According to abbreviationfinder, Aberdeen is the the third largest city in Scotland and independent Council Area (186 km 2), located between the mouths of the Don and Dee (2015) 230,400 residents;also the administrative seat of the Council Area Aberdeenshire and the center of a productive agricultural hinterland; Seat of a Catholic and an Anglican bishop; historic city with a university (founded in 1495) and numerous educational and research institutions (including Robert Gordon University, North East Scotland College, Scottish Agricultural College). After the decline of the traditional industries (linen and wool processing, granite grinding, shipbuilding) Aberdeen has developed into a center of the petroleum industry and acts as an administration and supply center for the North Sea oil industry with a large helicopter airport; main Scottish trading port; international Airport.
Attractions
In Old Aberdeen on Don there is the single arched stone bridge Brig o’Don (1320), the granite Saint Machar’s Cathedral with two fortress-like towers (begun in 1424) and King’s College (founded in 1494). Around the former center of New Aberdeen, Castle Street with its landmarks Mercat Cross (1688) and Tolbooth Tower (14th century), the neo-Gothic Marischal College (founded in 1593 as a Protestant university), the town houses Provost Ross’s House (1594) and Provost Skene’s House (1545 ff.; now a museum). The west building of the double church (East and West Churches) Saint Nicholas was 1751–55 by J. Gibbs built. The city’s Art Gallery exhibits particularly Scottish and English art from the 18th to 20th centuries. – West of Aberdeen is Balmoral Castle (1853–56), the summer residence of the British royal family since it was built; south of Aberdeen Dunnottar Castle.
History
The city emerged from two medieval settlement centers: from the bishopric of Aberdon, which was independent until 1891 and later called Old Aberdeen, on the south bank of the Don, around Saint Machar’s Cathedral, and from the trading and port city of Aberdeen on the north bank of the Dee, below the castle.
Industry
The basic structures created during the industrial revolution still determine the industrial landscape today. Industry is mainly concentrated in central England, the London area, the Tyne region (north-east England), the Scottish lowlands, south Wales and around Belfast. In the manufacturing industry, 20% of all gainfully employed people are employed, which (2014) generate 19.8% of GDP. The sharp decline in employees in the manufacturing sector compared to 1980, when 8.9 million (38.8%) were still active in this branch of industry, documents the profound changes in the British economy in recent decades. The industry has been in an adjustment process for a long time. Due to their low productivity, many industrial sectors were technological obsolescence and outdated organizational structures are no longer competitive and experienced a strong contraction process, especially in the steel, shipbuilding, textile and metal sectors. The iron and steel industry is now concentrated in three major smelting sites in North East England (Lackenby-Redcar and Scunthorpe) and Wales; smaller steel mills still exist in Sheffield.
In regional terms, the old industrial areas in the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland were hardest hit by the capacity and employment losses. However, the decline in these regions was mitigated by some important foreign direct investment (e.g. by Nissan Motor Manufacturing Ltd. in north-east England). In South Wales, the settlement of numerous foreign companies in the vehicle industry (mainly Japanese companies) has even led to a slight economic recovery. Modern growth industries in the high-tech sector (computers, biotechnology) have mainly settled west of London and around Cambridge as well as in central Scotland (“Silicon Glen”).
The formerly very numerous state-owned companies have been privatized since the 1980s with a few exceptions: Among others, British Telecom (today: BT Group plc.), British Petroleum (today: BP plc.). British Steel (now part of the Indian company Tata Steel) was restructured in the early 1980s and privatized in late 1988. By closing older plants, introducing modern technology and reducing the number of jobs by more than 100,000, productivity has increased significantly.
The decline of the once important shipbuilding industry could not be stopped significantly by the production of offshore systems for the oil industry. In the early 1980s, the automotive industry also fell into a serious crisis. Today the entire auto industry is foreign owned. The once important textile and clothing industry also suffered severe losses; Besides London, their traditional centers are primarily Manchester and Leeds. The printing industry is also one of the most traditional branches of industry, as British publishing plays a leading role in the English-speaking world. The ceramic industry is concentrated around Stoke-on-Trent (Potteries).
Energy industry
Measured in terms of electricity generation (2013), the energy industry is based 63.9% on oil, natural gas and coal, 7.7% on wind, 2.9% on biomass and 1.3% on hydropower. In 2013, nuclear energy accounted for 1.89% of electricity generation. As the first nuclear power plant in the world, Calder Hall supplied electricity in 1956; it was shut down on March 31, 2003. At the beginning of 2014, 16 reactor units were still in operation. The British nuclear power plants mainly consist of pressurized water reactors, which for reasons of age will have to be taken off the grid by 2035. The UK Atomic Energy Authority (founded in 1954) is responsible for the technological development of the UK nuclear program and the decommissioning of older nuclear power plants. Even after the Fukushima disaster (Japan) in March 2011, Great Britain and Northern Ireland are sticking to the use and further expansion of nuclear energy. The construction of two new reactors each is planned for Sizewell on the south-east coast of England and for Hinkley Point on the Bristol Channel (south-west England).
