The National Eisteddfod of Wales can be traced back to 1176 when it is said that the first Eisteddfod was held, under the auspices of Lord Rhys, at his castle in Cardigan. There he held a grand gathering to which were invited poets and musicians from all over the country.

A chair at the Lord's table was awarded to the best poet and musician, a tradition that prevails- in the modern day National Eisteddfod. Following 1176, many Eisteddfods were held throughout Wales, under the patronage of Welsh gentry and noblemen. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, an Eisteddfod of historical significance was held at the Ivy Bush Inn in Carmarthen, when the Gorsedd of Bards first became officially associated with this national event.

By this time, the Eisteddfod had developed into a fully-fledged folk festival on a large scale. In 1880, the National Eisteddfod association was formed and charged with the responsibility of staging an annual festival to be held in North and South Wales alternately, and with the exception of 1914 and 1940, this target has been successfully achieved.

Wales possess an especially strong Celtic culture. It is to be said that Many Celtic languages have almost disappeared in the last several centuries but Welsh has showed an interesting resistance and is still used. Until 1825 about eighty per cent of the country population spoke Welsh. During the 19th century the number of Welsh speakers decreased and the reason for this was that many English workers and Irish workers traveled to South Wales. On the contrary Welsh people moved to the cities where population spoke less Welsh.


At school, children were punished for speaking Welsh. Recently, there has been more interest in Welsh. It is now spoken as a first language by more than 20 per cent of the population. It is used as a first language in more and more schools and it is studied as a second language in all other schools in Wales.

Welsh is recognized as a minority language by the EU and Wales receives money to help its language stay alive. There are television and radio stations with Welsh-language programs, even soaps.