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60-509: Aberdeen Town House is a municipal facility in Castle Street, Aberdeen , Scotland. The town house, which is the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council as well as the venue for hearings of Aberdeen Sheriff Court, is a Category A listed building . After rapid population growth in the first half of the 19th century, civic leaders decided that the early 17th-century tolbooth and the early 19th-century courthouse, which had been built adjacent to

120-503: A leading business hub and one of eight 'super cities' spearheading the UK's economy, marking it as the only city in Scotland so designated. In 2018, Aberdeen was found to be the best city in the UK to start a business in a study released by card payment firm Paymentsense. The Aberdeen area has seen human settlement for at least 8,000 years. The city began as two separate burghs : Old Aberdeen at

180-713: A memorial to the consecration of the first bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America , which took place nearby. In 1804, St Peter's Church , the first permanent Roman Catholic church in the city after the Reformation was built. Numerous other Protestant denominations have a presence in Aberdeen. The Salvation Army citadel on the Castlegate dominates the view of the east end of Union Street. In addition, there

240-1069: A minimum area of 20 hectares (200,000 m ), while settlements within 200 metres of each other are linked. Built-up area sub-divisions are also identified to provide greater detail in the data, especially in the larger conurbations. In reporting the 2001 census , the ONS gave a clearer definition of the term "built-up" as follows: This comprises permanent structures and the land on which they are situated, including land enclosed by or closely associated with such structures; transportation corridors such as roads, railways and canals which have built up land on one or both sides, or which link built-up sites which are less than 200 metres apart; transportation features such as airports and operational airfields, railway yards, motorway service areas and car parks; mine buildings, excluding mineral workings and quarries; and any area completely surrounded by builtup sites. Areas such as playing fields and golf courses are excluded unless completely surrounded by builtup sites... The list below shows

300-468: A mixture of 127 Incendiary, High Explosive and Cluster bombs were dropped on the city in one night. Two books written in 2018 and 2022 using bombing records held in London identified that unexploded bombs from the 1943 raid were found in the 1950s and 1980s making the bombs dropped 129 in total. Damage from the raid can still be seen in some parts of Aberdeen. The name given to Aberdeen translates as 'mouth of

360-504: A new February high-temperature station record on 28 February 2012 of 17.2 °C (63.0 °F), and a new March high temperature record of 21.6 °C (70.9 °F) on 25 March 2012. The average temperature of the sea ranges from 6.6 °C (43.9 °F) in March to 13.8 °C (56.8 °F) in August. The Aberdeen locality population estimate is 198,590 (mid-2020 est.). For

420-679: A new Town Hall was built and the first social services appeared with the Aberdeen Infirmary at Woolmanhill in 1739 and the Aberdeen Lunatic Asylum in 1800. The expensive infrastructure works led to the city becoming bankrupt in 1817 during the Post-Napoleonic depression , an economic downturn immediately after the Napoleonic Wars ; but the city's prosperity later recovered. The increasing economic importance of Aberdeen and

480-578: Is a Unitarian church, established in 1833 and located in Skene Terrace. Christadelphians have been present in Aberdeen since at least 1844. Over the years, they have rented space to meet at a number of locations and currently meet in the Inchgarth Community Centre in Garthdee. There is also a Quaker meetinghouse on Crown Street, the only purpose built Friends meeting house in Scotland that

540-463: Is a city in North East Scotland , and is the third most populous Scottish city . Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeenshire , but is now separate from the council area of Aberdeenshire . Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City ), and has a population of 198,590 (mid-2020 est.) for the urban area, making it

600-403: Is a higher percentage than both Glasgow and Edinburgh . 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 comprise 49% of residences followed by semi-detached at just below 22%. The median income of a household in the city

660-531: Is also a Thai Buddhist temple located in the Hazelhead area of the city. There are no formal Hindu buildings, although there is a fortnightly Hindu religious gathering on the first and third Sunday afternoons at Queens Cross Parish church hall. The University of Aberdeen has a small Baháʼí society. Traditionally, Aberdeen was home to fishing, textile mills, shipbuilding and paper-making. These industries have been largely replaced. High technology developments in

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720-399: Is further north than almost all of Denmark and plenty of southern Sweden, being just south of Gothenburg in terms of latitude. Aberdeen features an oceanic climate ( Köppen Cfb ), with far milder winter temperatures than one might expect for its northern location. However, statistically speaking, it is still the coldest city in the UK. During the winter, especially throughout December,

780-473: Is 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. Aberdeen has become a major world centre for undersea petroleum technology. List of urban areas in the United Kingdom The methodology used by ONS in 2011

840-649: Is represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom by two constituencies , Aberdeen North and Aberdeen South , which are wholly within the Aberdeen City council area. In the Scottish Parliament , the city is represented by three constituencies with different boundaries: Aberdeen Central and Aberdeen Donside are wholly within the Aberdeen City council area. Aberdeen South and North Kincardine includes

900-472: Is set out in 2011 Built-up Areas – Methodology and Guidance , published in June 2013. When ONS reported the results of the 2011 UK census, it used the term " built-up area " rather than the term "urban area" as used in previous censuses. ONS states, however, that the criteria used to define "built-up area" have not changed: the definition follows a ‘bricks and mortar’ approach, with areas defined as built-up land with

960-553: Is still in use today. In addition, there are a number of Baptist congregations in the city, and Evangelical congregations have been appearing in significant numbers since the late 2000s. The city also has two meeting houses of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). There are also four mosques in Aberdeen which serve the Islamic community in the city. There is an Orthodox Jewish Synagogue established in 1945. There

1020-411: 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. The proportion of people residing in Aberdeen born outside the UK was 21.1% in 2022, compared with 15.9% in 2011 and 6.3% in 2001. Below are

1080-570: The oil industry and Aberdeen's seaport. Aberdeen Heliport is one of the busiest commercial heliports in the world, and the seaport is the largest in the north-east part of Scotland. A university town , the city is known for the University of Aberdeen , founded in 1495 as the fifth oldest university in the English-speaking world and located in Old Aberdeen . In 2012, HSBC named Aberdeen as

1140-477: The 20th century. Catches have fallen because of 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 Peterhead and Fraserburgh . The Fisheries Research Services are headquartered in Aberdeen, and there is a marine research laboratory there. Aberdeen is well regarded for the agricultural and soil research carried out at The James Hutton Institute (formerly

1200-729: The East and West churches. At that time, the city also was home to houses of the Carmelites (Whitefriars) and Franciscans (Greyfriars). The latter survives in modified form as the chapel of Marischal College. St Machar's Cathedral was built twenty years after David I (1124–1153) transferred the pre-Reformation diocese from Mortlach in Banffshire to Old Aberdeen in 1137. Except the episcopate of William Elphinstone (1484–1511), building progressed slowly. Gavin Dunbar , who followed him in 1518, completed

1260-505: The English-held Aberdeen Castle before destroying it in 1308. It is still widely present in the city, throughout street names, business names and the city's Bon Accord shopping mall. The shield in the coat of arms is supported by two leopards . A local magazine is called the "Leopard" and, when Union Bridge was widened in the 20th century, small statues of the creature in a sitting position were cast and placed on top of

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1320-629: The Macaulay Land Use Research 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. As oil reserves in the North Sea decrease, there is an effort to rebrand Aberdeen as "Energy Capital of Europe" rather than "Oil Capital of Europe", and there

1380-637: The North Kincardine ward of Aberdeenshire Council . A further seven MSPs are elected as part of the North East Scotland electoral region. In the European Parliament the city was represented by six MEPs as part of the all-inclusive Scotland constituency. The arms and banner of the city show three silver towers on red. This motif dates from at least the time of Robert the Bruce and represents

1440-547: The United Kingdom's 39th most populous built-up area , and 224,190 (2022) for the wider council area including outlying localities. The city is 127 mi (204 km) northeast of Edinburgh and 536 mi (863 km) north of London . Aberdeen has a long, sandy coastline and features an oceanic climate , with cool summers and mild, rainy winters. During the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries, Aberdeen's buildings incorporated locally quarried grey granite , which may sparkle like silver because of its high mica content. Since

1500-560: The adjoining Marischal College . The civic head and chair of the council is the Lord Provost . The council area is also divided into 30 community council areas , 29 of which had community councils operating as at August 2024. The first burgh of Aberdeen, covering just the New Aberdeen area near the mouth of the Dee, was created by David I (reigned 1124–1153). Neighbouring Old Aberdeen to

1560-544: The basis for the city's Common Good Fund which still benefits Aberdonians. 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 executing the English garrison. The city was burned by Edward III of England in 1336, but was rebuilt and extended. The city was strongly fortified to prevent attacks by neighbouring lords, but

1620-448: The buildings that stood on the three hills of medieval Aberdeen: Aberdeen Castle on Castle Hill (today's Castlegate ); the city gate on Port Hill; and a church on St Catherine's Hill (now levelled). "Bon Accord" is the motto of the city and is French for "Good Agreement". Legend tells that its use dates from a password used by Robert the Bruce during the 14th century Wars of Scottish Independence , when he and his men laid siege to

1680-589: The city spread beyond the (inferred) limits of the outlier onto the surrounding metamorphic/ igneous complexes formed during the Dalradian period (approximately 480–600 million years ago) with sporadic areas of igneous Diorite granites to be found, such as that at the Rubislaw quarry which was used to build much of the Victorian parts of the city. The city extends to 186 km (72 sq mi), and includes

1740-515: The city was plundered by both sides. In 1644, it was taken and ransacked by Royalist troops after the Battle of Aberdeen and two years later it was stormed by a Royalist force under the command of the George Gordon, 2nd Marquis of Huntly . An outbreak of bubonic plague over 1687 and 1688 killed 8.5% of the population, adding to the economic and demographic damage caused by war. In the 18th century,

1800-630: 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

1860-537: The composition of the local council, and the affairs of the town. The Burgesses of the Guild were an integral part of the council for more than 700 years and played a considerable role in the growth and development of Aberdeen. In 1319, the Great Charter of 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

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1920-459: The counties of Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire . Aberdeen was made a county of itself in 1899. In 1975 the burgh was replaced by the larger City of Aberdeen district within the Grampian region. Further local government reforms in 1996 replaced the districts and regions created in 1975 with council areas; the pre-1996 City of Aberdeen district became the Aberdeen City council area. Aberdeen

1980-589: The development of the shipbuilding and fishing industries led to the construction of the present harbour including Victoria Dock and the South Breakwater, and the extension of the North Pier. 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 absorbed

2040-519: The discovery of North Sea oil in 1969, Aberdeen has been known as the offshore oil capital of Europe. Based upon the discovery of prehistoric villages around the mouths of the rivers Dee and Don , the area around Aberdeen has been thought to have been settled for at least 6,000 years. Aberdeen received royal burgh status from David I of Scotland (1124–1153), which transformed the city economically. The traditional industries of fishing, paper-making, shipbuilding, and textiles have been overtaken by

2100-402: The electronics design and development industry, research in agriculture and fishing and the oil industry , which have been largely responsible for Aberdeen's economic growth, are now major parts of Aberdeen's economy. Until the 1970s, most of Aberdeen's leading industries dated from the 18th century; mainly these were textiles, foundry work, shipbuilding and paper-making, the oldest industry in

2160-439: The entire night. Temperatures at this time of year hover around 17.0 °C (62.6 °F) during the day in most of the urban area, though nearer 16.0 °C (60.8 °F) directly on the coast, and around 18.0 to 19.0 °C (64.4 to 66.2 °F) in the westernmost suburbs. Two weather stations collect climate data for the area, Aberdeen/Dyce Airport , and Craibstone. Both are about 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (7 km) to

2220-633: The fifteen largest overseas-born groups in Aberdeen according to the 2022 census, alongside the two previous censuses. Christianity is the main religion practised in the city. Aberdeen's largest denominations are the Church of Scotland (through the Presbytery of Aberdeen ) and the Roman Catholic Church , both with numerous churches across the city, with the Scottish Episcopal Church having

2280-605: The first settlement of Aberdeen; this literally means "the mouth of the Don". The Celtic word aber means "river mouth", as in modern Welsh ( Aberystwyth , Aberdare , Aberbeeg etc.). The Scottish Gaelic name is Obar Dheathain (variation: Obairreadhain ; * obar presumably being a loan from the earlier Pictish; the Gaelic term is inbhir ), and in Latin , the Romans referred to

2340-452: The former burghs of Old Aberdeen, New Aberdeen, Woodside and the Torry area to the south of River Dee . In 2022, this gave the city a population density of 1,208 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,130/sq mi). 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. When compared to mainland Europe, Aberdeen

2400-582: The gates were removed by 1770. Aberdeen's medieval council registers survive from 1398 onwards and are exceptional for their quantity and continuity among surviving Scottish burgh records. The earliest eight volumes, from 1398 to 1511, have been included in the UNESCO UK Memory of the World Register , and have been edited in a digital edition. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1644 to 1647

2460-415: The ground floor and double-height segmental-arched windows on the second and third floors; the western section incorporated a five-stage clock tower with a spire while the eastern section incorporated the southern elevation of the old tolbooth. Internally, the principal room was the double-height council chamber. The new town house served as the headquarters of Aberdeen Town Council until 1895, when that body

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2520-693: The headquarters of Aberdeen City Council and also remained the venue for hearings of Aberdeen Sheriff Court. The whole complex was extensively refurbished at a cost of £4 million between August 2014 and March 2017. Works of art in the complex include a sculpture of Robert the Bruce by Anne Davidson showing the Scottish king in 14th-century armour carrying his shield and sword. Aberdeen Aberdeen ( / ˌ æ b ər ˈ d iː n / AB -ər- DEEN ; locally [ˌeːbərˈdin] or [ˈeːbərdin] ; Scottish Gaelic : Obar Dheathain [ˈopəɾ ˈʝɛ.ɪɲ] )

2580-423: The length of the day is very short, averaging 6 hours and 41 minutes between sunrise and sunset at the winter solstice. As winter progresses, the length of the day grows fairly quickly, to 8 hours and 20 minutes by the end of January. Around summer solstice, the days will be around 18 hours long, having 17 hours and 55 minutes between sunrise and sunset. During this time of the year marginal nautical twilight lasts

2640-522: 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 charter was granted by William the Lion in 1179 and confirmed the corporate rights granted by David I . In 1214, Aberdeen Burgesses were granted a Royal Charter by Alexander II of Scotland giving them the sole right to form a Guild. This body exercised power in

2700-505: The national average of 19.2%. According to the 2011 census Aberdeen is 91.9% white, ethnically, 24.7% were born outside Scotland, higher than the national average of 16%. Of this population, 7.6% were born in other parts of the UK. 8.2% of Aberdonians stated to be from an ethnic minority (non-white) in the 2011 census, with 9,519 (4.3%) being Asian, with 3,385 (1.5%) coming from India and 2,187 (1.0%) being Chinese . The city has around 5,610 (2.6%) residents of African or Caribbean origin, which

2760-553: The neighbouring burghs of Old Aberdeen and Woodside plus the Torry area on the south bank of the Dee in 1891. Over the course of World War II Aberdeen was attacked 32 times by the German Luftwaffe . One of the most devastating attacks was on Wednesday 21 April 1943 when 29 Luftwaffe Dornier 217s flying from Stavanger , Norway attacked the city between the hours of 22:17 and 23:04. A total of 98 civilians and 27 servicemen were killed, along with 12,000 houses damaged, after

2820-456: The neighbouring burghs of Old Aberdeen and Woodside, plus the Torry area on the south bank of the Dee. The act of parliament which expanded the burgh also confirmed that Aberdeen was entitled to be called a city; it had commonly been described as a city prior to that, but (like most Scottish cities) without official recognition. Following the absorption of Torry in 1891, the city boundaries straddled

2880-486: The north was subsequently made a separate burgh in 1489. The burgh of Aberdeen was governed by a corporation, also known as the town council. As Aberdeen grew, the council's powers were inadequate to cater for the needs of the growing urban area. A separate police commission was established in 1795 with powers to levy taxes and provide infrastructure ('police' in this context being its older meaning of civic government rather than law enforcement). The first police commission

2940-426: The northwest of the city centre, and given that they are in close proximity to each other, exhibit very similar climatic regimes. Dyce tends to have marginally warmer daytime temperatures year-round owing to its slightly lower elevation, though it is more susceptible to harsh frosts. The coldest temperature to occur in recent years was −16.8 °C (1.8 °F) during December 2010, while the following winter, Dyce set

3000-517: The railing posts (known locally as Kelly's Cats). The city's toast is "Happy to meet, sorry to part, happy to meet again". Being situated between two river mouths, the city has little natural exposure of bedrock. 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 is actually sited on an inlier of Devonian "Old Red" sandstones and silts. The outskirts of

3060-518: The river Don', and is recorded as Aberdon in 1172 and Aberden in c.  1180 . The first element of the name is the Pictish word aber 'river mouth'. The second element is from the Celtic river goddess Devona . Aberdeen is usually described as within the historical Pictish territory and became Gaelic-speaking at some time in the medieval period. Old Aberdeen is the approximate location of Aberdon,

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3120-446: The river as Devana . Medieval (or Ecclesiastical ) Latin has it as Aberdonia . The local Doric pronunciation, [ˌeːbərˈdin] or [ˈeːbərdin] (with a long ay sound), is frequently rendered Aiberdeen or Aiberdein . Aberdeen City is one of 32 council areas of Scotland , administered by Aberdeen City Council . The council meets at Aberdeen Town House and has its main offices in

3180-461: The structure by adding the two western spires and the southern transept. It is now a congregation of the Church of Scotland . Aberdeen has two other cathedrals: St. Mary's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Gothic style , erected in 1859. In addition, St. Andrew's Cathedral serves the Scottish Episcopal Church . It was constructed in 1817 as Archibald Simpson 's first commission and contains

3240-574: The third-largest number. The census in 2022 showed that Aberdeen has the highest proportion of non-religious residents of any city in Scotland, with 58% of citizens claiming to have no religion. In the Middle Ages , the Kirk of St Nicholas 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 Reformation , in this case into

3300-489: The tolbooth, were inadequate for their needs. They decided to demolish the old courthouse and to incorporate the remaining part of the tolbooth into a new structure. The new building was designed by Peddie and Kinnear in the Scottish baronial style and was completed in 1874. The design involved an asymmetrical frontage with fifteen bays along Castle Street; the central section of five bays featured segmental-arched arcading on

3360-425: The wider settlement of Aberdeen including Cove Bay and Dyce , the population estimate is 220,690 (mid-2020 est.). For Aberdeen City council area, the population estimate is 224,190 (2022). In 1396, the population was about 3,000. By 1801, it had become 26,992, then 153,503 in 1901, and finally 182,467 in 1941. The 2011 census showed fewer young people in Aberdeen, with 16.4% under 16, as opposed to

3420-578: Was laid by the Lord Provost , Robert Lennox, on 17 November 1975. The extension which was designed by the city architects, I. A. Ferguson and T. C. Watson, was built by Taylor Woodrow Construction . The complex then remained the Aberdeen District Council headquarters until the abolition of the Grampian Region led to the formation of Aberdeen City Council in April 1996. Since then it has served as

3480-594: Was replaced by Aberdeen Corporation. King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra inspected a Guard of Honour from the 3rd Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders in front of the new town house on 27 September 1906. The building remained the Corporation's headquarters until it was replaced by Aberdeen District Council under the wider Grampian Regional Council in May 1975. The foundation stone for an extension along Broad Street

3540-429: Was short-lived, but it was resurrected in 1818 after the town council went bankrupt in 1817. From 1818 until 1871 there was a dual system of local government, with the town council and police commission having different roles in Aberdeen's administration. The police commission was eventually abolished in 1871 and its functions absorbed by the town council. In 1891 the city boundaries were significantly enlarged, absorbing

3600-456: Was used to build the terraces of the Houses of Parliament and Waterloo Bridge in London. Quarrying finally ceased in 1971. The current owners have begun pumping 40 years of rainwater from the quarry to develop a heritage centre on the site. In-shore fishing was once the predominant industry but was surpassed by deep-sea fisheries, which derived a great impetus from improved technologies throughout

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