Cardiff reached its peak in the early 20th century. It was designated a city in 1905 and the world's top coal port in 1913. The population was 227,000 in 1931, but the damages of the Great Depression were compounded by WWII bombing, which scarred the city and claimed 350 lives. In 1955 Cardiff was designated Wales' capital - and Europe's youngest - in a ballot of members of the Welsh authorities.
The Romans were the first to make a permanent settlement in Cardiff - the name possibly means 'Fort of Didius', a reference to the Roman general Aulus Didius. The site remained unoccupied until 1093, when a Norman knight built a castle there and a small township grew around it. Welsh rebellions hit the community in 1183 and again in 1404. Cardiff was never much more than a village before the iron and coal mining booms in the northern valleys area, much of which was owned by the Butes, an aristocratic Scottish family, whose canal and dock building did much for the city's fortunes - not to mention their own. A population of 1000 in 1801 had grown to 170,000 by the end of the 19th century.
Today, Cardiff is rejuvenating, with booming media and service sectors, Cardiff Bay developments and the architectural kudos and visitor influx of the Millennium Stadium. Cardiff is recovering from the collapse of the coal mining industry and whistling a confident new tune.
