Welsh Town Long Name
Introduction
The longest Welsh town name and the longest Welsh word, is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. This Article explains the history of the name, the town's location, its pronunciation and it's meaning.
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Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Pronunciation
A Channel 4 weatherman stunned its English language TV audience when he described the weather in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch perfectly.
Have listen to this (courtesy of Channel 4).
Longest Name and Location
Llanfairpwllgwyngyll is a village on Ynys Môn (Anglesey) in north Wales. Written in full, it has 58 characters but in Welsh it has 51 letters (for example, LL and Ch are one letter in Welsh but two characters). It currently has a population of over 3,000 and is predominately a Welsh speaking part of Wales. It is near to the Britannia Bridge which connects mainland Wales to Ynys Môn.
It is often shorted in speech and in writing (for obvious reasons!) to Llanfairpwll, or Llanfair PG. However, in the town itself, the name is often shown in full at, for example the train station and other commercial buildings.
Llanfairpwll Map (sat nav postcode LL61 5UJ)
This postcode should take you to the iconic train station.
History of Llanfairpwll
For centuries, Llanfairpwll was a small rural settlement. In the sixteenth century there were about 50 inhabitants. By the early nineteenth century, it had grown to about 400 inhabitants in what was becoming to be known as the old town Pentre Uchaf, or Upper Village.
The twentieth century brought major changes following the construction of Thomas Telford's new road in the 1820s and the arrival of the railway crossing at Britannia Bridge in the 1850s. This led to the development of a new part of the village, which became to be known as Pentre Isaf or Lower Village .
It is believed that originally, the village was called Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll. In the beginning of the 1850’s when a railway was being built between Chester and Holyhead, the village was renamed. It is believed that the name Llanfairpwll was invented around this time by a cobbler from Menai Bridge who had the idea of combining the name of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll with that of neighbouring Llandysiliogogoch to create the longest name in the world. It is very unlikely that he had any idea as to how successful this name change would be as a tourist marketing plan!
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Meaning
It means, "Saint Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave".
Frequently Asked Question
Is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch the longest name in the world? Well almost certainly not!!! There may be others but this name in New Zealand is often referred to as the longest place name in the world...
- Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu has 85 letters. It means “The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one” in Māori!!!
Conclusion
The Welsh town with the long name is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, on Ynys Môn (Anglesey). It is the longest word in the Welsh language and one of the longest place names in the world.