Aberdeen

As a brief introduction, Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city and one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. Aberdeen has an official population estimate of 202,370.

Nicknames for Aberdeen include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands. During the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries, the buildings of Aberdeen incorporated locally quarried grey granite, whose mica deposits sparkle like silver. Aberdeen has a long, sandy coastline. Since the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, other nicknames for Aberdeen have been the Oil Capital of Europe or the Energy Capital of Europe.

The area around Aberdeen has been settled for at least 8000 years when prehistoric villages lay around the mouths of the rivers Dee and Don.

In 1319, Aberdeen received Royal Burgh status from Robert the Bruce, transforming the city economically. The city's two universities, the University of Aberdeen, founded in 1495, and the Robert Gordon University, which was awarded university status in 1992, make Aberdeen the educational centre of the north-east of Scotland. The traditional Aberdeen industries of fishing, paper-making, shipbuilding, and textiles have been overtaken by the oil industry and the Aberdeen seaport. Aberdeen Heliport is one of the busiest commercial heliports in the world and the seaport is the largest in the north-east of Scotland.

Aberdeen has won the Britain in Bloom competition a record breaking ten times, and hosts the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, a major international event which attracts up to 1000 of the most talented young performing arts companies.

The Aberdeen City and Shire website is your entry point to all that's happening in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, Scotland's most vibrant region and the top ranked area for quality of life in Scotland.

Whether you're interested in relocating, visiting, doing business, studying or just wanting to have fun, Aberdeen city and shire has it all. The Aberdeen City and website will provide an informative, interactive and sensory rich experience for all vi