Holyhead

53.3088 - 4.6328Koordinaten: 53 ° 19 ' N, 4 ° 38 ' W

Holyhead [ hɒlihɛd ] ( walis. Caergybi, " the feasts of St. Cybi ") is a small town in the British county of Anglesey off the Welsh coast.

Location

Although Holyhead with 11,237 inhabitants ( 2001 census ) is the largest city of the county, it is not the capital of the territory. The city also is not on the island of Anglesey, from which the name of the county is derived, but on Holy Iceland, an island that is connected to Anglesey via Four Mile Bridge.

History

The center of town is built around the Church of St. Cybi which lies within an ancient Roman fortress. In contrast to most other forts from this time this consists of only three walls, the fourth side was protected by the sea. However, there is evidence that it has already been in the area of prehistoric settlements.

Also known as Holyhead has a long history. There is evidence that people were sailing between Holyhead and Ireland for over 4,000 years. A particularly strong importance as a port came to the place in the early 19th century, when Thomas Telford the post road from Holyhead to London docked over which, after the post was transported to and from Dublin. The construction of the railway line from London to Holyhead Liverpool lost this function in 1839, however, provisionally at the port of Liverpool, however, they could recover in 1850 after completion of the Chester and Holyhead Railways and the railway station of Holyhead.

The importance of the city reached, also in the 19th century, culminating, as here a breakwater was built to provide ships that have fallen on their way to Liverpool or Lancashire in stormy seas, a safe harbor can.

Economy and Transport

Today the economy Holyheads has a great importance the aluminum industry. Thus, a large aluminum smelter is located on the outskirts of the city and close to a plant for the processing of bauxite. In the harbor, the raw materials are delivered for this production from Jamaica and Australia and delivered via an underground transport system to the works.

The village is known as the end point of road and rail, and as a port for the ferries of Stena Line and Irish Ferries to Dublin and Dún Laoghaire in Ireland. The journey to Dublin takes about three hours ( with quick ferry: about two hours).