This article is about the Scottish city. For other uses see Aberdeen (disambiguation)

Aberdeen, often called The Granite City, is Scotland's third largest city, with a population of 212,125, and part of the unitary council area named the City of Aberdeen, which is surrounded by, but not within, the Aberdeenshire council area. Aberdeen is the chief commercial centre and seaport in the north-east of Scotland.

The city is often referred to as the Oil Capital of Europe thanks to becoming, in the 1970s, a major service base for the extraction of crude oil in the North Sea. It stands between the mouths of the rivers Don and Dee.

History

---

Aberdeen grew up as two separate burghs: Old Aberdeen at the mouth of the River Don; and New Aberdeen, a fishing and trading settlement where the Denburn entered the Dee estuary. The earliest charter was granted by King William the Lion about 1179, confirming the corporate rights granted by David I. The city received other royal charters later. In 1319, the Great Charter of Robert the Bruce transformed Aberdeen into a property owning and financially independent community. Bruce had a high regard for the citizens of Aberdeen who had sheltered him in his days of outlawry, helped him win the Battle of Barra and slayed the English garrison at the Castle. He granted Aberdeen with the nearby Forest of Stocket. The income from this land has formed the basis for the city's Common Good Fund, which is used to this day for the benefit of all Aberdonians.

More on [ Aberdeen ]

Subscribe to Legal_Services RSS feed