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| Motto: "Urbs Intacta Manet Waterfordia" (Waterford remains the untaken city) |
The name Waterford comes from Old Norse 'Veðrafjǫrðr' meaning 'ram fjord' (our mages know everything!). We found a pattern here; as with Dublin, the city also started as a Viking settlement, but Waterford was the earliest one in Ireland, or the earliest to become a city, as far as we know, being where the vikings reestablished in Ireland in the year 914.
Great industries such as glass-making and shipbuilding thrived in the city in the Industrial Revolution, birthing the large international glassmaking company Waterford Crystal and having one of Ireland's greatest ports for over a millennium.
Waterford Port is Ireland's closest deep-water port to mainland Europe, handling 12% of Ireland's external trade by value.
Waterford's economy was greatly damaged in the Irish recession from 2008 onwards, having a number of multinationals closing in the city, such as Talk Talk and Waterford Crystal, as we later learned.
Interesting Facts:
- Waterford is the oldest city in Ireland, it is known for it's glass making through the company Waterford Crystal.
- The city's motto 'Urbs Intacta Manet Waterfordia' ("Waterford remains the untaken city") was granted by King Henry VII of England in 1497 after Waterford refused to recognize the claims of the pretenders Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck to the English throne
- Waterford Crystal was in the brink of shutting down in 2009 when it was bought by Waterford Wedwood plc, which then opened the Waterford Crystal visitor attraction that is annexed to the factory in 2010. Wedgewood (or WWRD, Waterford Wedgewood Royal Douton) was then bought by Fiskars in 2015.
- Waterford man Thomas Francis Meagher created the Irish flag colors.
Walking 95 miles southwest of Dublin we were struck by a solar storm, a global event which caused a global black-out and made our Global Positioning Systems obsolete, even our mages were confused and couldn't use their skills correctly. After a day of walking blind we surprisingly arrive in Waterford in the Munster Province, Ireland, without any delay.
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| The Viking Triangle (Reginald's tower, Waterford Crystal and the Museum of Treasures) |
This time we were a little less organized and let it to the wizards talents, for they are never late, thus never lost.
Our fate brought us to Reginald's tower, the oldest monument in the country with it's original Viking name, which is a little disappointing. Imagine how cool it would be to walk by and see cool Viking names like 'Ragnarok Temple' or 'Fenrir Monument'... We are losing a great opportunity here.
We arrived there boasting, saying that it was a Viking tower, built by Vikings in one of their settlements, and that it was probably the oldest of it's kind, since Waterford was the first Viking settlement in Ireland... - Until a stranger politely intervened after overhearing our conversation.
The stranger said that the tower was actually built by their invaders, the Anglo-Normans, after they conquered the city. Only the site was formerly a Viking settlement.
The name is possibly a reference to Ragnald Mac Gildemaire, the last Viking ruler of the town.
He also said that there is no certain date for it's construction, the speculated time-frame we have is from 1253 to 1280, or even as early as 1003 AD.
It was one of the 17 towers which encircled Waterford, along with city walls. Today it is the largest or the 6 survivors.
Interesting Facts:
- In 1649, Waterford was unsuccessfully besieged by Oliver Cromwell, which then returned in 1650 and successfully captured the city. A cannonball, firmly lodged in the wall of the tower, is reputed to be from this siege
- The tower's cannons were the force which deterred Peter Warbeck, the pretender to the throne, sinking one of his ships during a 11-day siege and gave the city it's current motto "Urbus Intacta Manet"
- The tower has been used as a storage house, as a prison and as an air raid shelter.
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| Waterford Viking Museum, Medieval Museum, Bishop's Palace Museum |
Upon getting in we realized the place was made into a museum, Waterford Viking Museum, and we couldn't expect anything better, we should learn to trust our mages more.
The museum is one of the three museums in this area which, as we learned in awe, is called the Viking Triangle. The collection of the three museums is called The Waterford Museum of Treasures.
Inside we saw a great stone construction, much bigger than it looks, with many artifacts such as day to day Viking objects, Viking swords and weapons, a miniature of the triangle as it once was and all that in a naturally lighted ambient, with little modernization work, which we loved.
The two other museums which make the Museum of Treasures are;
Medieval Museum, with two dedicated chambers, the 13th century Choristers' hall and the 15th century Mayor's Wine Vault. It contains the only surviving piece of clothing worn by Henry VIII, which was awarded to the mayor in 1536 along with a bearing sword.
This one was transformed entirely into an exhibition hall, all we could see were clusters of informational posters, artifacts and sculptures.
Thirdly there is Bishop's Palace Museum, originally the Bishop's residence. Facing the Mall and Waterford Crystal Factory, it holds the only surviving Bonaparte mourning cross and the oldest surviving piece of Waterford Crystal dating back to 1789.
Apart from the treasures and artifacts, the museum also tells Waterford's history.
The Wizard's Might brought us to one of the most packed and interesting parts of the city, The Viking Triangle, what proves that a Wizard is never late.
The place is so called because of the 1000-year old walls which once surrounded it. All of our stops so far are based here, we also found a 12m/39 ft Viking longship exhibited beside the tower.
Stepping out of the Bishop's Palace Museum, on the other side of the road we saw this building, once Waterford's biggest employer and forever an important part of the city's history, House of Waterford Crystal.
Inside, we had a Factory Tour which is basically a live tour through all the production processes while they are taking place. We saw the glass being hand worked, the company's high quality standards, the blowing, cutting, sculpturing and engraving of the glass.
The building also has a Retail Store, where one can buy a piece of crystal work to take home, and a Café, called Crystal Café.
As we said before, since we are visiting places so distinct and unique, we decided to temporarily sacrifice our diet for the sake of experience. We shall try different cuisine from all around the world!
"Tasting and experimenting is one thing, eating is something completely different"
Here in Crystal Café we had the chance to taste Waterford's unique kind of bread, called 'Blaa', which is a doughy, white bread bun sold in two varieties; "Soft" and ''Crusty''.
The taste was slightly sweet and malty, and the texture was light but at the same time firm, it wouldn't just dissolve in our mouths, or worse, in our hands. Nutrient-wise it isn't so rich, most of the calories come from carbohydrates with high GI. But walking so much has it's advantages huh ? No amount of these Blaas would increase our fat content, we just wouldn't rebuild our muscles as effectively.
An estimate of over 12.000 Blass are sold each day in Waterford, and it is generally eaten for breakfast with butter, eggs, bacon and a variety of fillings.
We were lucky to be here at this time! For our amusement, Waterford Greenway was opened this March 27 and is a 46 km/28.5 mile greenway which forms part of EuroVelo 1 route, which passes Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, France, Spain and Portugal.
It features 11 bridges, three viaducts and a 400-metre tunnel and runs between the city of Waterford, Mount Congreve, Kilmeaden, Kilmacthomas, and Dungarvan, and passes along part of the Copper Coast. It is Ireland's longest greenway.
This one we can't miss, let's use those Blaas we ate to power our jogg through this beautiful place!
We'll follow the Greenway until Durgavan and then head to Cork.
Following our hearts we ended up missing these stops: Waterford Port; the largest port in Ireland, Rock of Cashel; Ireland's most visited heritage site, People's Green; the largest public park in Ireland, and Curraghmore House & Gardens; with Ireland's oldest bridge.
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No time to think! Let's run! |
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