Wales · 13th century
Castell y Bere is a Welsh castle near Llanfihangel-y-pennant in Gwynedd, Wales. Constructed by Llywelyn the Great in the 1220s, the stone castle was intended to maintain his authority over the local people and to defend the south-west part of the princedom of Gwynedd. In 1282, war with Edward I of England resulted in the death of Llywelyn's grandson, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, and Castell y Bere fell to English forces. Edward I expanded the castle further and established a small town beside it. In 1294 the Welsh leader Madog ap Llywelyn mounted a major revolt and the castle was besieged and apparently burnt. Edward did not repair it and it became ruined. Today it is in the hands of Cadw and operated as a tourist attraction.
Text adapted from “Castell y Bere” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Castell y Bere ranks #2,598 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #40 of the 107 mapped in Wales. Founded 1221, it is older than 74% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 1080 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,183 times in the last 60 days, more than 55% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Wrexham, 79 km away. See how Wales compares in the castle statistics.
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