St Davids

Coordinates: 51°52′55″N 5°16′08″W / 51.882°N 5.269°W / 51.882; -5.269

St Davids or St David's (Welsh: Tyddewi, [tɨː ˈðɛwi], lit. "David's house") is a city and community (full name St David's and the Cathedral Close) in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Lying on the River Alun on St Davids Peninsula, it is Britain's smallest city in terms of both size and population, the final resting place of Saint David, Wales's patron saint, and the de facto ecclesiastical capital of Wales. St Davids was given city status in the 16th century due to the presence of St David's Cathedral but lost this in 1888. City status was restored in 1994 at the request of Queen Elizabeth II.

History

Tradition states that David was born to Saint Non at what is now St Non's, just to the south of the city, in about AD 500. It is said that he was baptised at Porthclais, now the city's port, and was brought up by his mother at Llanon. St David may also have been educated at Ty Gwyn, Whitesands, by St Paulinus.