The origins of the city date back to the founding of a monastic establishment on the site of Bangor Cathedral by the Celtic saint Deiniol in the early 6th century AD.

In 973, Iago, ruler of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, was usurped by Hywel, and requested help from Edgar, King of England, to restore his position.

Asserting overall control however, Edgar confirmed liberties and endowments of the Bishop of Bangor, granting land and gifts.

From 1284 until the 15th century, Bangor bishops were granted several charters permitting them to hold fairs[6] and govern the settlement, later ones also confirming them as Lord of the Manor.

The main mail coach route from London to Dublin via Holyhead passed to the east of Bangor, crossing the Lavan Sands to reach a ferry across the Menai Strait to Beaumaris.

The route between London and Holyhead was much improved by Thomas Telford building the A5 road; it runs through the centre of the city and over the Menai Suspension Bridge, which was also completed to his designs in 1826.

Bangor's status grew due to further industry, such as shipbuilding,[9] as well as travel, not just from Telford's road, but through tourism mainly from Liverpool via steamboat.

Bangor is the only place in Wales which continues to hold city status by ancient prescriptive right, due to its long-standing cathedral and past privileges granted.

The city council meets at Penrhyn Hall on Fford Gwynedd and has its offices in the adjoining building, which was built in 1866 as the Diocesan Registry.

The six-month trial was brought in by Gwynedd Council and North Wales police, but opposed by civil rights groups.

Bangor was an ancient parish, which historically included a large rural area to the south and south-west of the city itself.

A petition was made for the city to be formally incorporated as a municipal borough, which would give it more extensive powers of local government.

[32] In 2021, Muslims in Bangor complained that restrictions imposed in the city had left women unable to worship at the mosque during Ramadan, while arrangements, such as outdoor prayers, had been made in other parts of Wales .

[34] Bangor railway station is a stop on the North Wales Coast Line, between Crewe, Chester and Holyhead.

[35] Bus services are provided predominantly by Arriva Buses Wales; routes connect the city with Holyhead, Caernarfon and Llandudno.

Bangor lies at the western end of the North Wales Path, a 60-mile (97 km) long-distance coastal walking route to Prestatyn.

The North Wales Wildlife Trust is also based on Garth Road, and manages the nature reserves at Eithinog and Nantporth.

The city is also home to Storiel (the new name for the Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery), which is located in Bangor Town Hall.

[39] A new arts centre complex, Pontio, the replacement for Theatr Gwynedd, was scheduled for completion in the summer of 2014,[40] but the opening was delayed until November 2015.

[44] The Cathedral Church of St Deiniol is a Grade I Listed building and is set in a sloping oval churchyard.

[47] The Pontio Arts and Innovation Centre by Bangor University on Deiniol Road, opened in 2015, has a theatre and a one screen cinema.

The Archdeacon's House in Bangor was the setting for act 3, scene I of William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1.

[51] Bangor has a central shopping area around the High Street and retail outlets on Caernarfon Road, on the outskirts of the city.

In 1865, Morris Wartski, a refugee from the Tsarist pogroms, first established a jewellery business on Bangor's High Street and then a drapery store.

[54][55] In 2015, of primary school pupils 5 years and over, the following percentages spoke Welsh fluently at home:[56] The city has long been the most cosmopolitan settlement in Gwynedd, attracting incomers from both England and further afield, with Bangor University being a key institution.

[59] The former Caernarfon and Anglesey General Hospital[60] operated from 1809 to 1984 in Upper Bangor, on the site now occupied by a Morrisons supermarket.

Before 1992, they were members of the English football pyramid, peaking with the Northern Premier League title in 1982 and being FA Trophy runners-up in 1984.

Bangor University also has its own student radio station called Storm FM, which broadcasts to the Ffriddoedd Site and from their website.

It was settled around 1760 by Robert M. Jones, an emigrant from Bangor, Gwynedd who went on to be influential in the development of the town's slate industry.

[64] The influence of Bangor, Gwynedd is visible in the stone walls, square gardens, flowers, and greenery that mirror those of its Welsh namesake.