Caernarfon Castle £5m renovation completed after three years

Cadw announced the completion of the development on Thursday 27 April

A £5m revamp that opens up parts of Caernarfon Castle, not seen for centuries, has been completed.

The project also involved building a café and a lift to make the 13th century castle more accessible.

It hosted King Charles' investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969, and is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport Dawn Bowden said "projects like this ensure everyone can access Wales' historical monuments".

A rooftop deck has also been installed and new flooring has been added to the gatehouse towers, allowing access to previously unseen areas of the castle.

Educational spaces, retail spaces, and accessible toilets have also been added.

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Along with a new lift, facilities have also been added to increase accessibility

The new lift, which serves all the upper levels, is believed to be a first for any similar UK world heritage site.

Ms Bowden said: "Making our historic sites more accessible is a fantastic — and necessary — way of caring for Wales' historical monuments for the benefit of present and future generations."

The historic buildings agency Cadw said at the centre of the project is a new artistic interpretation, focusing on the theme ''the hands that built the Castle".

The new artistic interpretation aims to present the story of the castle from a different persepctive

"We look forward to welcoming visitors of all abilities to experience this area of the fortress for the first time in centuries, and hope that our new interpretation will provide new ways for visitors to understand the castle's story," head of Cadw, Gwilym Hughes, said.

"The hands that built the Castle' interpretation will encourage visitors to do just that — by focusing on the community and workers of the castle, whose stories are often footnotes rather than the focus of historical interpretation."

The multi-million pound renovation took place over three years, supported by the Welsh government and the European Regional Development Fund managed by Visit Wales.