by Dundee: how a curious tourist can profit
To get to know Dundee well (emphasis on the last syllable!) one day is absolutely not enough: firstly, the area of this city is quite large – 49.9 square km. Just so you understand, it ranks fourth in size among the populated areas of Scotland.
And secondly, there are too many interesting things “in store” in the administrative centre of the smallest district in the country – Dundee City. In order not to get confused immediately upon arrival, you need to read introductory information about Dundee in advance. It will allow you to orient the view of this amazingly attractive city comfortably located on the east coast of Scotland, right on the northern shore of the Firth of Tay.
Getting from Dundee to the opposite south coast in the Fife region is not a problem. There are two bridges running next to each other – a modern road bridge (2.25 km long) and a railway bridge.
Look at the map: where is Dundee?
The city with a population of more than 150,000 people (with a very impressive density of 3,000 people per 1 sq. km) was built at the mouth of the Tay River, the longest river in the country. It originates on the northern slopes of Mount Ben Lui, from where it flows eastward through the centre of Scotland.
So Dundee meets the waters of a salty bay which creates access to the North Sea and at the same time receives drinking water from a large drainage basin with an area of 6216 square km.
The mystery of the name: “the crocodile from the movie has nothing to do with it!”
Dundee has a second name: City of Discovery, which appeared at the beginning of the 20th century during the era of great discoveries. But none of the names are in any way connected with the Australian-American action-comedy film starring Paul Hogan filmed back in 1986.
The fact is that philologists have never found the origins of the English-Scottish word “Dundee”. The noun is believed to mean “fire fort”, apparently the ancient name is associated with the lighthouses on the high hill of the city or the fires that burned it. Another version is that a volcano once spewed magma and flames. How long ago the city (located on a volcanic plateau 174m high) was given such a “spoken” name is unknown due to the impossibility of establishing the exact date of the founding of Dundee.
The origin of the beautiful phrase “City of Discovery” is much clearer: the Discovery ship moored near the city left the pier in 1901. It was used by the captain of the Royal Navy, one of the explorers of the South Pole, Robert Falcon Scott, on his first research expedition.
A little history of Dundee: what life was like for the thriving city today
This is really a very, very ancient city! Of the surviving archaic chronicles, mentions of Dundee date back to the 12th century. At that time the city was called a fortress. By the way, its remains can still be seen by climbing to the top of the Dundee Law mountain!
At the end of the 12th century, the fort was renamed the proud “royal burgh”. There were objective reasons for the official change in the status of the settlement: the settlement grew and began to play a serious role in the economy of Scotland. By the 13th century, Dundee had become a large trading centre, but further development was interrupted by numerous wars, one after another:
- for national independence.
- Three Kingdoms, etc.
By the 17th century, Dundee was so badly battered by battles that it had virtually no means of manufacturing or handicraft production left. But the economic decline was short-lived: the city quickly revived like a phoenix, turning into the industrial centre of the country in the 18th century. From this moment on, three industries started developing in leaps and bounds:
- whaling;
- textiles;
- shipbuilding.
A century later, a fourth profitable direction was added – jute production. Alas, today it is impossible to review the achievements of the past: shipbuilding, jute production (the buildings of the factories for its production are still standing!) and whaling have long been discontinued. But the production of, for example, marmalade and glossy magazines (the famous Beano and Dandy magazine from the House of Thompson) is thriving.
However, the former glory of the goods manufacturer is behind us. Today’s Dundee is less about factories and more about a major retail centre.
Dundee and science: what to see as a scientist
The city has a couple of higher education institutions: the university of the same name and Abertay University. And here, they have been actively engaged in research in the field of biomedicine since the 80’s of the last century.
There is something to see: a colossal number of attractions
To be honest, due to medieval strife and wars, very few buildings from that period have survived, but some still remain – ruins of the city walls of the old Eastern port (XVI century):
- Dudhope Castle of the Scrimgeour family.
- Claypotts Castle.
- remains of buildings on the main street Gardyne (XVI century).
- ruins of Powrie Castle.
- burials in the Howff cemetery.
Those who come here are always advised to go to the Tower of St. Mary. The historical value, built approximately 500 years ago, is part of a huge architectural massif consisting of three ancient churches from different eras:
- St. Paul and St. David’s Church (19th century):
- Sant Clements (XVIII century).
- St. Mary’s (XIX century).
In general, for lovers of this kind of purely ecclesiastical old architecture, Dundee is simply a delight. Here are at least a couple of the most kitschy ones:
- the neo-Gothic St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in the neo-Gothic style.
- The Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Andrew.
Much more recent artifacts include Dundee High School, built in the Greek Revival style at the beginning of the century before last. Around that time the Morgan Academy was rebuilt in the Dutch Gothic style.
Where to get cultured in Dundee for the modern tourist
For theatregoers, two theatres were built here and for those who prefer the stage there is a spacious concert hall. Fans of new films are invited to visit the mountain of the same name as the city at a certain time: it hosts the DMFF, the spectacular Edinburgh International Film Festival.
The city authorities have not forgotten music lovers either – you can attend the summer jazz festival every year in June. At the end of summer, in August, a water festival is organized, as well as a rally in which vintage cars participate.
Four interesting facts about Dundee
- The city stands on the long-extinct volcano “Law of Dundee” (literal translation of the name from English).
- The Tay Bridge built in the late 19th century to replace a ferry is notorious for a disaster which claimed 78 lives. The tragedy occurred one and a half years after the opening of the bridge, on 28 December 1879 at 19:15. Due to poor quality of the metal and engineering imperfections the structure could not withstand strong winds and collapsed in the area of the central spans – right as the train passed over it. The designer of the bridge, Thomas Bouch, died soon afterwards of a heart attack. Eight years later a new steel bridge replaced the cast iron bridge (by the way, 14 workers died during construction).
- Dundee is the warmest city in Scotland and protected from the north by a range of hills. The average January minimum is plus °C (weather forecasters recorded an absolute minimum of -17.1°C).
- The famous ship on which the polar explorer Captain Scott sailed to Antarctica on 17 January 1912 has been restored and is anchored at the city pier next to another historically significant ship, the military Unicorn. Both national relics are moored at the Riverside Pier.
