Aberdeen is
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
's third most populous
cityCity status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
and one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It has an official population estimate of .
Nicknames include the
Granite City, the
Grey City and the
Silver City with the Golden Sands. During the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries, Aberdeen's buildings incorporated locally quarried grey
graniteGranite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite has a medium to coarse texture, occasionally with some individual crystals larger than the groundmass forming a rock known as porphyry. Granites can be pink to dark gray or even black, depending on their...
, whose
micaThe mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic with a tendency towards pseudo-hexagonal crystals and are similar in chemical composition...
deposits sparkle like silver. The city has a long, sandy
coastThe coast is defined as where the land meets the sea. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the process of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
line. Since the discovery of
North Sea oilNorth Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid oil and natural gas, produced from oil reservoirs beneath the North Sea. In the oil industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Sea and the UK "Atlantic Margin" that are not, strictly speaking, part of the...
in the 1970s, other nicknames have been the
Oil Capital of Europe or the
Energy Capital of Europe.
The area around Aberdeen has been settled for at least 8000 years, when prehistoric villages lay around the mouths of the rivers
DeeThe River Dee is a river in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It rises in the Cairngorms and flows through Strathdee to reach the North Sea at Aberdeen.-Geography:...
and
DonThe River Don is a river in the northeast of Scotland. It rises in the Grampians and flows eastwards, through Aberdeenshire, to the North Sea at Aberdeen. The Don passes through Alford, Kemnay, Inverurie, Kintore, and Dyce...
.
In 1319, Aberdeen received
Royal BurghA royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs....
status from
Robert the BruceRobert I, King of Scots usually known in modern English as Robert the Bruce was King of the Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage Robert I, King of Scots (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329) usually known in modern English as Robert the Bruce...
, transforming the city economically. The city's two universities, the
University of AberdeenThe University of Aberdeen is an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the fifth oldest university in what is now the United Kingdom, and in the wider English-speaking world....
, founded in 1495, and the
Robert Gordon UniversityThe Robert Gordon University is a modern university located in Aberdeen, Scotland. Granted university status in 1992, Robert Gordon University currently has approximately 12,790 students at its two campuses at Garthdee and Schoolhill, studying on over 145 full-time and part-time undergraduate and...
, which was awarded university status in 1992, make Aberdeen the educational centre of the north-east. The traditional industries of fishing, paper-making, shipbuilding, and textiles have been overtaken by the
oil industryThe petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting , and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline...
and Aberdeen's
seaport||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and/or transferring cargo. It is usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake. The best ports have deep water in channels or berths, and protection from the wind and waves...
. Aberdeen Heliport is one of the busiest commercial
heliportA heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...
s in the world and the seaport is the largest in the north-east of Scotland.
Aberdeen has won the
Britain in BloomBritain in Bloom is a horticultural competition in the United Kingdom. It was first held in 1963, initiated by the British Tourist Board based on the example set by Fleurissement de France. It has been organised by the Royal Horticultural Society since 2002 and is currently sponsored by Shredded...
competition a record breaking ten times, and hosts the
Aberdeen International Youth FestivalAberdeen International Youth Festival is a leading Festival of Youth Arts, and one of Scotland's major international cultural events.Every year Aberdeen International Youth Festival attracts over 1000 of the most talented young people in performing arts companies and music groups from across the...
, a major international event which attracts up to 1000 of the most talented young performing arts companies.
History
The Aberdeen area has seen human settlement for at least 8,000 years. The city began as two separate
burghA Burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United Kingdom...
s:
Old AberdeenOld Aberdeen is part of the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891...
at the mouth of the river Don; and New Aberdeen, a fishing and trading settlement, where the Denburn waterway entered the river Dee estuary. The earliest
charterA charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
was granted by
William the LionWilliam I , known as the Lion or Garbh, "the Rough", reigned as King of Scots from 1165 to 1214. His reign was the second longest in Scottish history before the Act of Union with England in 1707,...
in 1179 and confirmed the corporate rights granted by
David IDavid I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots . The youngest son of Malcolm III and Margaret, David spent most of his childhood in Scotland, but was exiled to England temporarily in 1093...
. In 1319, the Great Charter of
Robert the BruceRobert I, King of Scots usually known in modern English as Robert the Bruce was King of the Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage Robert I, King of Scots (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329) usually known in modern English as Robert the Bruce...
transformed Aberdeen into a property-owning and financially independent community. Granted with it was the nearby Forest of Stocket, whose income formed the basis for the city's
Common Good FundAberdeen's Common Good Fund is a fund to benefit the people of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was created as a result of Robert the Bruce granting the cities Great Charter in 1319, after they sheltered him during his days of outlaw...
which still benefits Aberdonians.
During the
Wars of Scottish IndependenceThe Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries....
, Aberdeen was under English rule, so
Robert the BruceRobert I, King of Scots usually known in modern English as Robert the Bruce was King of the Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage Robert I, King of Scots (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329) usually known in modern English as Robert the Bruce...
laid siege to
Aberdeen CastleAberdeen Castle was a late Middle Ages fortification, in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was situated on Castle Hill, a site today known as the Castlegate, where a block of flats are currently located.....
before destroying it in 1308 followed by the massacring of the English garrison and the retaking of Aberdeen for the townspeople. The city was burned by
Edward III of EnglandEdward III was one of the most successful English monarchs of the Middle Ages. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into the most efficient military power in Europe...
in 1336, but was rebuilt and extended, and called New Aberdeen. The city was strongly fortified to prevent attacks by neighbouring lords, but the gates were removed by 1770. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1644-1647 the city was impartially plundered by both sides. In 1644, it was taken and ransacked by Royalist troops after the
Battle of AberdeenThe Battle of Aberdeen was an engagement in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms which took place between Royalist and Covenanter forces outside the city of Aberdeen on 13 September 1644....
. In 1647 an outbreak of
bubonic plaguePlague is a deadly infectious disease caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis . Plague is a zoonotic, primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas. Plague is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death and devastation it brought...
killed a quarter of the population.
In the eighteenth century, a new Town Hall was built and the first social services appeared with the
InfirmaryAberdeen Royal Infirmary or ARI is a teaching hospital on the Foresterhill site in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is run by NHS Grampian and has around 900 beds. ARI is a tertiary referral hospital serving a population of over 600,000 across the North of Scotland...
at
WoolmanhillWoolmanhill Hospital is a hospital in the centre of Aberdeen, Scotland. Opened in 1749, it was the original Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, before this was moved to the Foresterhill site. There are now no in-patient beds in Woolmanhill, only various out-patient clinics and the genito-urinary medicine...
in 1742 and the Lunatic Asylum in 1779. The council began major road improvements at the end of the century with the main thoroughfares of
George StreetGeorge Street is a street in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland.At its northern end it meets the area of Kittybrewster. Running south and slightly east, George Street heads towards the city centre...
,
King StreetKing Street is one of the main streets in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland.Its southern end is in the city centre and is also near the prestigious shopping street, Union Street...
and
Union StreetUnion Street is a major street and shopping thoroughfare in Aberdeen, Scotland.It was built, along with the adjoining King Street, in the beginning of the 19th Century under plans suggested by Charles Abercrombie to provide an impressive entrance way into the city, and nearly bankrupted the city...
all completed at the start of the next century.
A century later, the increasing economic importance of Aberdeen and the development of the shipbuilding and fishing industries led to the existing harbour with Victoria Dock, the South Breakwater, and the extension to the North Pier. The expensive infrastructure program had repercussions, and in 1817 the city was bankrupt. However, a recovery was made in the general prosperity which followed the
Napoleonic warsThe Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts declared against Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played...
. Gas street lighting arrived in 1824 and an enhanced water supply appeared in 1830 when water was pumped from the Dee to a reservoir in Union Place. An underground sewer system replaced open sewers in 1865.
The city was first
incorporatedA municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
in 1891. Although Old Aberdeen still has a separate charter and history, it and New Aberdeen are no longer truly distinct. They are both part of the city, along with Woodside and the
Royal BurghA royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs....
of
Torry-Setting and historical development:Torry, lying on the south bank of the River Dee, was once a Royal Burgh in its own right, having been erected a burgh of barony in 1495. It was incorporated into Aberdeen in 1891, after the construction of the Victoria Bridge, itself made possible by the 1871...
to the south of the River Dee.
Toponymy
Old AberdeenOld Aberdeen is part of the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891...
is the approximate location of
Aberdon the first settlement of Aberdeen; this literally means "at the confluence of the Don [ie. with the sea]" in relation to the local river. The modern name Aberdeen literally means between the Dee (the other local river) and Don. The
CelticThe Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic", a branch of the greater Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, having much earlier been used by Greek and Roman writers to describe tribes in...
prefix; "Aber-" means "the confluence of" in relation to the rivers.
GaelicScottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages, and is distinct from the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages, which includes Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. Scottish, Manx and Irish Gaelic are all descended from Old Irish...
scholars believe the name came from the prefix
Aber- and
da-aevi (variation;
Da-abhuin,
Da-awin) - which means "the mouth of two rivers". In Gaelic the name is
Obar Dheathain (variation;
Obairreadhain) and in
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
, the
RomansAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
referred to it as
Devana. Mediaeval (or ecclesiastical) Latin has it as
Aberdonia.
Governance
Aberdeen is locally governed by Aberdeen City Council, which comprises forty-three councillors who represent the city's wards and is headed by the
Lord Provost who is currently Provost Peter Stephen.
From May 2003 until May 2007 the council was run with a
Liberal DemocratThe Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems or just Liberals, are a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party; the two parties had been in alliance for seven years, from shortly after the formation of...
and
ConservativesThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
coalition. Following the May 2007 elections the Liberal Democrats formed a new coalition with the
Scottish National PartyThe Scottish National Party is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. In the last few decades, the SNP has normally polled the second highest number of votes for a political party in Scotland. However, the 2009 European Election saw the party top the poll with...
. The council consists of: 15 Liberal Democrat, 13 SNP, 10
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
, 4 Conservative councillors and a single independent councillor.
Aberdeen is represented in the
Parliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
by three constituencies:
Aberdeen NorthAberdeen North is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and it elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
,
Aberdeen SouthAberdeen South is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and it elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
and
GordonGordon is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , which elects one member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
, of which the first two are wholly within the Aberdeen City council area while the latter also encompasses a large swathe of
AberdeenshireAberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives...
.
In the
Scottish ParliamentThe Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood" , is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
the city is represented again by three constituencies, all of which are solely within the council area:
Aberdeen NorthAberdeen North is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
,
Aberdeen CentralAberdeen Central is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election and is one of nine constituencies in the North East Scotland electoral region...
and
Aberdeen SouthAberdeen South is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
and by a further seven MSPs elected as part of the
North East ScotlandNorth East Scotland is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
electoral region.
In the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
, the city is represented by seven
MEPsA Member of the European Parliament is the English name for a person who has been elected to the European Parliament, one of the European Union's two legislative bodies. MEPs are the European Union's equivalents of a country's national legislators in either the lower house or unicameral...
, as part of the all inclusive Scotland constituency in the
European ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union , it forms the bicameral legislative branch of the Union's institutions and has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
.
Heraldry
Symbols of the city typically show three castles, such as in the case of the flag and coat of arms. The image has been around since the time of Robert the Bruce and represents the buildings that stood on the three hills of Aberdeen;
Aberdeen CastleAberdeen Castle was a late Middle Ages fortification, in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was situated on Castle Hill, a site today known as the Castlegate, where a block of flats are currently located.....
on Castle Hill (today's
castlegateThe Castlegate is a small area of Aberdeen, Scotland, located centrally at the east-end of the city's main thoroughfare Union Street. Generally speaking, locals would consider it to encompas the square at the end of Union Street where the Mercat Cross and the Gallowgate are located.At the upper end...
); an unknown building on Windmill Hill and a church on St. Catherine's Hill (now levelled).
Bon Accord, is the
mottoA motto is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used...
of the city and is French literally for "Good Agreement". Legend tells that its use dates from the fourteenth century password used by Robert the Bruce during the
Wars of Scottish IndependenceThe Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries....
, when he and his men laid siege to Aberdeen Castle before destroying it in 1308.
The
leopardThe leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera; the other three being the tiger, lion and jaguar...
has traditionally been associated with the city and its emblem can be seen on the city crest. The local magazine is called the "Leopard" and when Union Bridge was constructed in the nineteenth century small statues of the creature in a sitting position were cast and placed on top of the railing posts.
The city's toast is "Happy to meet, sorry to part, happy to meet again", this has been commonly misinterpreted as the translation of Bon Accord.
Climate
Aberdeen is far milder than one might expect for its northern location. During the winter, especially throughout December, the daylength is very short, averaging 6 hours and 40 minutes between sunrise and sunset at the Winter Solstice. Though, as winter progresses, the daylength returns fairly quickly, having 8 hours and 20 minutes by the end of January. As summer begins, the days will be around 18 hours long, having 17 hours and 57 minutes between sunrise and sunset, with Nautical Twilight lasting the entire night. Temperatures at this time of year will be hovering around 17 °C during the day.
Being sited between two river mouths, the city has little natural exposure of bedrock. This leaves local geologists in a slight quandary : despite the high concentration of geoscientists in the area (courtesy of the oil industry), there is only a vague understanding of what underlays the city. To the south side of the city, coastal cliffs expose high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Grampian Group; to the south-west and west are extensive granites intruded into similar high-grade schists; to the north the metamorphics are intruded by gabbroic complexes instead. And under the city itself? The small amount of geophysics done, and occasional building-related exposures, combined with small exposures in the banks of the River Don, suggest that it's actually sited on an inlier of Devonian "Old Red" sandstones and silts. The outskirts of the city spread beyond the (inferred) limits of the outlier onto the surrounding metamorphic/ igneous complexes formed during the
DalradianDalradian is a geological term that describes a series of metamorphic rocks, typically developed in the high ground which lies southeast of the Great Glen of Scotland. This was the old Celtic region of Dál Riata , and in 1891 Sir A...
period (approximately 480-600 million years ago) with sporadic areas of
igneousIgneous rock is one of the three main rock types . Igneous rock is formed by magma being cooled and becoming solid. They may form with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks...
DioriteDiorite is a grey to dark grey intermediate intrusive igneous rock composed principally of plagioclase feldspar , biotite, hornblende, and/or pyroxene. It may contain small amounts of quartz, microcline and olivine. Zircon, apatite, sphene, magnetite, ilmenite and sulfides occur as accessory...
graniteGranite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite has a medium to coarse texture, occasionally with some individual crystals larger than the groundmass forming a rock known as porphyry. Granites can be pink to dark gray or even black, depending on their...
s to be found, such as that at the
Rubislaw quarryRubislaw Quarry was opened in 1740 and is located at the Hill of Rubislaw in the west end of the Scottish city of Aberdeen. In 1778, Aberdeen city council sold it to a businessman, as it was not thought to be a source of good building material...
which was used to build much of the
VictorianThe Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901. The reign was a long period of prosperity for the British people, as profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements...
parts of the city.
On the coast, Aberdeen has a long sand beach between the two rivers, the
DeeThe River Dee is a river in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It rises in the Cairngorms and flows through Strathdee to reach the North Sea at Aberdeen.-Geography:...
and the
DonThe River Don is a river in the northeast of Scotland. It rises in the Grampians and flows eastwards, through Aberdeenshire, to the North Sea at Aberdeen. The Don passes through Alford, Kemnay, Inverurie, Kintore, and Dyce...
, which turns into high sand dunes north of the Don stretching as far as
FraserburghFraserburgh is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the 2001 Census at 12,454 and estimated at 12,630 in 2006. It lies at the extreme northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, around north of Aberdeen, and north of Peterhead...
; to the south of the Dee are steep rocky cliff faces with only minor pebble and shingle beaches in deep inlets. A number of granite outcrops along the south coast have been quarried in the past, making for spectacular scenery and good rock-climbing.
The city extends to 184.46 km² (71.22 sq mi), and includes the former burghs of
Old AberdeenOld Aberdeen is part of the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891...
, New Aberdeen,
WoodsideWoodside is a part of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom.The area used to be separate from the city but has since been incorporated....
and the
Royal BurghA royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs....
of
Torry-Setting and historical development:Torry, lying on the south bank of the River Dee, was once a Royal Burgh in its own right, having been erected a burgh of barony in 1495. It was incorporated into Aberdeen in 1891, after the construction of the Victoria Bridge, itself made possible by the 1871...
to the south of
River DeeThe River Dee is a river in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It rises in the Cairngorms and flows through Strathdee to reach the North Sea at Aberdeen.-Geography:...
. In this gave the city a population density of . The city is built on many hills, with the original beginnings of the city growing from Castle Hill, St. Catherine's Hill and Windmill Hill.
Demography
In 1396 the population was about 3,000. By 1801 it had become 26,992; (1901) 153,503; (1941) 182,467. In 2001 the UK
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
records the Aberdeen City Council area's population at 212,125, but the Aberdeen locality's population at 184,788. The latest official population estimate, for , is . Data from the Aberdeen specific locality of the 2001 UK census shows that the demographics include a median male age of 35 and female age of 38 which are younger than Scotland's average and a 49% to 51% male to female ratio.
The census showed that there are fewer young people in Aberdeen, with 16.4 % under 16, opposed to the national average of 19.2 %. Ethnically, 15.7 % were born outside of Scotland, higher than the national average of 12.9 %. Of this population 8.4 % were born in England. 3 % of Aberdonians stated to be from an ethnic minority (non-white) in the 2001 census, with 0.7% from the Indian-subcontinent and 0.6% Asian, in comparison Scotland's overall population of non-white origin is 2 %. However this is a lower percentage than any of Scotland's other three main cities,
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
,
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
, and
DundeeDundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and, fully named as Dundee City, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It lies on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea....
. The most multicultural part of the city is George Street, which has many ethnic restaurants, supermarkets and hairdressers
In the household, there were 97,013 individual dwellings recorded in the city of which 61% were privately owned, 9% privately rented and 23% rented from the council. The most popular type of dwellings are apartments which compromise 49% of residences followed by semi-detached at just below 22%.
The median income of a household in the city is £16,813 (the mean income is £20,292) (2005) which places approximately 18% households in the city below the poverty line (defined as 60% of the mean income). Conversely, an Aberdeen postcode has the second highest number of millionaires of any postcode in the UK.
Religion
Traditionally
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
, Aberdeen's largest denominations are the
Church of ScotlandThe Church of Scotland , known informally by its Scots language name, The Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
through the
Presbytery of AberdeenThe Presbytery of Aberdeen is one of the forty-six presbyteries of the Church of Scotland, being the local presbytery for the city of Aberdeen. The current moderator is the Rev John M Watson, who is minister of St Mark's Church. The presbytery represents and supervises forty-four Church of Scotland...
and the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
. The last census revealed that Aberdeen is the least religious city in Scotland, with nearly 43 % of people claiming to have no religion and several former churches in the city have been converted into bars and restaurants.
In the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
, the
Kirk of St NicholasThe Kirk of St Nicholas is a historic church located in the city centre of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is now officially known as the "Kirk of St Nicholas " as it is membership of both of the Church of Scotland and the United Reformed Church...
was the only burgh kirk and one of Scotland's largest parish churches. Like a number of other Scottish kirks, it was subdivided after the
ReformationThe Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
, in this case into the East and West churches. At this time, the city also was home to houses of the
CarmelitesThe Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence the order receives its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
(
WhitefriarsThe Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence the order receives its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
) and Franciscans (
GreyfriarsGreyfriars may refer to:* the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor* Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh, a church* Greyfriars Bobby, a renowned dog in Edinburgh* Greyfriars Kirkyard, a graveyard in Edinburgh...
), the latter of which surviving in modified form as the chapel of Marischal College as late as the early twentieth Century.
St Machar's Cathedral was formed twenty years after
David IDavid I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots . The youngest son of Malcolm III and Margaret, David spent most of his childhood in Scotland, but was exiled to England temporarily in 1093...
(1124-53) transferred the pre-Reformation
DioceseIn some forms of Christianity, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bishop,...
from Mortlach in
BanffshireThe County of Banff is a registration county for property, and Banffshire is a Lieutenancy area of Scotland.The County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, was a local government county of Scotland with its own county council between 1890 and 1975. The county town was Banff although the largest...
to Old Aberdeen in 1137. With the exception of the episcopate of
William ElphinstoneWilliam Elphinstone , Scottish statesman, Bishop of Aberdeen and founder of the University of Aberdeen.He was born in Glasgow, and educated at the University of Glasgow, taking the degree of M.A. in 1452. After practising for a short time as a lawyer in the church courts, he was ordained a priest,...
(1484-1511), building progressed slowly.
Gavin DunbarGavin Dunbar was a 16th century bishop of Aberdeen. He was the son of Sir Alexander Dunbar of Westfield, near Elgin and Elizabeth Sutherland, apparently a daughter of Alexander Sutherland, Laird of Duffus...
, who followed him in 1518, completed the structure by adding the two western spires and the southern transept.
St. Mary's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Gothic style, erected in 1859.
St. Andrew's Cathedral is the
Scottish EpiscopalThe Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian denomination in Scotland and a member of the Anglican Communion, although it itself has pre-Anglican origins. It consists of seven dioceses in Scotland. Like all Anglican churches, it recognises the primacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who does not...
Cathedral, constructed in 1817 as Archibald Simpson's first commission. It is notable for having consecrated the first bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.
The Salvation Army citadel dominates the east end of Union Street.
There is also an
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
ic Mosque in Old Aberdeen and an Orthodox Jewish Synagogue established in 1945. There are no formal
BuddhistBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
or
HinduHinduism is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as ', a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law", by its adherents. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as...
buildings. The
University of AberdeenThe University of Aberdeen is an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the fifth oldest university in what is now the United Kingdom, and in the wider English-speaking world....
has a small
Bahá'íThe Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories.The Bahá'í Faith teaches a doctrine of...
society.
Economy
Traditionally, Aberdeen was home to fishing, textile mills, shipbuilding and paper making. These industries have been largely replaced. High technology developments in the electronics design and development industry, research in agriculture and fishing and the oil industry, which has been largely responsible for Aberdeen's economic boom in the last three decades, are now major parts of Aberdeen's economy.
Until the 1970s, most of Aberdeen's leading industries dated from the eighteenth Century; mainly these were textiles, foundry work, shipbuilding and
paperPaper is thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
-making, the oldest industry in the city, with paper having been first made there in 1694. Paper-making has reduced in importance since the closures of Donside Paper Mill in 2001 and the Davidson Mill in 2005 leaving the Stoneywood Paper Mill with a workforce of approximately 500. Textile production ended in 2004 when
Richards of AberdeenRichards of Aberdeen was a textile company based in the Hutcheon Street area of Aberdeen, Scotland.-History:Founded more than 200 years ago, Richards operated what was to become the oldest iron-frame mill in Scotland and the last remaining textile mill in the 'Granite City'...
closed.
Grey granite was
quarriedA quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel...
at
Rubislaw quarryRubislaw Quarry was opened in 1740 and is located at the Hill of Rubislaw in the west end of the Scottish city of Aberdeen. In 1778, Aberdeen city council sold it to a businessman, as it was not thought to be a source of good building material...
for more than 300 years, and used for paving setts, kerb and building stones, and monumental and other ornamental pieces. Aberdeen granite was used to build the terraces of the Houses of Parliament and
Waterloo BridgeWaterloo Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, England between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge. The name of the bridge is in memory of the British victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815...
in London. Quarrying finally ceased in 1971.
Fishing was once the predominant industry, but was surpassed by deep-sea fisheries, which derived a great impetus from improved technologies throughout the twentieth Century. Catches have fallen due to overfishing and the use of the harbour by oil support vessels, and so although still an important fishing port it is now eclipsed by the more northerly ports of
PeterheadPeterhead is a shitty town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's largest settlement, having a population of 17,947 at the 2001 Census and estimated to have fallen to 17,330 by 2006. Peterhead sits at the easternmost point in mainland Scotland. Peterhead is often referred to as 'The...
and
FraserburghFraserburgh is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the 2001 Census at 12,454 and estimated at 12,630 in 2006. It lies at the extreme northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, around north of Aberdeen, and north of Peterhead...
. The
Fisheries Research ServicesFisheries Research Services is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. FRS is responsible for scientific and technical research into the marine and freshwater fisheries and aquaculture, and the protection of the aquatic environment in Scotland. For these purposes, the agency has two...
is based in Aberdeen, including its headquarters, and a marine research lab in Torry.
Aberdeen is well regarded for the agricultural and soil research that takes place at The Macaulay Institute, which has close links to the city's two universities. The
Rowett Research InstituteThe Rowett Research Institute is a research centre for studies into food and nutrition located in Aberdeen, Scotland.-History:The institute was founded in 1913 when the University of Aberdeen and the North of Scotland College of Agriculture agreed that an "Institute for Research into Animal...
is a world renowned research centre for studies into food and nutrition located in Aberdeen. It has produced three Nobel laureates and there is a high concentration of life scientists working in the city.
There is also a dynamic and fast growing electronics design and development industry.
With the discovery of significant
oil depositNorth Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid oil and natural gas, produced from oil reservoirs beneath the North Sea. In the oil industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Sea and the UK "Atlantic Margin" that are not, strictly speaking, part of the...
s in the
North SeaThe North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean. It is more than long and wide, with an area of around...
during the late twentieth Century, Aberdeen became the centre of Europe's
petroleumPetroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds.The term "petroleum" was first used in the treatise De Natura Fossilium, published in...
industry. With the second largest heliport in the world and an important service ship harbour port serving
oil rigAn offshore platform, often referred to as an oil platform or an oil rig, is a large structure used to house workers and machinery needed to drill wells in the ocean bed, extract oil and/or natural gas, process the produced fluids, and ship or pipe them to shore...
s off-shore, Aberdeen is often called the Oil Capital of Europe
.
There is now a concerted effort to transform Aberdeen's reputation as the Oil Capital of Europe
into the Energy Capital of Europe as oil supplies may start to dwindle in coming years, and there is considerable interest in the development of new energy sources; and technology transfer from oil into renewable energy and other industries is underway. The "Energetica" initiative led by Scottish Enterprise has been designed to accelerate this process.
The city ranks third in Scotland for shopping. The traditional shopping streets are
Union StreetUnion Street is a major street and shopping thoroughfare in Aberdeen, Scotland.It was built, along with the adjoining King Street, in the beginning of the 19th Century under plans suggested by Charles Abercrombie to provide an impressive entrance way into the city, and nearly bankrupted the city...
and
George StreetGeorge Street is a street in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland.At its northern end it meets the area of Kittybrewster. Running south and slightly east, George Street heads towards the city centre...
which are now complemented by shopping centres, notably the St Nicholas & Bon Accord and the The Mall Aberdeen. A new retail
£190 million development, Union Square, is nearing completion. Major retail parks away from the city centre include the Berryden Retail Park, the Kittybrewster Retail Park and the Beach Boulevard Retail Park.
In March 2004, Aberdeen was awarded Fairtrade City status by the Fairtrade Foundation. Along with Dundee, it shares the distinction of being the first city in Scotland to receive this accolade.
Landmarks
Aberdeen's
architectureFor a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of architecture. Architecture is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures for human shelter or use....
is known for its principal use during the
Victorian eraThe Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901. The reign was a long period of prosperity for the British people, as profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements...
of
graniteGranite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite has a medium to coarse texture, occasionally with some individual crystals larger than the groundmass forming a rock known as porphyry. Granites can be pink to dark gray or even black, depending on their...
, which has led to its local
nicknameA nickname is a descriptive name given in place of or in addition to the official name of a person, place or thing. It can also be the familiar or truncated form of the proper name, which may sometimes be used simply for convenience A nickname (also spelled "nick name") is a descriptive name...
of the Granite City
or more romantically the less commonly used name the Silver City, since the
quartzQuartz is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust . It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO
4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO
2.There are many different varieties of...
in the stone sparkles in the sun.
The hard grey stone is one of the most durable materials available and helps to explain why the city's buildings look brand-new when they have been newly cleaned and the cement has been pointed. Unlike other Scottish cities where
sandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow,...
has been used the buildings are not weathering and need very little structural maintenance on their masonry.
Amongst the notable buildings in the city's main street,
Union StreetUnion Street is a major street and shopping thoroughfare in Aberdeen, Scotland.It was built, along with the adjoining King Street, in the beginning of the 19th Century under plans suggested by Charles Abercrombie to provide an impressive entrance way into the city, and nearly bankrupted the city...
, are the Town and County Bank, the
Music HallThe Music Hall is a concert hall in Aberdeen, Scotland, formerly the city's Assembly Rooms, located on Union Street in the city centre. It was designed by architect Archibald Simpson, costing £11,500 when it was originally constructed in 1822, opened to the public as a concert hall in 1859, and was...
, the Trinity Hall of the incorporated trades (originating between 1398 and 1527), now a shopping mall; the former office of the Northern Assurance Company, and the National Bank of Scotland. In Castle Street, a continuation eastwards of Union Street, is the Town House, built in 1873 by Peddie and Kinnear.
Marischal CollegeMarischal College is a building and former university in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland owned by the University of Aberdeen. Marischal College and University of Aberdeen was founded in the late 16th century, merging with King's College in 1860 to form the University of Aberdeen.Marischal College...
on Broad Street, opened by King
Edward VIIEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910...
in 1906, is the second largest granite building in the world (after the Escorial,
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London.The city is located on the river...
).
Transport
Aberdeen AirportAberdeen Airport is an international airport, located at Dyce in the City of Aberdeen, approximately northwest of Aberdeen city centre. 3.29 million passengers used Aberdeen Airport in 2008, a reduction of 3.6% compared with 2007, making it the 14th busiest airport in the UK...
(ABZ), at
DyceBridgefield redirects to this page, for details on the failed redevelopment project of the same name in Stockport, England see MerseywayDyce is a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, about six miles northwest of Aberdeen city, best known for being the location of the city's airport...
in the north of the city, serves a number of domestic and international destinations including France, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Ireland and Scandinavian countries. The heliport which serves the oil industry and rescue services is one of the busiest commercial heliports in the world.
Aberdeen railway stationAberdeen railway station is a railway station in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.- History :The station currently standing was built as Aberdeen Joint Station between 1913-16, replacing an 1867 structure of the same name, on the same site...
is on the main UK rail network and connects directly to major cities such as
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
,
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and London, including the overnight
Caledonian SleeperThe Caledonian Sleeper is a sleeper train service operated by First ScotRail and one of only two remaining sleeper services running on the railways of Great Britain, the other being the Night Riviera....
train. The station is currently being updated to bring it into the modern age. In 2007 additions were made and a new ticket office was built in the building.
Until 2007, a 1950s style concrete bus station at Guild Street served out of the city locations; it has since transferred to a new and well presented bus station just 100 metres to the East off Market Street as part of the Union Square development.
There are six major roads in and out of the city. The A90 is the main arterial route into the city from the north and south, linking Aberdeen to Edinburgh,
DundeeDundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and, fully named as Dundee City, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It lies on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea....
,
BrechinBrechin is a former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin is often described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese , however this status was never officially recognised...
and
PerthPerth is a former royal burgh in central Scotland. Sitting on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative headquarters of Perth and Kinross council area. According to the 2001 census, its population is 43,450...
in the south and
EllonEllon is a sizeable town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north of Aberdeen, lying on the River Ythan which has one of the few undeveloped river estuaries on the Eastern coast of Scotland. It is in the ancient region of Formartine...
,
PeterheadPeterhead is a shitty town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's largest settlement, having a population of 17,947 at the 2001 Census and estimated to have fallen to 17,330 by 2006. Peterhead sits at the easternmost point in mainland Scotland. Peterhead is often referred to as 'The...
and
FraserburghFraserburgh is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the 2001 Census at 12,454 and estimated at 12,630 in 2006. It lies at the extreme northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, around north of Aberdeen, and north of Peterhead...
in the north. The A96 links to
ElginElgin is a former cathedral city and a former Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland and is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The city originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...
and
InvernessInverness is a city in northern Scotland. The city is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is promoted as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
and the north west. The A93 is the main route to the west, heading towards Royal Deeside and the
CairngormsThe Cairngorms are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain of the same name - Cairn Gorm.-Name:...
. After
BraemarBraemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee sitting at an altitude of ....
, it turns south, providing an alternative tourist route to Perth. The A944 also heads west, through Westhill and onto
AlfordAlford is a large village in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland, lying just south of the River Don. The place-name is thought to come from the Scots "auld ford"; its original position being on the banks of the Don...
. The A92 was the original southerly road to Aberdeen prior to the building of the A90, and is now used as a tourist route, connecting the towns of
MontroseMontrose is a coastal resort town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. It is situated 38 miles north east of Dundee between the mouths of the North and South Esk rivers...
and
ArbroathArbroath or Aberbrothock is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus in Scotland, and has a population of 22,785...
and on the east coast. The A947 exits the city at Dyce and goes on to
NewmacharNewmachar is a village in the north-east of Scotland, 10 miles to the north-west of Aberdeen with a population of just under 2,500.- Overview :The name originates from the original parish created in 1609, from part of the parish of St Machar's Cathedral...
,
OldmeldrumOldmeldrum is a village and parish in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, not far from Inverurie in North East Scotland. With a growing population of over 2000, Oldmeldrum falls within Scotland's top 300 centres of population. The A947 road from Aberdeen to Banff runs through the centre of the...
and
TurriffTurriff is a town and parish in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is approximately 166 feet above sea level.Turriff is known locally as Turra in the Doric dialect of Scots...
finally ending at
Banff and MacduffBanff and Macduff are neighbouring towns situated on Banff Bay, both of which are former burghs in Aberdeenshire, Scotland...
.
Aberdeen Harbour is important as the largest in the north of Scotland and as a ferry route to Orkney and Shetland. Established in 1136, it has been referred to as the oldest business in Britain.
FirstGroup operate the city buses in the city under the name
First AberdeenFirst Aberdeen Ltd is the main bus company serving Aberdeen, Scotland and is part of FirstGroup. It was renamed First Aberdeen Ltd in 1998, having previously operated buses in Aberdeen as Aberdeen Corporation, Grampian Regional Transport and First Grampian.-Aberdeen Corporation:Aberdeen Corporation...
, as the successor of Grampian Regional Transport (GRT) and Aberdeen Corporation Tramways. Aberdeen is the global headquarters of FirstGroup plc, having grown from the
GRT GroupGRT Group plc was a bus operating company in the United Kingdom. Created in 1989 as a holding company to effect the buyout of Grampian Regional Transport , it grew by acquisition and in 1995 merged with Badgerline to create FirstBus plc, forerunner to worldwide transport company FirstGroup...
. First is still based at the former Aberdeen Tramways depot on King Street, soon to be redeveloped into a new Global Headquarters and Aberdeen bus depot.
Stagecoach GroupStagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
also run buses in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, under the Stagecoach Bluebird name. Also, other bus companies (e.g.
MegabusMegabus can refer to:*Megabus - a low-cost coach service in Great Britain owned by Stagecoach Group*Megabus - a low-cost bus service in the United States and Canada also owned by Stagecoach Group...
) run buses from the bus station to places North and South of the city.
Aberdeen is connected to the UK
National Cycle NetworkThe National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...
, and has a track to the south connecting to cities such as Dundee and Edinburgh and one to the north that forks about
10 miles from the city into two different tracks heading to Inverness and
FraserburghFraserburgh is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the 2001 Census at 12,454 and estimated at 12,630 in 2006. It lies at the extreme northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, around north of Aberdeen, and north of Peterhead...
respectively. Two particularly popular footpaths along old railway tracks are the
Deeside WayThe Deeside Way , is a pathway that travels along the bed of the now removed Deeside Railway, along the north bank of the River Dee in Aberdeenshire.While in operation, the railway was used by the British Royal Family during travel to their Scottish retreat at Balmoral,...
to
BanchoryBanchory is a burgh or town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, lying approximately 18 miles west of Aberdeen, near where the Feugh River meets the River Dee.- Overview :...
(which will eventually connect to Ballater) and the
Formartine and Buchan WayThe Formartine and Buchan Way is a long distance footpath that goes from Dyce north to Peterhead and Fraserburgh. It follows the track of a former railway line Formartine and Buchan Railway and is open to walkers and cyclists. Horse riders are also welcome on parts of the track but may require a...
to Ellon, both are used by a mixture of cyclists, walkers and occasionally horses. It has four Park and Ride sites which service the city, Stonehaven and Ellon (approx 12-17miles out from city centre) and Kingswells and Bridge of Don (approx 3-4miles out from city centre).
Education
Universities and colleges
Aberdeen has two universities, the
University of AberdeenThe University of Aberdeen is an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the fifth oldest university in what is now the United Kingdom, and in the wider English-speaking world....
and
The Robert Gordon UniversityThe Robert Gordon University is a modern university located in Aberdeen, Scotland. Granted university status in 1992, Robert Gordon University currently has approximately 12,790 students at its two campuses at Garthdee and Schoolhill, studying on over 145 full-time and part-time undergraduate and...
. Aberdeen's student rate of 11.5% is higher than the national average of 7%.
The
University of AberdeenThe University of Aberdeen is an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the fifth oldest university in what is now the United Kingdom, and in the wider English-speaking world....
began life as
King's College, AberdeenKing's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and an integral part of the University of Aberdeen...
, which was founded in 1495 by
William ElphinstoneWilliam Elphinstone , Scottish statesman, Bishop of Aberdeen and founder of the University of Aberdeen.He was born in Glasgow, and educated at the University of Glasgow, taking the degree of M.A. in 1452. After practising for a short time as a lawyer in the church courts, he was ordained a priest,...
(1431-1514),
Bishop of AberdeenThe Bishop of Aberdeen was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Aberdeen, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th century cleric named Nechtan. It appears that the episcopal seat had previously been at Mortlach , but was moved to Aberdeen during...
and Chancellor of Scotland.
Marischal CollegeMarischal College is a building and former university in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland owned by the University of Aberdeen. Marischal College and University of Aberdeen was founded in the late 16th century, merging with King's College in 1860 to form the University of Aberdeen.Marischal College...
, a separate institution, was founded in "New" Aberdeen by George Keith, fifth Earl Marischal of Scotland in 1593. These institutions were amalgamated to form the present University of Aberdeen in 1860. The university is the fifth oldest in the English speaking world.
Robert Gordon's CollegeRobert Gordon's College is a private co-educational day school in Aberdeen, Scotland.-History:It originally opened in 1750 as the result of a bequest by Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant who made his fortune from trading with Baltic ports, and was known at foundation as Robert Gordon's Hospital...
(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 of the sons of poor burgesses of guild and trade in the city, it was reorganised in 1881 as a day and night school for secondary and technical education. In 1903, the vocational education component of the college was designated a
Central InstitutionA Central Institution was a type of higher education institute in 20th and 21st century Scotland responsible for providing degree-level education but emphasising teaching rather than research. Some had a range of courses similar to polytechnics elsewhere in the United Kingdom while others were...
and was renamed as the Robert Gordon Institute of Technology in 1965. In 1992, university status was gained and it became the
Robert Gordon UniversityThe Robert Gordon University is a modern university located in Aberdeen, Scotland. Granted university status in 1992, Robert Gordon University currently has approximately 12,790 students at its two campuses at Garthdee and Schoolhill, studying on over 145 full-time and part-time undergraduate and...
.
Aberdeen is also home to two artistic schools:
Gray's School of ArtGray's School of Art is an integral part of the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland. One of Scotland's four art schools, Gray's is located in the Garthdee grounds of the University.-History:...
, founded in 1886, which is one of the oldest established colleges of art in the UK, and is now incorporated into Robert Gordon University; and
The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and The Built EnvironmentThe Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment is situated on the Garthdee Campus of the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland. The current head of School is David McClean...
, which is situated on the Garthdee Campus of the Robert Gordon University, next to Gray's School of Art.
Aberdeen College-See also:* List of further and higher education colleges in Scotland* ....
has several campuses in the city and offers a wide variety of part-time and full-time courses leading to several different qualifications. It is the largest further education institution in Scotland.
The
Scottish Agricultural CollegeThe Scottish Agricultural College provides agricultural education, advice, consultancy and research services to rural communities and industries in Scotland.SAC's mission is to "enhance the sustainability of the land-based industries"...
is based just outside Aberdeen, on the Craibstone Estate, which is situated on the A90 roundabout for the Dyce Airport. They provide three services - Learning, Research and Consultancy. The college provides many land based courses such as Agriculture, Countryside Management, Sustainable Environmental Management and Rural Business Management which are proving to be the most popular. There are a variety of courses from diplomas through to masters degrees.
Schools
There are currently 12 secondary schools and 54 primary schools which are run by the city council. The most notable are
Aberdeen Grammar SchoolAberdeen Grammar School, known to students as The Grammar or AGS, is a state secondary school in the City of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of twelve secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department...
(founded in 1257),
Harlaw AcademyHarlaw Academy is a six year comprehensive secondary school situated some 200 yards from the junction of Union Street and Holburn Street in the centre of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland close to Aberdeen Grammar School...
,
Cults AcademyCults Academy is an Aberdeen City Council secondary school in Cults, Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the recipient of The Sunday Times Scottish State Secondary School of the Year Award 2008 due to its outstanding exam results in the past year , having been rated 3rd in 2005...
, and
Oldmachar AcademyOldmachar Academy is situated to the north of the city of Aberdeen in an area of private housing. It is a six-year comprehensive, non-denominational school which opened to pupils in August 1982 ....
which were all rated in the top 50 Scottish secondary schools league tables published by
The TimesThe Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register....
in 2005.
There are a number of private schools in Aberdeen;
Robert Gordon's CollegeRobert Gordon's College is a private co-educational day school in Aberdeen, Scotland.-History:It originally opened in 1750 as the result of a bequest by Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant who made his fortune from trading with Baltic ports, and was known at foundation as Robert Gordon's Hospital...
,
Albyn SchoolThe Albyn School is a private, independent educational establishment, founded in 1867 in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is located on Queens Road and Forest Road. Albyn was originally an all-girls school before becoming co-educational in 2005...
for Girls (co-educational as of 2005),
St Margaret's School for GirlsSt Margaret's School for Girls is a girl's school in Aberdeen, Scotland.-History:Since August 2005, St Margaret's is the only remaining school in the North of Scotland that caters exclusively to girls' education....
, the
Hamilton SchoolThe Hamilton is an Independent Day School in Aberdeen, Scotland presently offering Care and Education to pupils from three months to twelve years. The Hamilton School is Scotland’s only privately owned independent day school...
(a Montessori school), the
TotalTotal S.A. is a French oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and international...
French School (for French oil industry families), the
International School of AberdeenThe International School of Aberdeen is a school in Milltimber, Aberdeen, Scotland. It takes in students that come from other countries besides the UK, although often British students are allowed to attend the school. It was formerly known as the American School in Aberdeen.It is one of three IB...
and a Waldorf/Steiner School.
Primary schools in Aberdeen include Airyhall Primary School,
Albyn SchoolThe Albyn School is a private, independent educational establishment, founded in 1867 in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is located on Queens Road and Forest Road. Albyn was originally an all-girls school before becoming co-educational in 2005...
, Ashley Road Primary School, Cornhill Primary School (the city's largest), Culter Primary School, Danestone Primary School, Ferryhill Primary School,
Gilcomstoun Primary SchoolGilcomstoun Primary School is an Aberdeen City Council owned and run educational establishment in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of Aberdeen Grammar School's feeder schools....
, Glashieburn Primary School, Greenbrae Primary School,
Hamilton SchoolThe Hamilton is an Independent Day School in Aberdeen, Scotland presently offering Care and Education to pupils from three months to twelve years. The Hamilton School is Scotland’s only privately owned independent day school...
,
Mile-End SchoolMile-End School is a primary school and nursery in Aberdeen, Scotland. It has approximately 500 pupils. The primary school is set in a large Victorian gray granite building on Midstocket Road, whilst the nursery is on Raeden Park Road, about 10 minutes walk away at the site of the old Beechwood...
,
Robert Gordon's CollegeRobert Gordon's College is a private co-educational day school in Aberdeen, Scotland.-History:It originally opened in 1750 as the result of a bequest by Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant who made his fortune from trading with Baltic ports, and was known at foundation as Robert Gordon's Hospital...
,
Skene Square Primary SchoolSkene Square Primary School is an Aberdeen City Council owned and run educational establishment in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of the main feeder schools to Aberdeen Grammar School....
, St. Joseph’s Primary School and
St Margaret's School for GirlsSt Margaret's School for Girls is a girl's school in Aberdeen, Scotland.-History:Since August 2005, St Margaret's is the only remaining school in the North of Scotland that caters exclusively to girls' education....
.
Culture
The city has a wide range of cultural activities, amenities and museums. The city is regularly visited by
Scotland's National Arts CompaniesScotland's national arts companies are directly funded by the Scottish Government. In Scottish performing arts circles, they are often referred to as "the Big Five".* Scottish Ballet* Scottish Opera* Royal Scottish National Orchestra...
. The
Aberdeen Art GalleryAberdeen Art Gallery is the main visual arts exhibition space in the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. It opened in 1885, in a building designed by Alexander Marshall McKenzie....
houses a collection of Impressionist,
VictorianThe Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901. The reign was a long period of prosperity for the British people, as profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements...
, Scottish and twentieth Century British paintings as well as collections of silver and glass. It also includes The Alexander Macdonald Bequest, a collection of late nineteenth century works donated by the museum's first benefactor and a constantly changing collection of contemporary work and regular visiting exhibitions.
Museums and galleries
The
Aberdeen Maritime MuseumAberdeen Maritime Museum is a maritime museum in Aberdeen, Scotland.The museum is situated on the historic Shiprow in the heart of the city, near the harbour. It makes use of a range of buildings including a former church and Provost Ross' House, one of the oldest domestic buildings in the city.The...
, located in Shiprow, tells the story of Aberdeen's links with the sea from the days of sail and
clipper shipsNotable examples of the clipper ship include:* Archibald Russell, 1905, a steeled-hulled 4-masted barque, 291.3ft x 43ft x 24ft, built by Scott Shipbuilding and Engineering Co of Greenock. In 1923 she was sold to Gustaf Erikson, Mariehamn, Aland Islands, Finland and put on the Australian wheat trade...
to the latest oil and gas exploration technology. It includes an
8.5 m (
28 feet) high model of the Murchison oil production platform and a nineteenth century assembly taken from
Rattray HeadRattray Head is a headland in Buchan, Aberdeenshire, on the north east coast Scotland. To north lies Strathbeg Bay and Rattray Bay is to its south...
lighthouse.
Provost Ross' HouseProvost John Ross was Lord Provost in Aberdeen, Scotland from 1710–1712. Today he is most famous for the house he occupied in the 18th century from 1702.-Provost Ross's House:...
is the second oldest dwelling house in the city. It was built in 1593 and became the residence of
Provost John RossProvost John Ross was Lord Provost in Aberdeen, Scotland from 1710–1712. Today he is most famous for the house he occupied in the 18th century from 1702.-Provost Ross's House:...
of Arnage in 1702. The house retains some original medieval features, including a kitchen, fire places and beam-and-board ceilings. The
Gordon Highlanders MuseumThe Gordon Highlanders Museum is based in Aberdeen, Scotland and celebrates the story of the Gordon Highlanders which were active from 1881 to 1994. It is a 5 star Scottish Tourist Board attraction....
tells the story of one of Scotland's best known regiments.
Marischal MuseumThe Marischal Museum is the main museum in the city centre of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was established in 1786 and is situated in the architecturally notable Marischal College building, part of the University of Aberdeen....
holds the principal collections of the
University of AberdeenThe University of Aberdeen is an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the fifth oldest university in what is now the United Kingdom, and in the wider English-speaking world....
, comprising some 80,000 items in the areas of fine art, Scottish history and archaeology, and European, Mediterranean & Near Eastern archaeology. The permanent displays and reference collections are augmented by regular temporary exhibitions.
Performing arts
Aberdeen is home to a host of events and festivals including the
Aberdeen International Youth FestivalAberdeen International Youth Festival is a leading Festival of Youth Arts, and one of Scotland's major international cultural events.Every year Aberdeen International Youth Festival attracts over 1000 of the most talented young people in performing arts companies and music groups from across the...
(the world's largest arts festival for young performers), Aberdeen Jazz Festival, Rootin' Aboot
(folk and roots music event based at the Lemon Tree), Triptych
, and the University of AberdeenThe University of Aberdeen is an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the fifth oldest university in what is now the United Kingdom, and in the wider English-speaking world....
's literature festival Word
.
In 2006 Simon FarquharSimon Farquhar is a playwright. He was born in Cullen in Banffshire on the 15th December 1972.During his time at the University of Aberdeen he was an active writer and performer in the university's drama group, Centre Stage...
's play Rainbow Kiss was staged at London's
Royal Court TheatreThe Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
. Directed by Richard Wilson and starring Joe McFadden and
Dawn SteeleDawn Anne Steele is a Scottish actress.-Career:Dawn Ann Steele was born in Glasgow, moved to Milton of Campsie in 1982, attended Kilsyth Academy from around 1987-93 and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow from 1994 - 1998, supporting her early career as a waitress...
, the play was an uncompromising depiction of Aberdeen life which, despite its strong sexual and violent content, won rave reviews from the liberal press and was applauded by MP for
Aberdeen SouthAberdeen South may refer to:* Aberdeen South * Aberdeen South...
Anne BeggAnne Begg is a British politician and is the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Aberdeen South.Begg is notable for being a wheelchair user.-Education and career:...
.
Music and film
Aberdeen's music scene includes a variety of live music venues including pubs, clubs, and church choirs. The bars of
Belmont StreetBelmont Street is a north-south street in the centre of Aberdeen, Scotland.Belmont Street runs perpendicular to Union Street and is known for its vibrant nightlife...
are particularly known for featuring live music.
CèilidhA céilidh is a traditional Gaelic social dance originating in Ireland and Scotland, but now common throughout the Celtic diaspora. Other spellings encountered are ceilidh, céilí and cèilidh...
s are also common in the city's halls. The many popular venues include The Moorings, The Lemon Tree, Drummonds, Moshulu (now owned by Barfly), Snafu, The Tunnels, the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, and
Aberdeen Music HallThe Music Hall is a concert hall in Aberdeen, Scotland, formerly the city's Assembly Rooms, located on Union Street in the city centre. It was designed by architect Archibald Simpson, costing £11,500 when it was originally constructed in 1822, opened to the public as a concert hall in 1859, and was...
.
Notable Aberdonian musicians include
Evelyn GlennieDame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, DBE , is a Scottish virtuoso percussionist. She was the first full-time solo percussionist in 20th-century western society.- Background :...
and
Annie LennoxAnnie Lennox is a Scottish musician and recording artist. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Lennox showed aptitude in music when she was a child and later studied classical music at the Royal Academy of Music in London...
. Contemporary composers
John McLeodJohn McLeod is a contemporary composer based in Edinburgh, who writes music in many media including film and television. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley....
and Martin Dalby also hail from Aberdeen.
Cultural cinema, educational work and local film events are provided by The Belmont Picturehouse
on
Belmont StreetBelmont Street is a north-south street in the centre of Aberdeen, Scotland.Belmont Street runs perpendicular to Union Street and is known for its vibrant nightlife...
, Peacock Visual Arts and The Foyer.
Open spaces
Aberdeen has long been famous for its 45 outstanding
parkA park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment. It may consist of, rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas....
s and
gardenA garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form is known as a residential garden. Western gardens are almost universally...
s, and citywide floral displays which include two million roses, eleven million daffodils and three million crocuses. The city has won the
Royal Horticultural SocietyThe Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert. It is a charity and exists to promote gardening and horticulture in Britain and Europe...
's
Britain in BloomBritain in Bloom is a horticultural competition in the United Kingdom. It was first held in 1963, initiated by the British Tourist Board based on the example set by Fleurissement de France. It has been organised by the Royal Horticultural Society since 2002 and is currently sponsored by Shredded...
'Best City' award ten times, the overall Scotland in Bloom competition twenty times and the large city category every year since 1968. At one point after winning a period of nine years straight, Aberdeen was banned from the Britain in Bloom competition to give another city a chance. The city won the 2006 Scotland in Bloom "Best City" award along with the International Cities in Bloom award. The suburb of
DyceBridgefield redirects to this page, for details on the failed redevelopment project of the same name in Stockport, England see MerseywayDyce is a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, about six miles northwest of Aberdeen city, best known for being the location of the city's airport...
also won the Small Towns award.
Duthie ParkDuthie park, situated in Aberdeen, Scotland, by the banks of the River Dee, comprises of land gifted to the council in 1881 by Lady Elizabeth Duthie of Ruthrieston, in memory of her uncle and of her brother. She purchased the land for £30,000 from the estate of Arthurseat...
opened in 1899 on the north bank of the
River DeeThe River Dee is a river in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It rises in the Cairngorms and flows through Strathdee to reach the North Sea at Aberdeen.-Geography:...
. It was named after and gifted to the city by Miss Elizabeth Crombie Duthie of Ruthrieston in 1881. It has extensive gardens, a rose hill, boating pond, bandstand, and play area as well as Europe's second largest enclosed gardens the David Welch Winter Gardens.
Hazlehead ParkHazlehead Park is a large public park in the Hazlehead area of Aberdeen, Scotland. 180 hectares in size, it was opened to the public in 1920, having formerly been the estate of Hazlehead House, home of William Rose, shipbuilder....
, is large and forested, located on the outskirts of the city, it is popular with walkers in the forests, sports enthusiasts, naturalists and picnickers. There are football pitches, two golf courses, a pitch and putt course and a horse riding school.
Aberdeen's success in the Britain in Bloom competitions is often attributed to
Johnston GardensJohnston Gardens is a small public garden in Aberdeen, Scotland. The garden has won the Britain in Bloom competition many times ....
, a small park of one hectare in the west end of the city containing many different flowers and plants which have been renowned for their beauty. The garden was in 2002, named the best garden in the
British IslandsBritish Islands is a term in British law which since 1889 has referred collectively to the following four states:*the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;*the Bailiwick of Jersey;...
.
Seaton ParkSeaton Park is located in Aberdeen, Scotland and is one of the city's biggest parks. It was bought by the city for use as a public park in 1947 from Major Hay.The River Don passes along the edge of the park...
, formerly the grounds of a private house, is on the edge of the grounds of St Machar's Cathedral. The Cathedral Walk is maintained in a formal style with a great variety of plants providing a popular display. The park includes several other areas with contrasting styles to this.
Union Terrace GardensUnion Terrace Gardens is a park in the centre of Aberdeen, Scotland.The park covers one hectare to the side of Union Terrace, off Aberdeen's main thoroughfare, Union Street. As a natural amphitheatre, the park is used for concerts and leisure activities, as well as providing somewhere to relax...
opened in 1879 and is situated in the centre of the city. In recent years however it has become underused and there are several plans to improve it, including the building of an arts centre in the gardens. More recently however a prolific Aberdeen businessman, Sir Ian Wood has agreed to partly fund plans to create a massive civic square by raising the gardens and covering the nearby road and rail links.
Situated next to each other,
Victoria ParkVictoria Park is a small park in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland.The park has an area of five hectares and opened to the public in 1871. It is named after Queen Victoria. As well as numerous flower beds there is a conservatory and a greenhouse which is open during the summer months...
and
Westburn ParkWestburn Park is located in Aberdeen, Scotland and is a large Aberdeen City Council owned public park. It is a 10 hectare site and one of the cities biggest parks....
cover between them.
Victoria ParkVictoria Park is a small park in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland.The park has an area of five hectares and opened to the public in 1871. It is named after Queen Victoria. As well as numerous flower beds there is a conservatory and a greenhouse which is open during the summer months...
opened in 1871. There is a conservatory used as a seating area and a fountain made of fourteen different granites, presented to the people by the granite polishers and master builders of Aberdeen. Opposite to the north is
Westburn ParkWestburn Park is located in Aberdeen, Scotland and is a large Aberdeen City Council owned public park. It is a 10 hectare site and one of the cities biggest parks....
opened in 1901. With large grass pitches it is widely used for field sports. There is large tennis centre with indoor and outdoor courts, a children's cycle track, play area and a grass boules lawn.
Dialect
Listen to recordings of a speaker of Scots from Aberdeen
The local dialect of
Lowland ScotsLowland Scots can refer to:* people of Lowland Scotland* Scots language...
is often known as the Doric
, and is spoken not just in the city, but across the north-east of Scotland. It differs somewhat from other Scots dialects most noticeable are the pronunciation f
for what is normally written wh
and ee
for what in standard English would usually be written oo
(Scots ui
). Every year the annual Doric Festival takes place in Aberdeenshire to celebrate the history of the north-east's language. As with all Scots dialects in urban areas, it is not spoken as widely as it used to be in Aberdeen.
Media
Aberdeen is home to Scotland's oldest newspaper the Press and JournalThe Press and Journal, often called the P&J, is a daily regional newspaper serving the northern counties of Scotland including the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness...
, first published in 1747. The Press and Journal
and its sister paper the Evening ExpressThe Evening Express is a daily local newspaper serving the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. It was first published in November 1879.It was a tabloid during the 1930s to the 1950s until it resumed a broadsheet in November 1958, six days a week. By September 1989, The Saturday edition returned to a...
are printed six days a week by Aberdeen JournalsAberdeen Journals Ltd. is a newspaper publisher based in Aberdeen, Scotland.The company publishes the Press and Journal and Evening Expressand ScotADs newspapers. It was owned by Northcliffe Newspapers Group, which is owned by Daily Mail & General Trust until 2006, when Aberdeen Journals was sold...
. There are two free newspapers: Aberdeen Record PM
and Aberdeen CitizenThe Aberdeen Citizen is the highest distributed free newspaper in Aberdeen. It is a weekly newspaper. Launched in 1989, as the Aberdeen Herald & Post, it was re-launched as its current title in 2002...
.
BBC ScotlandBBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
has a small studio in Aberdeen's Beechgrove area, and BBC Aberdeen produces The Beechgrove Potting Shed
for radio and Tern Television produce the Beechgrove GardenThe Beechgrove Garden is a television programme broadcast on BBC Two Scotland since 1978, but since 10 April 2007 now broadcast on BBC One Scotland. It is a Scottish equivalent of Gardener's World. The original plot of land used was the small area of garden attached to the BBC studios in Aberdeen,...
television programme. The city is also home to STV North (formerly Grampian Television
), which produces the nightly regional news programme, STV News at SixSTV News at Six is a Scottish regional news programme, covering the two STV franchise areas of Northern and Central Scotland, produced by STV Central in the Central region and STV North in the Northern region.The programmes were launched on Monday 23 March 2009, replacing Scotland Today and North...
, as well as local commercials. The station, based at Craigshaw Business Park in
TullosTullos is an area of Torry, a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland. The area takes its name from the Vale of Tullos which lies between Tullos Hill and Torry Hill. Tullos derived its name from a corruption of the Gaelic ‘Tulach’ meaning a hill....
, was based at larger studios in
Queens CrossQueens Cross is area in the west-end of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is located just west from the main Union Street and about one and a half miles from the geographical town centre at Mercat Cross....
from September 1961 until June 2003.
There are three commercial radio stations operating within the city,
Northsound RadioNorthsound Radio was the name for the original Northsound Radio station, broadcast from Aberdeen, Scotland to the north-east of Scotland. In 1995, the station split to become two commercial local radio stations.- History :...
, which runs Northsound One and Northsound Two, and independent station
Original 106Original 106fm is an independent radio station broadcasting to Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. It was awarded its broadcast licence in January 2007 and the station launched on October 28, 2007 at 1:06 pm...
. Other radio stations include NECR FM (North-East Community Radio FM
) DABDigital Audio Broadcasting , is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
station, and shmu FM managed by Station House Media Unit which supports community members to run Aberdeen's first (and only) full-time community radio station, broadcasting on
99.8 MHz FM.
Sport
Football
The
Scottish Premier LeagueThe Scottish Premier League is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top level of the Scottish football league system — above the Scottish Football League.Per capita, more people in Scotland watch their domestic top level league than any other nation in...
football club, Aberdeen F.C. play at Pittodrie. The club won the European Cup Winners Cup and the
European Super CupThe European Super Cup is an annual football game between the reigning champions of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League . It takes place at the start of the domestic season, in August, normally on a Friday.The current champions are Spanish club FC Barcelona, and the most...
in 1983 and the
Scottish Premier LeagueThe Scottish Premier League is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top level of the Scottish football league system — above the Scottish Football League.Per capita, more people in Scotland watch their domestic top level league than any other nation in...
Championship four times (1955, 1980, 1984 and 1985), the
Scottish CupThe Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, and as the Active Nation Scottish Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football...
seven times (1947, 1970, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986 and 1990).
The other senior team is
Cove Rangers F.C.Cove Rangers are a senior Scottish football club currently playing in the Highland Football League. They are based in Cove Bay, a suburb of Aberdeen and play their football at Allan Park.The current managers are Kevin Tindal and Jerry O'Driscoll....
of the
Highland Football LeagueThe Highland Football League is a league of football clubs operating not just in the Scottish Highlands, as the name may suggest, but also in the north-east lowlands...
(HFL), who play at
Allan ParkAllan Park is a football ground located in Cove, a suburb of Aberdeen. It is home to Cove Rangers F.C., who currently play in the Highland Football League. The ground has a capacity of 2300 spectators, with 200 on seats or benches....
in the suburb of
Cove BayCove Bay is a suburb on the south-east edge of Aberdeen. Prior to 1975 it was a village in the extreme north-east corner of Kincardine, governed from Stonehaven. Though simply referred to as Cove, in the 19th and early 20th centuries it was known as 'the Cove, becoming Cove Bay...
, although they will be moving to Calder Park once it is built to boost their chances of getting into the
Scottish Football LeagueThe Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division....
. Cove won the HFL championship in 2001 and 2008.
There was also a historic senior team
Bon Accord F.C.Bon Accord were a football team from Aberdeen, Scotland who suffered the worst defeat in any British senior football match, losing 36–0 to Arbroath on 12 September 1885 in a first round match of the Scottish Cup...
who no longer play. Local junior teams include
Banks O' Dee F.C.Banks O' Dee F.C. are a Junior football club from the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. They play in the Scottish Junior Football North Premier League and are reigning champions. They play their games at Spain Park, by the banks of the River Dee...
,
Culter F.C.Culter F.C. are a junior football club from the village of Peterculter, Aberdeen, Scotland. They currently play in the North Super League. They play their home matches at Crombie Park....
, F.C. Stoneywood,
Glentanar F.C.Glentanar F.C. are a junior football team based in Woodside, an area of the city of Aberdeen. They are currently in the Scottish Junior Football North Premier League. They play at Woodside Sports Complex....
and
Hermes F.C.Hermes F.C. are a junior football team based in Bridge of Don, an area of the city of Aberdeen. They are currently in the Scottish Junior Football North Premier League. They play at Lochside Park....
.
Rugby Union
Aberdeen hosted
Caledonia RedsCaledonia Reds are a Scottish rugby union district team who participated in the precursor to the Celtic League and in two seasons of the Heineken Cup. The region is one of Scotlands four traditional districts, represent the North and Midlands Caledonia Reds are a Scottish rugby union district team...
a Scottish rugby franchise, before they merged with the
Glasgow WarriorsThe Glasgow Warriors, formerly Glasgow Rugby, are one of two professional rugby union teams in Scotland, Edinburgh being the other. They play in the Magners League; their home ground is Firhill Stadium, also the home of Partick Thistle Football Club....
in 1998. The city is also home to the
BT Premiership Division TwoScottish Hydro Electric Premiership Division Two is one of Scotland's national rugby union league divisions, and therefore part of the Scottish Hydro Electric League Championship - being the middle division in the Scottish Hydro Electric Premiership....
rugby club
Aberdeen GSFP RFCAberdeen Grammar School Former Pupils Rugby Football Club is a BT Premiership 2 club based in Aberdeen, Scotland.-External links:*Official Site: http://www.aberdeenrugby.co.uk/...
who play at
Rubislaw Playing FieldsRubislaw Playing Fields in Aberdeen, Scotland is an sports field for Aberdeen Grammar School and for the Scottish BT Premiership 2 rugby union team Aberdeen GSFP RFC. Of course other sports are played here such as Hockey - at National league Level by , football and cricket.An extension to the...
, and Aberdeenshire RFC which was founded in 1875 and runs Junior, Senior Mens, Senior Ladies and Touch sections from the Woodside Sports Complex and also Aberdeen Wanderers RFC. Former Wanderers' player
Jason WhiteJason Phillip Randall White is a Scottish rugby union footballer. He is a utility forward who can play any position in the second or back row of the scrum—, flanker, or . White plays at club level for French Top 14 side ASM Clermont Auvergne and plays for Scotland...
was captain of the
Scotland national rugby union teamThe Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked tenth in the IRB World Rankings as at 23 March 2009, and makes up one quarter of the...
.
In 2005 the President of the SRFU said it was hoped eventually to establish a professional team in Aberdeen. In November 2008 the city hosted a rugby international at Pittodrie between
ScotlandThe Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked tenth in the IRB World Rankings as at 23 March 2009, and makes up one quarter of the...
and
CanadaFor the Canadian rugby league team see Canada national rugby league team.The Canada national rugby union team represents Canada in international rugby union. They are governed by Rugby Canada, and play in red and black. Canada is classified by the International Rugby Board as a tier two rugby nation...
, with Scotland winning 41-0.
Golf
The
Royal Aberdeen Golf ClubRoyal Aberdeen Golf Club in Aberdeen, Scotland, was founded in 1780 and claims to be the sixth oldest golf club in the world. It was founded as the Society of Golfers at Aberdeen and became the Aberdeen Golf Club in 1815....
, founded in 1780 and the oldest golf club in Aberdeen, hosted the Senior British Open in 2005. The club has a second course, and there are public golf courses at Auchmill,
BalnagaskBalnagask is an area of Torry, a burgh of Aberdeen in Scotland. Balnagask means "the village in the hollow" in Gaelic....
,
HazleheadHazlehead Park is a large public park in the Hazlehead area of Aberdeen, Scotland. 180 hectares in size, it was opened to the public in 1920, having formerly been the estate of Hazlehead House, home of William Rose, shipbuilder....
and King's Links. The 1999 winner of the
The Open ChampionshipThe Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only major held outside the USA and is administered by the R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
,
Paul LawriePaul Stewart Lawrie MBE is a Scottish professional golfer who is best known for winning The Open Championship in 1999.- Life and career :...
, hails from the city.
There are new courses planned for the area, including world class facilities with major financial backing, the city and shire are set to become a hotbed for golf tourism.
Donald Trump is building his new state of the art golf course out beside Balmedie.
Swimming
The City of Aberdeen Swim Team (COAST) is based in Northfield swimming pool and has been in operation since 1996. The team comprises several smaller swimming clubs, and has enjoyed success throughout Scotland and in international competitions. Three of the team's swimmers qualified for the 2006
Commonwealth GamesThe Commonwealth Games is a multinational, multi-sport event. Held every four years, it involves the elite athletes of the Commonwealth of Nations. Attendance at the Commonwealth Games is typically around 5,000 athletes...
.
Rowing
Rowing exists on the River Dee, south of the town centre. Four clubs are located on the banks: Aberdeen Boat Club (ABC), Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association (ASRA), Aberdeen University Boat Club (AUBC) and Robert Gordon University Boat Club (RGUBC).
Cricket
Aberdeen boasts a large
cricketCricket is a bat-and-ball team sport that is first documented as being played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, cricket had developed to the point where it had become the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being...
community with 4 local leagues operating that comprise of a total of 25 clubs fielding 36 teams. The city has two national league sides,
AberdeenshireAberdeenshire CC is the largest cricket club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. Their ground, Mannofield Park, is located in the Mannofield area of Aberdeen, and was granted One Day International status for the first time in 2008...
, and Stoneywood-Dyce. Local 'Grades' cricket has been played in Aberdeen since 1884.
Floorball
Aberdeen Oilers Floorball ClubAberdeen Oilers is a floorball club based in Aberdeen, Scotland.-History:Aberdeen Oilers were officially founded in January 2007 and became the most northern floorball club in Britain...
was founded in 2007. The club initially attracted a range of experienced Scandinavian and other European players who were studying in Aberdeen. Since their formation, Aberdeen Oilers have played in the British Floorball Northern League and went on to win the league in the 2008/09 season. The club played a major role in setting up a ladies league in Scotland. The Oiler's ladies team ended up 2nd in the first ladies league season (2008/09).
Other sports
The city council operates public tennis courts in various parks including an indoor tennis centre at Westburn Park. The Beach Leisure Centre is home to a climbing wall, gymnasium and a swimming pool. There are numerous swimming pools dotted around the city notably the largest, the Bon-Accord Baths which closed down in 2006. Aberdeen has numerous skateparks dotted around the city in Torry, Westburn Park and Transition Extreme. Transition Extreme is an indoor skatepark built in 2007 it was designed by Aberdeen skate legend Andy Dobson.
Public services
Aberdeen's health is provided for most people by
NHS ScotlandNHS Scotland is the publicly funded healthcare system of Scotland. Although they are separate bodies the organisational separation between NHS Scotland and the other three healthcare organisations each commonly called the National Health Service in the United Kingdom tends to be hidden from its...
through the
NHS GrampianNHS Grampian is one of the fourteen regions of NHS Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 2004 by the amalgamation of Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust and Grampian Primary Care NHS Trust. The headquarters are at Summerfield House in the Mastrick area of Aberdeen...
health board.
Aberdeen Royal InfirmaryAberdeen Royal Infirmary or ARI is a teaching hospital on the Foresterhill site in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is run by NHS Grampian and has around 900 beds. ARI is a tertiary referral hospital serving a population of over 600,000 across the North of Scotland...
is the main hospital in the city, with the
Royal Aberdeen Children's HospitalThe Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital or RACH is a children's hospital in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is situated on the Foresterhill site, with the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and Aberdeen Maternity Hospital...
for children, the
Royal Cornhill HospitalThe Royal Cornhill Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the main centre for the treatment of people with mental health problems in Grampian.The hospital is situated on Westburn Road, East of the Foresterhill site....
for mental health and the
Woodend HospitalWoodend Hospital is a hospital in the Woodend/Summerhill area of Aberdeen, Scotland. Previously a general hospital, it now provides elective orthopaedic surgery, rehabilitation and care of the elderly in conjunction with the other hospitals in NHS Grampian....
and
Woolmanhill HospitalWoolmanhill Hospital is a hospital in the centre of Aberdeen, Scotland. Opened in 1749, it was the original Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, before this was moved to the Foresterhill site. There are now no in-patient beds in Woolmanhill, only various out-patient clinics and the genito-urinary medicine...
s.
Privately there is the
Albyn Hospital-Introduction:Albyn Hospital is a private hospital in Aberdeen, Scotland situated on Albyn Place and is run by BMI Healthcare. It provides a comprehensive range of medical and surgical specialities, generally provided by consultants and general practitioners from NHS Grampian.. Prior to being taken...
on Albyn Place which is owned and operated by BMI Healthcare.
Aberdeen City Council is responsible for city owned infrastructure which is paid for by a mixture of council tax and income from
HM TreasuryHM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy.- History :...
. Infrastructure and services run by the council include: clearing snow in winter, maintaining parks, refuse collection, sewage, street cleaning and street lighting. Infrastructure in private hands includes electricity, gas and telecoms. Water supplies are provided by
Scottish WaterScottish Water is a statutory corporation in Scotland that provides water and sewerage services. Unlike in England and Wales, water and sewerage provision in Scotland has not been privatised and is owned by the Scottish Government....
.
- Police: Policing in Aberdeen is the responsibility of Grampian Police
Grampian Police is the police force for the north east of Scotland, covering the council areas of Aberdeenshire, City of Aberdeen and Moray . The Force area also covers the North Sea, giving Grampian Police the responsibility of policing the oil and gas platforms of the North East...
(the British Transport PoliceThe British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services...
has responsibility for railways). The Grampian Police headquarters (and Aberdeen divisional headquarters) is located in Queen Street, Aberdeen.
- Ambulance: The North East divisional headquarters of the Scottish Ambulance Service
The Scottish Ambulance Service is part of the National Health Service in Scotland, and serves all of Scotland. It is a Special Health Board funded directly by the Scottish Government Health Department....
is located in Aberdeen.
- Fire and rescue: This is the responsibility of the Grampian Fire and Rescue Service
Grampian Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service for the area of Grampian, Scotland. The service provides emergency cover for residential areas, as well as providing it for a local Industrial harbour, oil and gas terminals and a commonly used heliport.-FRS area:Grampian...
; the service operates distinctive white painted fire engines (other UK fire brigades use red vehicles).
- Lifeboat: The Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the British Isles, as well as inshore. It was founded on 4 March 1824 as the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, adopting the present name in 1854...
operates Aberdeen lifeboat station. It is located at Victoria Dock Entrance in York Place. The current building was opened in 1997.
Twin Cities
Aberdeen is
twinnedSister cities, also known as town twinning, is an agreement between towns, cities and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties...
with: -
RegensburgRegensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
(1955) -
Clermont-FerrandClermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census....
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
(1983) -
BulawayoBulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, after the capital Harare, with a population in 2009 of 1,500,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km south-west of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
,
ZimbabweZimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers...
(1986) -
Stavangeris a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway. Stavanger was established as a municipality 1 January 1838...
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
(1990) - Gomel,
BelarusBelarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel , Mahilyow and Vitebsk...
(1990)
Notable people
- Paul Lawrie
Paul Stewart Lawrie MBE is a Scottish professional golfer who is best known for winning The Open Championship in 1999.- Life and career :...
, the Open winning golfer
- Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox is a Scottish musician and recording artist. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Lennox showed aptitude in music when she was a child and later studied classical music at the Royal Academy of Music in London...
, musician
- Simon Farquhar
Simon Farquhar is a playwright. He was born in Cullen in Banffshire on the 15th December 1972.During his time at the University of Aberdeen he was an active writer and performer in the university's drama group, Centre Stage...
, writer
- Denis Law
Denis Law is a retired Scottish football player, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a striker from the 1950s to the 1970s....
, football player
- Nicol Stephen
Nicol Ross Stephen is the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Aberdeen South, and was leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2005 to 2008. He is a former Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning.He became an MSP in the first elections to the...
, former Scottish Liberal Democrats leader, former Deputy First Minister of ScotlandThe Deputy First Minister of Scotland is the deputy to the First Minister of Scotland.The post is not recognised in statute , and its holder is simply an ordinary member of the Scottish Government...
- Andrew Cruickshank
Andrew John Maxton Cruickshank was a Scottish supporting actor, most famous for his portrayal of Dr Cameron in the long-running UK BBC television series, Dr Finlay's Casebook, which ran for 191 episodes from 1962 until 1971.-Life and career:Andrew Cruickshank was born to Andrew and Mary...
, actor famous for his role in Dr Finlay's CasebookDr. Finlay's Casebook is a television series that was broadcast on the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's novella entitled Country Doctor, the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s...
- Tony Gordon
Anthony "Tony" Gordon is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Gray O'Brien, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 16 September 2007.-Background:...
, fictional character from the soap opera, Coronation StreetCoronation Street is an award-winning prime time soap opera set and produced in Manchester created by Tony Warren...
- born in Aberdeen. |
Thomas Blake Glover Thomas Blake Glover, Order of the Rising Sun was a British merchant in Bakumatsu and Meiji Japan. He is acknowledged in that country for considerable contributions to its modernisation...
, the founder of MitsubishiThe , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese conglomerate consisting of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
George Jamesone, Scotland's first eminent painter
Bertie Charles Forbes (from Aberdeenshire), founded ForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, Forbes magazine, is published fortnightly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published fortnightly, and Business Week...
Stanley RobertsonStanley Robertson may be:*Stanley Robertson , Scottish folk singer and storyteller*Stanley Robertson, physicist who proposed the concept of magnetospheric eternally collapsing objects...
, singer and storyteller
Archibald SimpsonArchibald Simpson was one of the major architects of Aberdeen . He designed in the classical style.His North of Scotland Bank headquarters building, at the corner of the city's Union Street and King Street, is now a pub which has been named in his honour...
, architect, influential in design of Aberdeens's modern centre
Scott BoothScott Booth is a former Scottish football player.Booth started his career at his hometown club of Aberdeen where he played up front for about nine years...
, former striker for Aberdeen F.C.Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
and the Scottish national football teamThe Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
John RattrayJohn Rattray is a professional skateboarder, originally from Scotland. He was raised in Aberdeen, the 3rd largest city in Scotland, where he was often to be found skating at the city's Westburn Park....
, professional skateboarder who appeared in the 2007 video game SkateSkate is a skateboarding video game developed by EA Black Box for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It was released in North America on September 17, 2007 for the Xbox 360 and September 24, 2007 for the PlayStation 3 and in Europe on September 28, 2007 for the Xbox 360 and October 5, 2007 for the...
Calvin GoldspinkCalvin Goldspink is a British actor and former child pop star. He first came to notice as a member of the juvenile manufactured pop group S Club Juniors . After being born in Great Yarmouth to parents Stephen and Caroline Goldspink, he moved with his family to Aberdeen...
, actor and singer; former member of S Club Juniors; attended Cults AcademyCults Academy is an Aberdeen City Council secondary school in Cults, Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the recipient of The Sunday Times Scottish State Secondary School of the Year Award 2008 due to its outstanding exam results in the past year , having been rated 3rd in 2005...
|
Fictional references
- Stuart MacBride
Stuart MacBride is a Scottish writer, most famous for his crime thrillers set in the "Granite City" of Aberdeen and featuring Detective Sergeant Logan McRae.-Biography:...
's crime novels, Cold Granite, Dying Light, Broken Skin and Flesh House (a series with main protagonist, DS Logan MacRae) are all set in Aberdeen. DS Logan MacRae is a Grampian PoliceGrampian Police is the police force for the north east of Scotland, covering the council areas of Aberdeenshire, City of Aberdeen and Moray . The Force area also covers the North Sea, giving Grampian Police the responsibility of policing the oil and gas platforms of the North East...
officer and locations found in the books can be found in Aberdeen and the surrounding countryside.
- A large part of the plot of the World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
spy thriller Eye of the NeedleEye of the Needle is a spy thriller novel written by British author Ken Follett. It was originally published in 1978 by the Penguin Group titled Storm Island. This novel was Follett's first successful, bestselling effort as a novelist, and it earned him the 1979 Edgar Award for Best Novel from the...
takes place in wartime Aberdeen, from which a German spy is trying to escape to a submarine waiting offshore.
- Stuart Home's sex and literary obsessed contemporary novel 69 Things to Do with a Dead Princess is set in Aberdeen
- A portion of Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin OBE, DL, is a Scottish crime writer. His best known books are the Inspector Rebus novels...
's novel Black and BlueBlack and Blue is a 1997 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the eighth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It was the first episode in the Rebus television series starring John Hannah, airing in 2000....
(1997) is set in Aberdeen.
- Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British BBC Television science fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures....
from the popular sci-fi show Doctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a mysterious alien time-traveller known as "the Doctor" who travels in his space and time-ship, the TARDIS, which normally appears from the exterior to be a blue 1950s police box...
was accidentally returned to Aberdeen instead of her home in South CroydonSouth Croydon is a locality in Greater London, the area surrounding the valley south of central Croydon about 1 km in radius, centred on the Red Deer public house on the Brighton Road. It is part of the South Croydon post town and in the London Borough of Croydon. It is essentially a...
by the fourth incarnation of the DoctorThe Fourth Doctor is the name given to the fourth incarnation of the fictional character known as the Doctor in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Tom Baker for seven consecutive years and is, , the longest-living incarnation in the show's...
.
See also
- Wikimedia Britannica (1911) on Aberdeen
- Future Developments in Aberdeen
There are a number of future developments in Aberdeen, Scotland that have been proposed or have begun to be constructed or inititated already. The majority are to upgrade the poor transport infrastructure of the city or to modernise the city centre, particularly around Union Street.Many of the...
- Aberdeen Bestiary
The Aberdeen Bestiary is a 12th century English illuminated manuscript bestiary that was first listed in 1542 in the inventory of the Old Royal Library at the Palace of Westminster....
- Etymology of Aberdeen
The Etymology of Aberdeen is that of the name first used for the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the original, which then gave its name to other Aberdeens around the world as Aberdonians left Scotland to settle in the New World and other colonies.Aberdeen is in Received Pronunciation, and in...
- Aberdeen City Youth Council
The Aberdeen City Youth Council is a registered charity that aims to give young people a voice in decision-making at a citywide level in Aberdeen, Scotland.-About:...
- Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire Portal
Further reading
Peter Innes - Fit Like New York? An Irreverent History of Rock and Pop Music in Aberdeen and North East Scotland. Publisher The Evening Express, 1998
External links