III.

Places of Interest

The University of Wales central registry is at Cathays Park; the city is also the location of Cardiff University. The city's museums include the National Museum of Wales, and the Welsh Folk Museum in the suburb of St Fagan's, which has a large open-air collection of dwellings brought from other parts of the country. The National Museum of Wales contains a collection of natural history exhibits as well as art collections, including paintings by Corot, Manet, Van Gogh, and Renoir. Works by Welsh painters including Augustus John, Gwen John, Ceri Richards, and Frank Brangwyn are also represented. Culturally, the city has a strong musical background. It is home to the Welsh National Opera (founded in 1943), as well as the BBC Welsh Orchestra, and venues include St David's Concert Hall and the Cardiff International Arena. The Wales Millennium Centre, a performing arts complex, opened in Cardiff Bay in 2004. The “Cardiff Singer of the World” is a biennial international arts competition for young classical singers.

Sports venues include the Cardiff Athletic Stadium, the Wales Empire Pool (constructed for the 1958 Commonwealth Games), the Maindy Cycle Track, and the National Ice Rink (home to the Cardiff Devils ice hockey team). Cardiff Arms Park rugby ground has been replaced by a new stadium (the Millennium Stadium) costing over £100 million (US$150 million), which hosted both the opening ceremony and the final of the Rugby Union World Cup 1999 and games in the Cricket World Cup 1999. Association football and cricket are represented respectively by Cardiff City, at Ninian Park, and Glamorgan County Cricket Club, at Sophia Gardens.

Cathays Park in the city centre contains the impressive baroque-style buildings of the Civic Centre begun in 1901, including the City Hall, the Welsh Office, Assize Courts, the Temple of Peace, and the National Museum of Wales (1927). Close by is Cardiff Castle, reconstructed in the 19th century by William Burges for the Marquis of Bute. The Welch Regiment Museum as well as the Welsh School of Music and Drama are in the castle. Nearby is the 15th-century church of St John the Baptist. Llandaff Cathedral, with its modern Epstein, Christus, was founded in the 6th century; badly damaged in World War II, it has been completely restored.