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Population 126,354 area over 2000 square miles or 5,196 km². It includes the
former traditional counties of Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire and Brecknockshire.
In Powys there are the popular towns of Llangammarch
Wells, Montgomery,
Brecon, Llanwddyn and
Llanbrynmair.
Geography
The mid-Wales county of Powys extends from the edge of Snowdonia in the north to
the Swansea Valley in the south. A succession of smooth, open mountain ranges rise
and dip across the landscape, from the borderland Black Mountains through the central
Beacons and across the moors of Fforest Fawr. And along the Beacons` southern rim
a craggy landscape of wooded gorges and cascading rivers.
Industry
With its beautiful landscape, Powys has become a popular tourist destination and
the tourism sector continues to gow and provide employment. Agriculture is still
a major sector.
History
It was created in the local government reform of 1974, and originally had Montgomery
and Radnor and Brecknock as districts under it. In 1996 it became a unitary authority,
with a minor border adjustment in the north-east. This area is named after the older
Welsh kingdom of Powys, which occupied roughly the same area and which came to an
end when it was absorbed into the kingdom of Gwynedd. Centred around Shropshire
at Caer Meguaidd, and covering much of the modern Welsh border, Powys was Vortigern's
native land. It seems probable that in Vortigern's time Powys did not extend to
the North Welsh coast. Powys derived its name from descriptive Latin (pagenses "(land
of the) country dwellers" or "people of the pagi". Vortigern's second son was handed
Powys when Vortigern became High King. In circa 570, Powys was apparently divided
in two. The name was retained for the western half, while the eastern half became
Pengwern. In later years, as the Norman attacks pushed into Wales, what was left
of Powys came to be r
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