Blaenavon
Blaenavon ( Welsh: Blaenafon ) is a town in southern Wales at the source of the Afon Llwyd. Located on a hill town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
History
Blaenavon grew around an ironworks opened in 1788 ( Blaenavon Iron Works ). Today Some of these ironworks contains a museum. The steel industry and mines followed shortly afterwards, which meant that the population increased to over 20,000.
Since the ironworks in 1900 its doors closed and the last coal mine ceased operations in 1980, shrank the population of the entire 20th century through. Today, mainly older people living in the city.
Town of Books
Currently trying to Blaenavon to revive the fact that one wants to make next Hay-on -Wye to the second " Book Town " in Wales. However, this measure has so far been unsuccessful. Maybe that is related to the unattractive image of the city, as well as the unfavorable situation on the edge of Great Britain. It has so far not helped that investors had committed considerable sums to the city center and the book offer can be seen.
Attractions
Sights of the city are the Museum railway Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway and the " Big Pit ", an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH ). "The Big Pit " is a former coal mine, which is now operated as a visitor mine. National Museums and Galleries of Wales operates as Big Pit National Mining Museum of Wales. as with all Welsh National Museum admission is free.
Miners drove a 1860 first in the mine. It took its name from the then gigantic proportions. The pit grew in the 1870s up to 293 feet ( about 100 meters). At her wedding to 1908 1.122 people worked in the mine, in the following decades, the number of employees decreased steadily to 494 in 1970. On 2 February 1980, the operator adjusted the operation of the mine.
Opened in 1983, the Welsh National Museum, the mine as a visitor mine, followed in 2003 by a comprehensive redesign that led to the award of the Gulbenkian Prize 2005.
Blaenavon is twinned with Coutras in France.
Sons and daughters of the town
- EE Clive (1879-1940), actor in Hollywood
- Ken Jones (1921-2006), Athlete