subject: Aberdeen - A Shimmering City With Plenty Of History [print this page] Aberdeen is one of the largest cities in Scotland. It has many nicknames' that include the Silver City with the Golden Sands, the Grey city and the Granite City. These names arose because most of the buildings in Aberdeen are constructed of grey granite that contains mica which sparkles. The coastline is expansive with plenty of sandy beaches.
Aberdeen is very old as there were settlers in the area since prehistoric times. This is because Aberdeen is situated at the mount of several rivers and there are two different sections; the old and the new. The older section of Aberdeen was originally big for trading and fishing. The newer section of the city was formed when Robert the Bruce took over and he wanted to create a financially independent city where people owned their own property.
Much of the original city was destroyed during the Scottish wars of independence as Aberdeen was ruled by the British. The castle was destroyed and eventually the city was burned. New Aberdeen was built from the ashes and was fortified heavily to prevent attacks. Eventually shipbuilding and fishing industries boomed with the construction of Victoria Dock and the South Breakwater.
The symbol of Aberdeen contains three castles and has been used since the times of Robert the Bruce. These three castles represent buildings on the three hills around Aberdeen; the church on St. Catherine's Hill, Aberdeen castle and an unknown building on Windmill Hill. Bon Accord is the town motto and was first used by Robert the Bruce. The leopard is also found on the city crest.
Aberdeen actually has a very mild climate which is surprising for a city that is so far north. However in winter there are only about 6 hours of daylight and during the summer there are 18 hours of daylight. However the temperature does not get very warm with an average of 17 degrees during the day.
Historically the main industries were fishing, paper making, shipbuilding and textile mills though these have declined and in their place fishing and agricultural research, high technology and oil have become prominent. Aberdeen is home to some world class research institutes including the Macaulay Institute and the Rowett Research Institute.
Aberdeen is the source for much of the oil industry in the North Sea and many of the businesses support the off shore oil rigs. Renewable energy sources are also being developed in Aberdeen.
