Ffestiniog

Ffestiniog
Blaenau Ffestiniog
Ffestiniog  Ffestiniog shown within Gwynedd
Population	5,500 (2001)
OS grid reference	SH705455
Community	Ffestiniog
Principal area	Gwynedd
Ceremonial county	Gwynedd
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BLAENAU FFESTINIOG
Postcode district	LL41
Dialling code	01766
Police	North Wales
Fire	North Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
EU Parliament	Wales
UK Parliament	Meirionnydd Nant Conwy
Welsh Assembly	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
List of places UK Wales Gwynedd

Ffestiniog is a community in Gwynedd in Wales, containing several villages, in particular the settlements of Llan Ffestiniog and Blaenau Ffestiniog. It has a population of 5,500.

Ffestiniog was a parish in Cantref Ardudwy; in 1284, Ardudwy became part of the county of Meirionnydd, which became an administrative county in 1888. The parish was created an urban district in 1894. On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, Ffestiniog Urban District was abolished, becoming merged with other districts to form Meirionnydd District, which was itself abolished in 1996. Ffestiniog became a community with an elected town council.

Toponymy

Celtic place-name in *-ākon “place of”, then, “place belonging to, territory of” > Old Welsh -auc, -awg > Welsh -og. The form -iog with an additional /i/ can be explained by the preceding element, which is a personal name ending with -i-us : Festinius. The whole name should be *Festiniākon. Probably same name as Festigny (France, e.g. : Festigny, Marne, Festiniacus in 853)

See also

• Blaenau Ffestiniog
• Llan Ffestiniog
• Ffestiniog Railway
• Ffestiniog power station
• Festiniog and Blaenau Railway

External links

• Ffestiniog.org.uk
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Festiniog". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• "FFESTINIOG". Black's Picturesque Guide to North Wales (20th ed.). London: Adam & Charles Black. 1891. pp. 194–197.