98-487: The Deeside Railway was a passenger and goods railway between Aberdeen and Ballater in Aberdeenshire , Scotland. Opening in 1853 to Banchory , an extension reached Aboyne in 1859. A separate company, the Aboyne & Braemar Railway, built an extension to Ballater and this opened in 1866. By 1855 there were five services a day over the 43 + 1 ⁄ 4 -mile (69.6 km) long line, taking between 1 hour 50 minutes and 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours. The line
196-493: A daily special 'Messenger Train' ran when the Royal Family was at Balmoral. This left Aberdeen at 4 am, connecting with a service from London that had left the previous morning, and returned at 2:15 pm to connect with the night train travelling south. First class accommodation was available on these trains; accompanying servants were charged third class fares. The last Messenger Train ran in 1938, subsequently couriers used
294-634: A daughter on 24 May 1819, Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent, later Queen Victoria . An efficient organiser, Sir John Conroy , ensured the Kents' speedy return to England in time for the birth of their first child. The Duke of Kent died suddenly of pneumonia in January 1820, six days before his father, King George III. His widow the Duchess had little cause to remain in the United Kingdom, since she did not speak
392-487: A day over the 43 + 1 ⁄ 4 -mile (69.6 km) long line, taking between 1 hour 50 minutes and 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours. On 10 October 1853, the Duchess of Kent , Queen Victoria 's mother, caught a special train from Banchory to Ferryhill. This left just after 1 pm and took 16 minutes to reach Ferryhill. The Queen and Albert followed three days later. As the line was extended up Deeside, closer to Balmoral,
490-569: A joint ceremony at which Edward's brother, the Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, later King William IV , married Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen . Shortly after their marriage, the Kents moved to Germany, where the cost of living would be cheaper. Soon after, Victoria became pregnant, and the Duke and Duchess, determined to have their child born in England, raced back. Arriving at Dover on 23 April 1819, they moved into Kensington Palace , where Victoria gave birth to
588-503: 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
686-713: 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
784-468: 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
882-746: A motor car from Perth. In the late 1850s and early 1860s the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR) and the Scottish North Eastern Railway (SNER) were in conflict over the building of a joint station in Aberdeen. Frustrated with lack of progress, the Scottish North Eastern proposed a new line from the Deeside Railway to join the GNSR at Kintore . Whilst in discussions with the SNER, a lease on
980-504: 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
1078-679: 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
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#17328521612171176-516: A paper declaring Conroy her personal secretary. The result was that when Victoria became queen, she relegated the Duchess to separate accommodations, away from her own. When the Queen's first child, the Princess Royal , was born, the Duchess of Kent unexpectedly found herself welcomed back into Victoria's inner circle. It is likely that this came about as a result of the dismissal of Baroness Lehzen at
1274-509: A peerage. The Duchess and Conroy continued to be unpopular with the royal family and, in 1829, the Duke of Cumberland spread rumours that they were lovers in an attempt to discredit them. The Duke of Clarence referred to Conroy as "King John", while the Duchess of Clarence wrote to the Duchess of Kent to advise that she was increasingly isolating herself from the royal family and that she must not grant Conroy too much power. The Duchess of Kent
1372-578: 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
1470-463: 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
1568-403: 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
1666-531: 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
1764-399: 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,
1862-562: 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. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (Marie Louise Victoire; 17 August 1786 – 16 March 1861), later Princess of Leiningen and subsequently Duchess of Kent and Strathearn ,
1960-592: 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
2058-553: 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
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#17328521612172156-411: 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
2254-523: The Civil List , since Parliament had vivid memories of the late Duke's extravagance. In practice, a main source of support for her was her brother, Leopold . The latter had a huge income of fifty thousand pounds per annum for life, representing an annuity allotted to him by the British Parliament on his marriage to Princess Charlotte, which had made him seem likely to become in due course the consort of
2352-570: 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
2450-475: The railway mania bubble burst, but it survived because the Aberdeen Railway bought a large number of shares. Interest was restored after Prince Albert purchased Balmoral Castle , to which the Royal Family made their first visit in 1848, and the Aberdeen Railway was able to sell their shares. Investors were still hard to find, but by limiting the railway to a line between Ferryhill, in Aberdeen, and Banchory
2548-477: 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
2646-501: The British government. After the death of Edward and his father, the young Princess Victoria was still only third in line for the throne, and Parliament was not inclined to support yet more impoverished royalty. The provision made for the Duchess of Kent was mean: she resided in a suite of rooms in the dilapidated Kensington Palace , along with several other impoverished members of the royal family, and received little financial support from
2744-510: The Crown, and not in the hands of a person now near me, who is surrounded by evil advisers and is herself incompetent to act with propriety in the situation in which she would be placed. The breach between the Duchess and the King and Queen was never fully healed, but Victoria always viewed both of them with kindness. Conroy had high hopes for his patroness and himself: he envisaged Victoria succeeding to
2842-471: The Dee, as had been proposed on 1846, the railway instead took a cheaper but 2-mile (3.2 km) longer route through Lumphanan . The railway was authorised on 27 July 1857, and services began on 2 December 1859. The Aboyne & Braemar Railway was formed to build a line from Aboyne the 28 miles (45 km) to Braemar . This would follow the Dee, and to cross it 2 miles (3.2 km) from its terminus. However, this
2940-565: The Deeside Railway was able to apply to Parliament for permission in 1852. Permission was granted ( 15 & 16 Vict. c. lxi), and the railway opened on 7 September 1853. On opening, the terminus of the railway was at Aberdeen Ferryhill railway station , which was also the terminus of the Aberdeen Railway at the time. The railway was extended north to a new terminus, Aberdeen Guild Street , in 1854. A special train with 15 carriages travelled from Aberdeen to Banchory, and public services began
3038-434: The Deeside Railway was offered to the GNSR, who rapidly accepted. The Deeside board accepted the lease by a majority vote on 13 May 1862, and it was approved by Parliament on 30 July 1866. The Aboyne & Braemar remained independent, although services were operated by the GNSR. When the battery multiple unit was introduced, services were doubled to six trains a day from 21 April 1958, and Sunday service reinstated. The line
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3136-450: The Duchess and Princess Victoria, William expressed his hope that he would survive until Princess Victoria was 18 so that the Duchess of Kent would never be regent. He said, I trust to God that my life may be spared for nine months longer ... I should then have the satisfaction of leaving the exercise of the Royal authority to the personal authority of that young lady, heiress presumptive to
3234-419: The Duchess regarding the King as an oversexed oaf. As far as she dared, the Duchess denied the King access to his niece. She prevented her daughter from attending William's coronation out of a disagreement of precedence, a decision attributed by the Duke of Wellington to Conroy. In 1831, the year of William's coronation, Conroy and the Duchess embarked on a series of royal tours with Victoria to expose her to
3332-559: The Duchess's lover to be haemophiliac – an extremely unlikely survival, given the poor state of medicine at the time, or the Duchess herself to be a carrier of haemophilia, since haemophilia is X-linked , meaning that her mother would have been a carrier, if haemophilia was not otherwise previously expressed in the Duchess's parents. Actual evidence to support this theory has not arisen. Haemophilia occurs spontaneously through mutation in at least 30% of cases, and especially in children of older fathers such as Victoria. Haemophilia in
3430-729: 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
3528-505: 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
3626-517: The German Nation and was named Marie Louise Victoire . She was the fourth daughter and seventh child of Franz Frederick Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld , and Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf . One of her brothers was Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha , and another brother, Leopold , future king of the Belgians, married, in 1816, Princess Charlotte of Wales , the only legitimate daughter of
3724-420: The Kents. Parliament agreed an annuity for the Duchess and her daughter in August 1831. A contributing factor was Leopold's designation as King of the Belgians , upon which he surrendered his British income. Together in a hostile environment, John Conroy 's relationship with the Duchess was very close, with him serving as her comptroller and private secretary for the next nineteen years, as well as holding
3822-419: The King and Queen Adelaide were fond of their niece, but their attempts to forge a close relationship with the girl were frustrated by the conflict with the Duchess of Kent. The King, angered at what he took to be disrespect from the Duchess to his wife, took the opportunity at what proved to be his final birthday banquet in August 1836 to settle the score. Speaking to those assembled at the banquet, who included
3920-629: 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
4018-637: 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
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4116-547: 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
4214-514: 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
4312-544: 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
4410-473: The behest of Victoria's husband (and the Duchess's nephew), Prince Albert . Firstly, this removed Lehzen's influence, and Lehzen had long despised the Duchess and Conroy, suspecting them of an illicit affair. Secondly, it left the Queen wholly open to Albert's influence, and he likely prevailed upon her to reconcile with her mother. Thirdly, Conroy by now lived in exile on the Continent and so his divisive influence
4508-448: 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
4606-589: 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
4704-515: 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,
4802-630: 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
4900-537: 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
4998-459: 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
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#17328521612175096-676: The death of her first spouse, she served as regent of the Principality of Leiningen during the minority of their son, Carl, until her second marriage in 1818. The death of Princess Charlotte of Wales , the wife of Victoria's brother Leopold, in 1817, prompted a succession crisis. With Parliament offering them a financial incentive, three of Charlotte's uncles, sons of King George III , were prepared to marry. One of them, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn , proposed to Victoria and she accepted. The couple were married on 29 May 1818 at Schloss Ehrenburg , Coburg and on 11 July 1818 at Kew ,
5194-529: The descendants of Victoria was known at the time and among European royalty, including Romanoffs, was known as the 'Coburg disease'. As for Wilson's second reason, there is evidence to suggest Victoria's daughter, Empress Frederick , suffered from porphyria, and John Röhl's book, Purple Secret , documents evidence of porphyria in Empress Frederick's daughter Charlotte , and her granddaughter, Feodora . Röhl also claims that Prince William of Gloucester
5292-589: 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
5390-519: 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
5488-402: 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
5586-424: The emergence of Victorian morality by insisting that her daughter avoid any appearance of sexual impropriety. Victoria shared a bedroom with her mother every night, studied with private tutors to a regular timetable, and spent her play-hours with her dolls and her King Charles Spaniel , Dash . Perhaps because of Conroy's influence, the relationship between the Duchess's household and William IV soon soured, with
5684-439: 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
5782-633: 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
5880-605: 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
5978-513: The first three years and then £1000 a year for the running rights. Initially the Aberdeen Railway operated the services, but only made one locomotive available, so the Deeside decided to buy its own rolling stock, and this was in service by summer 1854. A new company, the Aboyne Extension, was formed to reach Aboyne, and the Deeside agreed to operate services. Instead of building two bridges across
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#17328521612176076-452: 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
6174-430: The future King George IV , and heiress presumptive to the British throne. On 21 December 1803 at Coburg , a young Victoria married (as his second wife) Emich Carl, Prince of Leiningen , whose first wife, Countess Henrietta Sophie of Reuss-Ebersdorf (1767–1801), had been her aunt. The couple had two children, Prince Carl , born on 12 September 1804, and Princess Feodora of Leiningen , born on 7 December 1807. After
6272-582: 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
6370-652: The language and had a palace at home in Coburg where she could live cheaply on the revenues of her first husband. However, the British succession at this time was far from assured – of the three brothers older than Edward, the new king, George IV, and the Duke of York were both estranged from their wives, who were in any case past childbearing age. The third brother, the Duke of Clarence, had yet to produce any surviving children with his wife. The Duchess of Kent decided that she would do better by gambling on her daughter's accession than by living quietly in Coburg and, having inherited her second husband's debts, sought support from
6468-423: 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
6566-448: The line was closed completely to Ballater on 18 July 1966 and to Culter on 2 January 1967. A railway to serve Deeside was first suggested in 1845. A 16-mile (26 km) long line to Banchory was estimated to cost £95,000, or £220,000 to reach Aboyne , a distance of 30 miles (48 km). This was authorised on 16 July 1846, but it was decided to wait for the Aberdeen Railway to open first. Shareholders wanted their money back when
6664-473: The monarch. Even after Charlotte's death, Leopold's annuity was not revoked by Parliament. In 1831, with George IV dead and the new king William IV (formerly the Duke of Clarence) being over 60 without any surviving legitimate issue, and whose nearly 40-year-old wife was considered to be at the end of childbearing age, the young princess's status as heir presumptive and the Duchess's prospective place as regent led to major increases in British state income for
6762-425: 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
6860-505: 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
6958-494: 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
7056-456: 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
7154-411: The next day. There were three trains a day, taking about an hour to travel the 16 + 3 ⁄ 4 miles (27.0 km). First class accommodation was available for 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 d a mile, reduced to 1 d a mile for third class. Initially the service terminated in Aberdeen at Ferryhill station, but this was extended to Guild Street when that opened in 1854, the Deeside Railway paying £700 for
7252-486: 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
7350-426: 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
7448-605: The people and solidify their status as potential regents. Their efforts were ultimately successful and, in November 1831, it was declared that the Duchess would be sole regent in the event of Victoria's young queenship. The Duchess further offended the King by taking rooms in Kensington Palace that the King had reserved for himself, and she snubbed his illegitimate children, the FitzClarences , before and during his reign. Both
7546-517: 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
7644-518: 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,
7742-446: 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
7840-461: 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
7938-452: The terminus became the royal station. On 20 and 24 September 1866 the Prince and Princess of Wales, used Ballater station nearly a month before public services reached the station. The royal trains, which did not enter Aberdeen station but reversed at Ferryhill, took about 75 minutes to travel the 42 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (68.4 km) to Ballater; the Queen disliked high speed. The line
8036-574: 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
8134-404: The throne as an adult and consequently, while cultivating her mother, had shown little consideration for Victoria. When the latter succeeded, Conroy risked having no influence over her. He tried to force Victoria to agree to make him her personal secretary once she succeeded, but this plan, too, backfired. Victoria resented her mother's support for Conroy's schemes and being pressured by her to sign
8232-554: The throne at a young age, thus needing a regency government, which, following the Regency Act 1830 , would be headed by the princess's mother (who had already served in that capacity in Germany following the death of her first husband). As the personal secretary of the Duchess, Conroy would be the veritable "power behind the throne". He had not counted on William IV surviving long enough for Victoria to come of age and be able to succeed to
8330-478: The unofficial roles of public relations officer, counsellor, confidant and political agent. While it is not clear which of the two was more responsible for devising the Kensington System , it was created to govern young Victoria's upbringing. The intention was for the Duchess to be appointed regent upon Victoria's (assumed youthful) succession and for Conroy to be created Victoria's private secretary and given
8428-425: 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
8526-567: Was a German princess and the mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. As the widow of Charles, Prince of Leiningen , from 1814, she served as regent of the Principality during the minority of her son from her first marriage, Karl , until her second wedding in 1818 to Prince Edward , fourth son of George III . Victoria was born in Coburg on 17 August 1786 in the Holy Roman Empire of
8624-403: Was chosen for testing the unit because the stations were well spaced and the 1 in 70 ruling gradients would require substantial discharge rates. Passenger services were withdrawn on 28 February 1966 and the line was closed completely to Ballater on 18 July 1966 and to Culter on 2 January 1967. Balnacraig viaduct, a five-arch structure between Torphins and Lumphanan which carried the railway,
8722-417: Was cleared fifteen minutes before the train was due, the facing points and level crossing gates were locked and stations closed. At first Victoria visited once a year, this becoming twice a year after Albert died in 1861. The number of visits returned to one a year after Edward VII became King in 1901 and the train became faster, although and a slower schedule was later used for George V . From 8 October 1865
8820-549: Was demolished in June 1989. A group, called Campaign for North East Rail , was launched in April 2021 and is campaigning for the reinstatement of the Deeside Railway between Aberdeen and Banchory. Aberdeen Aberdeen ( / ˌ æ b ər ˈ d iː n / AB -ər- DEEN ; locally [ˌeːbərˈdin] or [ˈeːbərdin] ; Scottish Gaelic : Obar Dheathain [ˈopəɾ ˈʝɛ.ɪɲ] )
8918-531: Was diagnosed with porphyria shortly before he died in a flying accident. There is moreover no genetic evidence that the royal family ever had the disease: its diagnosis in George III's case (and others) has been questioned. The Duchess died at 09:30 on 16 March 1861, aged 74 years, with her daughter Victoria at her side. The Queen was much affected by her mother's death. Through reading her mother's papers, Victoria discovered that her mother had loved her deeply; she
9016-463: Was extremely protective, and raised Victoria largely isolated from other children under the so-called "Kensington System". The system prevented the princess from meeting people whom her mother and Conroy deemed undesirable (including most of her father's family), and was designed to render her weak and dependent upon them. The Duchess avoided the court because she was scandalised by the presence of King William's illegitimate children, and perhaps prompted
9114-544: Was heart-broken, and blamed Conroy and Lehzen for "wickedly" estranging her from her mother. She is buried in the Duchess of Kent's Mausoleum at Frogmore , Windsor Home Park, near to the royal residence Windsor Castle . Queen Victoria and Albert dedicated a window in the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park to her memory. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was portrayed by Alison Leggatt in
9212-404: Was modified during the parliamentary proceedings to terminate at Bridge of Gairn with the passenger terminus 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (2.4 km) short at Ballater . This 12 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (20.1 km) route was approved on 5 July 1865, and opened to Ballater on 17 October 1866. Some work was done on the line to Bridge of Gairn, but remained unfinished. By 1855 there five services
9310-413: Was removed. The Duchess's finances, which had been left in shambles by Conroy, were restored thanks to Victoria and her advisors. By all accounts, the Duchess became a doting grandmother and was closer to her daughter than she ever had been. Historian A. N. Wilson suggests that Victoria's father could not have been the Duke of Kent for two reasons: In practice, Wilson's first reason would have required
9408-429: 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
9506-668: Was used by the Royal Train for travel to and from Balmoral Castle from 1853 and a special 'Messenger Train' ran daily when the Royal Family was in residence. The railways were absorbed by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR) on 1 August 1875 for the Deeside Railway and 31 January 1876 for the Aboyne & Braemar. The line became part of the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923, and part of British Railways when nationalised in 1948. Passenger services were withdrawn on 28 February 1966 and
9604-456: 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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