Coordinates: 53°13′41″N 4°07′41″W / 53.228°N 4.128°W / 53.228; -4.128

Bangor is a city in Gwynedd unitary authority, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. It is one of only six places classed as a city in Wales, although it is only the 36th largest urban area by population. According to the 2001 census, 46.6% of the non-student resident population speak Welsh, which is low for Gwynedd but despite this, the language keeps a high profile in town. Bangor has been called "The Athens of Wales".

The origins of the city date back to the founding of a monastic establishment on the site of Bangor Cathedral by the Celtic saint Deiniol in the early 6th century AD. The name 'Bangor' itself is an old Welsh word for a type of fenced-in enclosure, such as was originally surrounded the cathedral site. The present cathedral is a somewhat more recent building and has been extensively modified throughout the centuries.

Gwynedd (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈɡwɨ̞nɛð]) is an area in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. As a local government area it is the second biggest in terms of geographical area and also one of the most sparsely populated. A large proportion of the population is Welsh-speaking. The name Gwynedd is also used for a preserved county, covering the two local government areas of Gwynedd and the Isle of Anglesey. Culturally and historically, the name can also be used for most of North Wales (for instance, the area covered by the Gwynedd Constabulary), corresponding to the approximate territory of the Kingdom of Gwynedd at its greatest extent.

Gwynedd is the home of Bangor University and includes the scenic Llŷn Peninsula, and most of the Snowdonia National Park.

Gwynedd was an independent kingdom from the end of the Roman period until the 13th Century when it was conquered and subjugated by England. The modern Gwynedd was one of eight Welsh counties originally created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, based on the principal territory of the former realm. It covered the entirety of the old counties of Anglesey, and Caernarfonshire along with all of Merionethshire apart from Edeirnion Rural District (which went to Clwyd), and also a few parishes in Denbighshire: Llanrwst, Llansanffraid Glan Conwy, Eglwysbach, Llanddoged, Llanrwst and Tir Ifan.