In September 2019, I visited a small train station in North Wales with a very long name: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Located on the island of Anglesey, the station is on the North Wales Coast Railway Line which stretches from Crewe to Holyhead.
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is the longest town name in Europe, and the second longest in the world. In Welsh, the name translates to: The church of Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the fierce whirlpool and the church of Tysilio by the red cave. Initially, the town had a shorter and easier to pronounce name, however, in the 1880s, the locals came up with the idea to extend the town’s name in order to attract more visitors and encourage travellers to alight at the station.
