Caernarfon Castle
Edward I’s mighty fortress and World Heritage Site on the Menai Strait.
Caernarfon Castle is the great fortress-palace that Edward I of England began in 1283 on the banks of the River Seiont, replacing an earlier Norman motte-and-bailey. Built alongside a walled town and quay as the administrative heart of his rule in north Wales, it took around 47 years and some £20,000–£25,000 to reach its final form, and parts of the interior were never completed.
The castle deliberately recalls imperial power: its polygonal towers and bands of coloured stone echo the walls of Constantinople and the legend of the Roman emperor Macsen Wledig, while the nearby Roman fort of Segontium underlines the link. Today it is cared for by Cadw as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site and remains one of Wales's best-known medieval monuments.
Highlights
- The multi-angled Eagle Tower with its turrets
- Banded masonry inspired by Constantinople's walls
- Wall-walks and towers overlooking the Seiont estuary
- Part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd World Heritage Site
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