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Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city and one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It has an official population estimate of 202,370.^[3]

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 granite, whose mica deposits sparkle like silver.^[6] The city has a long, sandy coastline. Since the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, other nicknames have been the Oil Capital of Europe or the Energy Capital of Europe.^[7]

The area around Aberdeen has been settled for at least 8000 years,^[8] when prehistoric villages lay around the mouths of the rivers Dee and Don.^{[citation needed]}

In 1319, Aberdeen received Royal Burgh status from Robert the Bruce,^{[citation needed]} transforming the city economically. The city's two universities, the University of Aberdeen, founded in 1495, and the Robert Gordon University, 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 industry and Aberdeen's seaport. Aberdeen Heliport is one of the busiest commercial heliports in the world^[9] and the seaport is the largest in the north-east of Scotland.^[10]

Aberdeen has won the Britain in Bloom competition a record breaking ten times,^[11] and hosts the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, a major international event which attracts up to 1000 of the most talented young performing arts companies.

History

During the Wars of Scottish Independence, Aberdeen was under English rule, so Robert the Bruce laid siege to Aberdeen Castle 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 England 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 Aberdeen.^[14] In 1647 an outbreak of bubonic plague killed a quarter of the population.

In the eighteenth century, a new Town Hall was built and the first social services appeared with the Infirmary at Woolmanhill 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 Street, King Street and Union Street 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 wars. 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.^[13]

The city was first incorporated 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 Burgh of Torry to the south of the River Dee.

Old Aberdeen 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 and Don (the other local river) The Celtic prefix; "Aber-" means "the confluence of" in relation to the rivers.^[15]

Gaelic 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 Latin, the Romans referred to it as Devana. Mediaeval (or ecclesiastical) Latin has it as Aberdonia.

Economy

Until the 1970s, most of Aberdeen's leading industries dated from the eighteenth Century; mainly these were textiles, foundry work, shipbuilding and paper-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 Aberdeen closed.

Grey granite was quarried at Rubislaw quarry 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 Bridge 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,^[33] and so although still an important fishing port it is now eclipsed by the more northerly ports of Peterhead and Fraserburgh. The Fisheries Research Services 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 Institute 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.^[34][35]

There is also a dynamic and fast growing electronics design and development industry.^{[citation needed]}

With the discovery of significant oil deposits in the North Sea during the late twentieth Century, Aberdeen became the centre of Europe's petroleum industry. With the second largest heliport in the world and an important service ship harbour port serving oil rigs off-shore, Aberdeen is often called the Oil Capital of Europe.^[36]

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.^[37]

The city ranks third in Scotland for shopping. The traditional shopping streets are Union Street and George Street 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.^[38] Along with Dundee, it shares the distinction of being the first city in Scotland to receive this accolade.^{[citation needed]}

Landmarks

Aberdeen's architecture is known for its principal use during the Victorian era of granite, which has led to its local nickname of the Granite City or more romantically the less commonly used name the Silver City, since the quartz in the stone sparkles in the sun.^[39]

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 sandstone 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 Street, are the Town and County Bank, the Music Hall, 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.^[40]

Marischal College on Broad Street, opened by King Edward VII in 1906, is the second largest granite building in the world (after the Escorial, Madrid).^[41]

Transport

Aberdeen railway station is on the main UK rail network and connects directly to major cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow and London. 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, Dundee, Brechin and Perth in the south and Ellon, Peterhead and Fraserburgh in the north. The A96 links to Elgin and Inverness and the north west. The A93 is the main route to the west, heading towards Royal Deeside and the Cairngorms. After Braemar, it turns south, providing an alternative tourist route to Perth. The A944 also heads west, through Westhill and onto Alford. 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 Montrose and Arbroath and on the east coast. The A947 exits the city at Dyce and goes on to Newmachar, Oldmeldrum and Turriff finally ending at Banff and Macduff.

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.^[42]

FirstGroup operate the city buses in the city under the name First Aberdeen, 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 Group. First is still based at the former Aberdeen Tramways depot on King Street,^[43] soon to be redeveloped into a new Global Headquarters and Aberdeen bus depot.

Stagecoach Group also run buses in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, under the Stagecoach Bluebird name. Also, other bus companies (e.g. Megabus) run buses from the bus station to places North and South of the city.

Aberdeen is connected to the UK National Cycle Network, 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 Fraserburgh respectively. Two particularly popular footpaths along old railway tracks are the Deeside Way to Banchory (which will eventually connect to Ballater) and the Formartine and Buchan Way 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).

Culture

The city has a wide range of cultural activities, amenities and museums. The city is regularly visited by Scotland's National Arts Companies. The Aberdeen Art Gallery houses a collection of Impressionist, Victorian, 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.^[48]

Museums and galleries

The Aberdeen Maritime Museum, located in Shiprow, tells the story of Aberdeen's links with the sea from the days of sail and clipper ships 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 Headlighthouse.^[49]

Provost Ross' House is the second oldest dwelling house in the city. It was built in 1593 and became the residence of Provost John Ross of Arnage in 1702. The house retains some original medieval features, including a kitchen, fire places and beam-and-board ceilings.^[50] The Gordon Highlanders Museum tells the story of one of Scotland's best known regiments.^[51]

Marischal Museum holds the principal collections of the University of Aberdeen, 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.^[52]

Performing arts

Aberdeen is home to a host of events and festivals including the Aberdeen International Youth Festival (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 Aberdeen's literature festival Word.

In 2006 Simon Farquhar's play Rainbow Kiss was staged at London's Royal Court Theatre. Directed by Richard Wilson and starring Joe McFadden and Dawn Steele, 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 South Anne Begg.

Music and film

Aberdeen's music scene includes a variety of live music venues including pubs, clubs, and church choirs. The bars of Belmont Street are particularly known for featuring live music. Cèilidhs 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 Hall.

Notable Aberdonian musicians include Evelyn Glennie and Annie Lennox. Contemporary composers John McLeod and Martin Dalby also hail from Aberdeen.

Cultural cinema, educational work and local film events are provided by The Belmont Picturehouse on Belmont Street, Peacock Visual Arts and The Foyer.

Open spaces

Duthie Park opened in 1899 on the north bank of the River Dee. 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 Park, 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 Gardens, 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 Britain.^[11]

Seaton 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 Gardens 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.^{[citation needed]}

Situated next to each other, Victoria Park and Westburn Park cover 26 acres (110,000 m²) between them. Victoria Park 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 Park 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 Scots 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^[56] 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.

Public services

Aberdeen's health is provided for most people by NHS Scotland through the NHS Grampian health board. Aberdeen Royal Infirmary is the main hospital in the city, with the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital for children, the Royal Cornhill Hospital for mental health and the Woodend Hospital and Woolmanhill Hospitals.

Privately there is the Albyn Hospital 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 Treasury. 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 Water.

• Police: Policing in Aberdeen is the responsibility of Grampian Police (the British Transport Police 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 is located in Aberdeen.^[70]

• Fire and rescue: This is the responsibility of the Grampian Fire and Rescue Service; the service operates distinctive white painted fire engines (other UK fire brigades use red vehicles).

• Lifeboat: The Royal National Lifeboat Institution operates Aberdeen lifeboat station. It is located at Victoria Dock Entrance in York Place.^[71] The current building was opened in 1997.

This Article was sourced using Wikipedia