Waterford

The oldest city in Ireland, founded as a Viking settlement at the head of Waterford Harbour, with medieval walls and fortifications that still include Reginald’s Tower of the thirteenth or fourteenth century. It was attacked repeatedly and earned the motto Urbs Intacta Manet, the untaken city, after repelling a fifteenth-century siege. Decorative glass was made here from 1783 until the Waterford Crystal factory closed in early 2009 with the receivership of Waterford Wedgwood; the visitor centre opened in the Viking Quarter in 2010 and production resumed under new ownership.