd Council, with a thriving harbour and marina. Caernarfon has expanded beyond its medieval walls and experienced heavy suburbanisation. The community of Caernarfon's population includes the highest percentage of Welsh-speaking citizens anywhere in Wales. The status of Royal Borough was granted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1963 and amended to Royal Town in 1974. The castle and town walls are part of a World Heritage Site described as the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd.
The town's name consists of three elements: caer, yn, and Arfon. "Caer" means "fortress", in this case either the Roman fort of Segontium, which lies on the outskirts of the modern town, or the Norman castle erected near the mouth of the Afon Seiont. "Arfon" means "opposite Môn (Anglesey)", and the full name therefore means "the fortress in the land opposite Anglesey".
The earlier British and Romano-British settlement at Segontium was named Cair Segeint ("Fort Seiont") after the river. It was also known as Cair Custoient ("Fortress of Constantine"), after a belief that it was the capital of Gwynedd under Constantine, a supposed son of Saint Elen and the Emperor Magnus Maximus. Both names appear in the Historia Brittonum traditionally ascribed to Nennius. A medieval romance about Maximus and Elen, Macsen's Dream, calls her home Caer Aber Sein ("Fort Seiontmouth" or "the fortress at the mouth of the Seiont") and other pre-conquest poets such as Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd used the name Caer Gystennin. A 1221 charter by Llywelyn the Great to the canons of Penmon priory on Anglesey mentions Kaerinarfon, and the Welsh chronicle Brut y Tywysogion mentions both Kaerenarvon and Caerenarvon.
The town and the county named after it were officially spelled "Carnarvon" until 1926. At a meeting on 10 November 1925 the borough council resolved to ask the county council to change the spelling to "Caernarvon". The county council gave permission for the change of spelling for the name of the borough with effect from 14 January 1926, and at the same time decided to ask the government to also change the spelling of the county's name to Caernarvon. The government confirmed the change in the spelling of the county's name with effect from 1 July 1926.
The municipal borough was designated a royal borough in 1963. When the borough was abolished in 1974 the status of "royal town" was granted to the new community which succeeded it. The spelling of both borough and county remained "Caernarvon" until they were abolished in 1974. The spelling of the community's name was changed from "Caernarvon" to "Caernarfon" with effect from 2 June 1975 by order of Arfon Borough Council.
Caernarfon contains a Roman fort, Segontium, and a Norman motte-and-bailey castle was built at the mouth of the River Seiont.
In 1283, King Edward I completed his conquest of Wales which he secured by a chain of castles and walled towns. The construction of a new stone Caernarfon Castle seems to have started as soon as the campaign had finished. Edward's architect, James of St. George, may well have modelled the castle on the walls of Constantinople, possibly being aware of the town's legendary associations. Edward's fourth son, Edward of Caernarfon, later Edward II of England, was born at the castle in April 1284 and made Prince of Wales in 1301. A story recorded in the 16th century suggests that the new prince was offered to the native Welsh on the premise "that [he] was borne in Wales and could speake never a word of English", however, there is no contemporary evidence to support this.
Caernarfon was constituted a borough in 1284 by a charter of Edward I. The charter, which was confirmed on a number of occasions, appointed the mayor of the borough Constable of the Castle ex officio.
In 1911, David Lloyd George, then Member of Parliament (MP) for Caernarfon boroughs, which included various towns from Llŷn to Conwy, agreed to the British royal family's idea of holding the investiture of the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle. The ceremony took place on 13 July, with the royal family visiting Wales, and the future Edward VIII was duly invested.
In 1955, Caernarfon was in the running for the title of Capital of Wales on historical grounds but the town's campaign was heavily defeated in a ballot of Welsh local authorities, with 11 votes compared to Cardiff's 136. Cardiff therefore became the Welsh capital.
On 1 July 1969, the investiture ceremony for Charles, Prince of Wales was again held at Caernarfon Castle. The ceremony went ahead without incident despite terrorist threats and protests, which culminated in the death of two members of Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru (Welsh Defence Movement), Alwyn Jones and George Taylor, who were killed when their bomb – intended for the railway line at Abergele in order to stop the British Royal Train – exploded prematurely. The bombing campaign (one in Abergele, two in Caernarfon and finally one on Llandudno Pier) was organised by the movement's leader, John Jenkins. He was later arrested after a tip-off and was sentenced to ten years imprisonment.
In July 2019, Caernarfon hosted a rally for Welsh independence. The event, organised by AUOB (All Under One Banner) Cymru, included a march through the town centre. Organisers estimated that roughly 8,000 people joined the march on the town square; local authorities confirmed at least 5,000 attendees. The event featured a number of speakers including Hardeep Singh Kohli, Evra Rose, Dafydd Iwan, Lleuwen Steffan, Siôn Jobbins, Beth Angell, Gwion Hallam, Meleri Davies and Elfed Wyn Jones. Talks covered criticism of Brexit and Westminster with advocating Welsh Independence.
The history of Caernarfon, as an example where the rise and fall of different civilizations can be seen from one hilltop, is discussed in John Michael Greer's book The Long Descent. He writes of Caernarfon: Spread out below us in an unexpected glory of sunlight was the whole recorded history of that little corner of the world. The ground beneath us still rippled with earthworks from the Celtic hill fort that guarded the Menai Strait more than two and a half millennia ago. The Roman fort that replaced it was now the dim brown mark of an old archaeological site on low hills off to the left. Edward I's great grey castle rose up in the middle foreground, and the high contrails of RAF jets on a training exercise out over the Irish Sea showed that the town's current overlords still maintained the old watch. Houses and shops from more than half a dozen centuries spread eastward as they rose through the waters of time, from the cramped medieval buildings of the old castle town straight ahead to the gaudy sign and sprawling parking lot of the supermarket back behind us.