During Victorian times Cardiff was the biggest coal-exporting city in the world. Cardiff's most famous citizen was the wealthy second Marquess of Bute, who, in 1839, built Cardiff's docks to export the coal mined from his father's valley lands.
He amassed a fortune, which the third Marquess took advantage of to build the eye-stunning Cardiff Castle on medieval foundations within a Norman wall. He enlisted William Burges as his architect and built the castle with every conceivable decoration possible in its interior.

The castle is located in the city centre within the site used by both the Romans and the Normans for defensive purposes. The 12-sided Norman keep still sits on top of a small hill today, providing views over Cardiff.