Aberdeen Facts
Fact 1: Aberdeen, the capital of the Grampian Highlands, is Scotland's third largest city and is home to some 205,000 people.
Fact 2: Aberdeen is a regular winner of the "Britain in Bloom" trophy. It is home to the exotic Duthie Park Winter Gardens, and the city as a whole boasts some 25 million roses, 12 million daffodils, and three million crocuses. In fact, there are over 25 miles of roses along the roadsides in Aberdeen. That's approximately nine rose bushes per person!
Fact 3: Aberdeen is famous for its sparkling granite buildings. Most of the granite used to build Aberdeen came from Rubislaw Quarry. Closed in 1969, the excavation site remains Europe's largest man made hole!
Fact 4: Aberdeen is the center for Europe's offshore oil drilling. It was in the early 1970's that oil was discovered in the North Sea. Since then, the seabed has yielded fifty oil fields.
Fact 5: St. Andrew's Cathedral is the mother church of the Episcopal Church in the United States. The church houses a memorial to Samuel Seabury, the first Episcopalian bishop in America. He was consecrated in Aberdeen in 1784.
Fact 6: The Witching Hour! Be sure to check out the church of St. Nicholas, Scotland's largest parish church. A chapel in the East Church houses iron rings used to secure witches in the seventeenth century.
Fact 7: In 1929, H.V. Morton wrote of Aberdeen, saying that it is "a city of granite palaces inhabited by people as definite as their building material. Even their prejudices are of the same hard character." However, today's Aberdeen is very dynamic. With a mixture of Scots, multinational oil workers, and a large student population, the city is diverse and has a thriving nightlife.
Fact 8: Marischal College, which was founded in 1593, is the second largest granite building in the world after Spain's El Escorial. The museum in the college possesses a magnificent anthropological collection that includes exhibits from Egypt, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, and Tibet.
Fact 9: Aberdeen is the fishing capital of Scotland and is one of the United Kingdom's most important fishing ports as well. Visit the docks in the early morning and you'll find yourself in the middle of Scotland's largest fish market auction.
Fact 10: Life's a Beach – especially in Aberdeen! The city is the largest vacation resort in Scotland and is proud of its two miles of clean, sandy beaches.
