Description of the attraction
Harlech is an old town on the west coast of Wales with a population of less than 2,000, most of which speak Welsh. The city is famous first of all for its castle. The first documentary mention of Harlech occurs precisely in connection with the construction of a castle here.
Harlech Castle was built by King Edward I and, along with the castles of Carnarvon, Conwy, Beaumaris and ten more, was part of the "iron ring" that was supposed to gird Wales and strengthen the royal power. All of these castles were built under the direction of the same architect, military engineer - master James of St. George. Construction in Harlech lasted seven years and upon completion, Master James was appointed commandant of the castle - a high post he held for more than three years. Like most of these castles, Harlech was built on the very shore, so that in the event of a siege from land, supplies by sea would be preserved. But over the past hundreds of years, the coastline in this place has changed, and now the castle stands about 800 meters from the sea.
The castle is built on a concentric plan. The outer walls are lower and thinner than the massive inner walls. The courtyard is a quadrangle with round towers at the corners. The cliffs surrounding the castle make an attack on the castle possible only from the eastern side, therefore there are well-fortified gates in the eastern wall. They are guarded by two imposing semicircular towers, several doors, drop gratings, loopholes, etc.
Throughout its history, the castle has been besieged many times. The last hostilities were fought here during the Civil War, when the Royalist troops, entrenched in the castle, repulsed the attacks of the parliamentary forces.
Harlech is mentioned in many Celtic legends and tales, in particular in the legend of Branwen.
