Aberdeen - Art and architecture

Aberdeen (Scottish Gaelic: Obar Dheathain or The Granite City) is Scotland's third largest city, with a population of 212,125, and the greatest part of the unitary council area named the City of Aberdeen, which is surrounded by, but not within, the Aberdeenshire council area. Aberdeen is the chief commercial centre and seaport in the north-east of Scotland. It boasts the title of Oil Capital of Europe thanks to the plentiful supply of crude oil in the North Sea, and stands on a bay of the North Sea, between ...

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• Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto
• Aberdeen - History
• Aberdeen - Background
• Aberdeen - Art and architecture
• Aberdeen - Churches
• Aberdeen - Education
• Aberdeen - Culture
• Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces
• Aberdeen - Statues
• Aberdeen - Bridges
• Aberdeen - Harbour
• Aberdeen - Industry
• Aberdeen - Population
• Aberdeen - Sport
• Aberdeen - Transport
• Aberdeen - Twinned cities worldwide

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Union Street is one of the most imposing and famous thoroughfares in Britain. From Castle Street it runs for nearly a mile (1.5 km), is 70 ft (21 m) wide, and originally contained the principal shops and most of the public buildings, all of granite. Part of the street crosses the Denburn ravine (utilized for the line of the Great North of Scotland railway) by Union Bridge, a fine granite arch of 132 ft (40 m) span, with portions of the older town still fringing the gorge, 50 feet (15 m) below the level of Union Street. Union Street was built from 1801 to 1805, an ...

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Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto, Aberdeen - History, Aberdeen - Background, Aberdeen - Art and architecture, Aberdeen - Churches, Aberdeen - Education, Aberdeen - Culture, Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces, Aberdeen - Statues, Aberdeen - Bridges, Aberdeen - Harbour, Aberdeen - Industry, Aberdeen - Population, Aberdeen - Sport, Aberdeen - Transport, Aberdeen - Twinned cities worldwide

Read more here: » Aberdeen: Encyclopedia II - Aberdeen - Art and architecture

The coat of arms shows a red shield bearing three triple towered castles within the double royal tressure. It is widely accepted that these represent the fortifications which from earliest times stood on the three hills where the city sprang up, namely Castle Hill, the Port or Windmill Hill (Gallowgate) and St Catherine's Hill (Adelphi). The Arms are supported by two leopards - one either side - ...

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Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto, Aberdeen - History, Aberdeen - Background, Aberdeen - Art and architecture, Aberdeen - Churches, Aberdeen - Education, Aberdeen - Culture, Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces, Aberdeen - Statues, Aberdeen - Bridges, Aberdeen - Harbour, Aberdeen - Industry, Aberdeen - Population, Aberdeen - Sport, Aberdeen - Transport, Aberdeen - Twinned cities worldwide

Read more here: » Aberdeen: Encyclopedia II - Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto

The Dee is crossed by a number of bridges, from west to east: Bridge of Dee King George VI Bridge Railway bridge Wellington Suspension Bridge Queen Elizabeth II Bridge Victoria Bridge Until 1832, the only access to the city from the south was the Bridge of Dee. It consists of seven semicircular ribbed arches, is about 30 ft (10 m) high, and was built early in the 16th century by Bishops Elphinstone and Dunbar. It was nearly all rebuilt 1718-1723, and in 1842 was widened ...

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Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto, Aberdeen - History, Aberdeen - Background, Aberdeen - Art and architecture, Aberdeen - Churches, Aberdeen - Education, Aberdeen - Culture, Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces, Aberdeen - Statues, Aberdeen - Bridges, Aberdeen - Harbour, Aberdeen - Industry, Aberdeen - Population, Aberdeen - Sport, Aberdeen - Transport, Aberdeen - Twinned cities worldwide

Read more here: » Aberdeen: Encyclopedia II - Aberdeen - Bridges

Aberdeen Harbour is the principal commercial port in northern Scotland and an international port for general cargo, roll-on/roll-off and container traffic. Originally, the defective harbour, with a shallow sand and gravel bar at its entrance, retarded the trade of Aberdeen, but under various acts since 1773 it was greatly deepened. The north pier, built partly by John Smeaton 1775-1781, and partly by Thomas Telford 1810-1815, extends nearly 3,000 ft (1000 m) into the North Sea and raised the bar. A wet dock of 29 acres (117,000 m²) a ...

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Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto, Aberdeen - History, Aberdeen - Background, Aberdeen - Art and architecture, Aberdeen - Churches, Aberdeen - Education, Aberdeen - Culture, Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces, Aberdeen - Statues, Aberdeen - Bridges, Aberdeen - Harbour, Aberdeen - Industry, Aberdeen - Population, Aberdeen - Sport, Aberdeen - Transport, Aberdeen - Twinned cities worldwide

Read more here: » Aberdeen: Encyclopedia II - Aberdeen - Harbour

Owing to the variety and importance of its chief industries Aberdeen is one of the most prosperous cities in Scotland. Very durable grey granite was quarried at Rubislaw quarry for more than 300 years, and blocked and dressed paving "setts", kerb and building stones, and monumental and other ornamental work of granite have long been exported from the district to all parts of the world. Quarrying finally ceased in 1971. This, though once the predominant industry, was surpassed by the deep-sea fisheries, which derived a great impetus fr ...

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Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto, Aberdeen - History, Aberdeen - Background, Aberdeen - Art and architecture, Aberdeen - Churches, Aberdeen - Education, Aberdeen - Culture, Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces, Aberdeen - Statues, Aberdeen - Bridges, Aberdeen - Harbour, Aberdeen - Industry, Aberdeen - Population, Aberdeen - Sport, Aberdeen - Transport, Aberdeen - Twinned cities worldwide

Read more here: » Aberdeen: Encyclopedia II - Aberdeen - Industry

Aberdeen Football Club was founded in 1903. Its major success was winning the European Cup Winners Cup in 1983 and three League Championships between 1980 and 1986, under the current Manchester United F.C. manager Alex Ferguson. The club's stadium is Pittodrie which holds the distinction of being Britain's first all-seater stadium. Aberdeen F.C. holds the distinction of being the last team to have won the Scottish Premier League ...

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Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto, Aberdeen - History, Aberdeen - Background, Aberdeen - Art and architecture, Aberdeen - Churches, Aberdeen - Education, Aberdeen - Culture, Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces, Aberdeen - Statues, Aberdeen - Bridges, Aberdeen - Harbour, Aberdeen - Industry, Aberdeen - Population, Aberdeen - Sport, Aberdeen - Transport, Aberdeen - Twinned cities worldwide

Read more here: » Aberdeen: Encyclopedia II - Aberdeen - Sport

Adjacent to Union Terrace Gardens stands a colossal bronze statue of William Wallace, by W. G. Stevenson. Also nearby these same gardens are a bronze statue of Robert Burns and Charles Marochetti's seated figure of Prince Albert. In front of Robert Gordon's College is the bronze statue, by T. S. Burnett, of General Gordon. At the head of Queen's Road stands the bronze statue of Queen Victoria, erected in 1893 by the royal tradesmen of the city. Near the Cross stands the granite statue o ...

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Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto, Aberdeen - History, Aberdeen - Background, Aberdeen - Art and architecture, Aberdeen - Churches, Aberdeen - Education, Aberdeen - Culture, Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces, Aberdeen - Statues, Aberdeen - Bridges, Aberdeen - Harbour, Aberdeen - Industry, Aberdeen - Population, Aberdeen - Sport, Aberdeen - Transport, Aberdeen - Twinned cities worldwide

Read more here: » Aberdeen: Encyclopedia II - Aberdeen - Statues

There are four main roads serving the city; A90 The main arterial route into the city from the South, linking Aberdeen to Edinburgh, Dundee and Perth. A96 Links to Elgin and Inverness and the North West. A93 The main route to the West, heading towards Royal Deeside and the Cairngorms. A92 The original southerly road to Aberdeen prior to the building of the A90, now used as a tourist route, connecting the towns of Montrose, Arbroath ...

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Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto, Aberdeen - History, Aberdeen - Background, Aberdeen - Art and architecture, Aberdeen - Churches, Aberdeen - Education, Aberdeen - Culture, Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces, Aberdeen - Statues, Aberdeen - Bridges, Aberdeen - Harbour, Aberdeen - Industry, Aberdeen - Population, Aberdeen - Sport, Aberdeen - Transport, Aberdeen - Twinned cities worldwide

Read more here: » Aberdeen: Encyclopedia II - Aberdeen - Transport

The city is blessed with amenities which cover a wide range of cultural activities and boasts a selection of museums. The Aberdeen Art Gallery houses a collection of Impressionist, Victorian, Scottish and 20th Century British paintings as well as collections of silver and glass. It also includes The Alexander Macdonald Bequest, a collection of late 19th century works donated by the museum's first benefactor and a constantly changing collection of contemporary wo ...

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Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto, Aberdeen - History, Aberdeen - Background, Aberdeen - Art and architecture, Aberdeen - Churches, Aberdeen - Education, Aberdeen - Culture, Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces, Aberdeen - Statues, Aberdeen - Bridges, Aberdeen - Harbour, Aberdeen - Industry, Aberdeen - Population, Aberdeen - Sport, Aberdeen - Transport, Aberdeen - Twinned cities worldwide

Read more here: » Aberdeen: Encyclopedia II - Aberdeen - Culture

Aberdeen grew up as two separate burghs - Old Aberdeen at the mouth of the Don and New Aberdeen, a fishing and trading settlement where the Denburn entered the Dee estuary. The earliest charter was granted by King William the Lion about 1179, confirming the corporate rights granted by David I. The city received other royal charters later. In 1319, the Great Charter of Robert the Bruce transformed Aberdeen into a property owning and financially independent community. Bruce had a high regard for the citizens of Aberdeen who had sheltered him i ...

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Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto, Aberdeen - History, Aberdeen - Background, Aberdeen - Art and architecture, Aberdeen - Churches, Aberdeen - Education, Aberdeen - Culture, Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces, Aberdeen - Statues, Aberdeen - Bridges, Aberdeen - Harbour, Aberdeen - Industry, Aberdeen - Population, Aberdeen - Sport, Aberdeen - Transport, Aberdeen - Twinned cities worldwide

Read more here: » Aberdeen: Encyclopedia II - Aberdeen - History

Though Old Aberdeen, extending from the area surrounding Aberdeen University to the southern banks of the Don, had a separate charter, privileges, and history, the distinction between it and New Aberdeen can no longer be said to exist. Aberdeen's popular name of the "Granite City", is justified by the fact that the bulk of the city is built of granite, but to appreciate its more poetical designation of the "Silver City by the Golden Sands", it should be seen after a heavy rainfall when its public buildings and countless houses gleam pure and ...

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Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto, Aberdeen - History, Aberdeen - Background, Aberdeen - Art and architecture, Aberdeen - Churches, Aberdeen - Education, Aberdeen - Culture, Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces, Aberdeen - Statues, Aberdeen - Bridges, Aberdeen - Harbour, Aberdeen - Industry, Aberdeen - Population, Aberdeen - Sport, Aberdeen - Transport, Aberdeen - Twinned cities worldwide

Read more here: » Aberdeen: Encyclopedia II - Aberdeen - Background

Like most Scottish burghs, Aberdeen has many churches, most of them of good design. The East and West churches of St Nicholas' Kirk, their kirkyard separated from Union Street by a 147 ft (45 m) long Ionic facade, built in 1830, form one continuous building, 220 ft (67 m) in length. It contains the Drum Aisle (the ancient burial-place of the Irvines of Drum) and the Collison Aisle, which divide them and which formed the transept of the 12th-century church of St Nicholas. The West Church was built in 1775, in the Italian style, the Eas ...

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Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto, Aberdeen - History, Aberdeen - Background, Aberdeen - Art and architecture, Aberdeen - Churches, Aberdeen - Education, Aberdeen - Culture, Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces, Aberdeen - Statues, Aberdeen - Bridges, Aberdeen - Harbour, Aberdeen - Industry, Aberdeen - Population, Aberdeen - Sport, Aberdeen - Transport, Aberdeen - Twinned cities worldwide

Read more here: » Aberdeen: Encyclopedia II - Aberdeen - Churches

The first of Aberdeen's two universities, the University of Aberdeen, was founded in 1495 by William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland. The University of Aberdeen is Scotland's third oldest, and the UK's fifth oldest University. Robert Gordon's College (originally Robert Gordon's Hospital) was founded in 1729 by the merchant Robert Gordon, grandson of the map maker Robert Gordon of Straloch, and was further endowed in 1816 by Alexander Simpson of Collyhill. Originally devoted to the instruction and maintenance ...

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Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto, Aberdeen - History, Aberdeen - Background, Aberdeen - Art and architecture, Aberdeen - Churches, Aberdeen - Education, Aberdeen - Culture, Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces, Aberdeen - Statues, Aberdeen - Bridges, Aberdeen - Harbour, Aberdeen - Industry, Aberdeen - Population, Aberdeen - Sport, Aberdeen - Transport, Aberdeen - Twinned cities worldwide

Read more here: » Aberdeen: Encyclopedia II - Aberdeen - Education

Duthie Park 50 acres (202,000 m²)), situated on Riverside Drive, was named after and gifted to the city by Miss Elizabeth Crombie Duthie of Ruthrieston in 1881 and opened by Princess Beatrice on 27 September 1883. It occupies an excellent site on the north bank of the Dee and includes extensive gardens, a rose hill, boating pond, bandstand, and play area as well as the David Welch Winter Gardens. First opened in 1899, the Winter Gardens were rebuilt in 1970 following storm damage and extended. They are Europe's largest indoo ...

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Aberdeen, Aberdeen - Coat of Arms and Motto, Aberdeen - History, Aberdeen - Background, Aberdeen - Art and architecture, Aberdeen - Churches, Aberdeen - Education, Aberdeen - Culture, Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces, Aberdeen - Statues, Aberdeen - Bridges, Aberdeen - Harbour, Aberdeen - Industry, Aberdeen - Population, Aberdeen - Sport, Aberdeen - Transport, Aberdeen - Twinned cities worldwide

Read more here: » Aberdeen: Encyclopedia II - Aberdeen - Parks and open spaces