Swansea is a city and county in South Wales, situated on the coast immediately to the east of the Gower peninsula. The name Swansea is believed to come from "Sweyn's Ey" and to have originated in the period when the Vikings plundered the south Wales coast.
The city boundaries are widely drawn: they include a large amount of open countryside, towns like Gorseinon and Loughor, and the Gower peninsula. A healthy proportion of the population of the city and county are Welsh speakers: 13.4% at the 2001 census, as compared with 11% for the capital city, Cardiff.
Swansea is Wales' second city, and it grew to its present importance during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, becoming a centre of heavy industry. However, it did not enjoy the same degree of immigration as Cardiff and the eastern valleys. Consequently, it retains close links with agriculture and rural life. According to the mid-year estimates for 2002, the population of Swansea was about 230,000.
Swansea Marina is an award winning waterfront village, bubbling with bars, restaurants and boats aside the Swansea Bay coastal promenade. There are two museums within the Maritime Quarter: Swansea Maritime and the Swansea Museum. The Maritime Museum includes Wales' largest display of floating exhibits, a working woollen mill, transport displays and a tramshed containing an exhibition devoted to 'Mumbles Train' - the world's first fare paying passenger railway. This museum has been designated the future National Waterfront Museum of Wales.Swansea Museum includes a priceless collection of rare Swansea and Nantgarw porcelain, a cabinet of curiosities, ichthyosaur skeleton and the 4000 year old mummy of Egyptian priest, Hor.
