St Davids is Britain's smallest town, both in area and population, with less than 2,000 people living there. The town stands on the River Alyn on the St Davids Peninsula in the very west of Wales.
The main attraction of the city is the Gothic cathedral of St David, the patron saint of Wales. His relics rest in the cathedral. A small settlement existed on this site under the Romans, but the present city was built around the cathedral.
According to legend, the monastic community was founded here in the 6th century by St David himself, then Bishop of Menevia. The settlement was attacked many times, but retained its status as a cultural and religious centre. In 1081, William the Conqueror visited the monastery as a pilgrim, thereby recognising its status as a as a shrine. In 1090, the Welsh scholar Rigivarch wrote in Latin "The Lives of St David", which initiated the cult of St David as the patron saint of Wales.
In 1115, Bernard is appointed Bishop of St David's. He is engaged in the restoration and expansion of the monastery, consolidating its position. Under his leadership, construction of a new cathedral began, and in 1123 he received papal privileges, according to which two pilgrimages to St. David's Cathedral were equivalent to pilgrimages to Rome, and three to Jerusalem. St David's becomes a very popular pilgrimage centre - and there is a the need for a new cathedral. The cathedral is built very quickly, but almost almost immediately there are numerous problems. In 1220, the central tower collapses, and then the cathedral was badly damaged by earthquakes in 1247-48. Under Bishop Gower, the cathedral was reconstructed and completed, including the construction of the bishop's Palace, which is now a picturesque ruin. At the beginning of the 16th century a chapel of the Holy Trinity was built with the famous fan ceilings. Some believe that it was this ceiling that served as a model for the construction of King's College, Cambridge. During the Civil War, the cathedral was virtually destroyed by parliamentary troops.
Restoration of the cathedral began at the very end of the 18th century and was largely finished in the mid-20th century, but restoration work is still ongoing today.
In 1995, by decree of Elizabeth II, St Davids was granted city status.
