What about the history of the place?. The city itself is situated between two rivers the River Don and the River Dee. The origin of the name Aberdeen is far from clear, some Gaelic scholars believe it to come from 'Aber' and 'da-aevin' meaning "the mouth of two rivers". Adding weight to this is the Roman name Devana, which could clearly have come from 'da-aevin'. Others say Aberdeen comes from the mouth of the Don, or from the Norse 'Apardion'.

The first known settlers came to Aberdeen back in the Iron and Bronze ages, making the first settlement in the part of Aberdeen called Gilcomstoun, quite a strategic location, which would have had commanding views over the coast line. Although there is no longer any trace of any settlement, the area surrounding Hill Street is where it was located, this is known by artefacts that have been found there in the past.

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The city was burned by Edward III of England in 1336, but was soon rebuilt and extended, and called New Aberdeen. For many centuries the city was subject to attacks by the neighbouring lords, and was strongly fortified, but the gates were all removed by 1770.

In the early days of the Burgh the Chief Magistrate was known as the Alderman, the term �Prepositi' being applied to the Burgh Baillies. About 1460 however, Latin documents refer to Chief Magistrate as �Prepositus' and the term �Provost' came into use shortly after. The �Provosts' Board' at the Town House shows the name of every Provost or Alderman from Richard Cementarius of 1272 to the current Lord Provost John Reynolds.

During the next few years Royalist and Covenanting forces in turn harassed and occupied Aberdeen . The most momentous event of the war for the Burgh was the Battle of the Justice Mills, when the wrath of Montrose descended on the inhabitants.� In 1644, the Marquis, now an ardent Royalist, marched on Aberdeen to demand its surrender. Unfortunately his drummer boy, sent into the town under a flag of truce, was shot on his way back. The enraged Montrose let loose his �wild Irishers' on the town in a three-day orgy of pillage, rape and murder. Few tears would have been shed in Aberdeen when the mutilated arm of Montrose was exhibited at the Justice port after his execution in 1650.

The year 1652 saw the end of Aberdeen's part in the �Troubles' with the restoration of civil government to the Magistrates in a commission granted to the town by Cromwell's commissioners to make sure that a properly acquiescent council was elected � the same tactic as was used by Charles I and James VII.

In 1664 the Council debated the erection of a new market cross, considering the old one unfitting to the dignity of the city. It was not, however, until 1686 that the present cross was erected opposite the Tolbooth by John Montgomery , Aberdeen is the only city in Scotland that houses a monument to the Stewarts, this is depicted on the market cross itself, which is located in the city's Castlegate, close to where Mary Queen of Scots herself resided.

However before it could be used for its intended purpose, it was taken over by the Duke of Cumberland to use as a barracks for the Hanoverian troops on his visit to Aberdeen in 1746 to put down the Jacobite rising, and so the hospital did not open until 1750. During the nineteenth century the hospital developed in two different directions. The first, aimed at secondary education led directly to the modern private school, Robert Gordon College The second, aimed at tertiary education, developed in combination with external technical institutes such as Gray's School of Science and Art, into an institution which achieved university status in the late twentieth century, the Robert Gordon University .

The Jacobite Risings of 1715 and 1745 caused some excitement. On both occasions James VIII was pro-claimed at the Market Cross and a Jacobite Provost and Council were briefly in control. During the pursuit of the Young Pretender, the Duke of Cumberland spent six days in Aberdeen prior to his engagement at Culloden and was made a Freeman of the city, it is unclear why, because he ransacked and pillaged the likes of Provost Skene's House, which still stands today, before leaving on his journey north. Enthusiasm for the Stuarts waned and the magistrates turned with relief to more practical affairs. In 1750 a new Town Hall was built, elegantly furnished with a marble fireplace from Holland and a set of fine crystal chandeliers and sconces. The latter are still an impressive feature in the Town House.

More mundane matters were not neglected in the city, and in 1497 we find mention of the first �scaffie' when a certain Sande Cowtis was appointed to clean the streets and empty middens for a fee of 2d a year from every house with a chimney

This ambitious project began in 1801. The resulting 60-foot wide viaduct was one of the engineering feats of its time and was completed in 1805. It was named Union Street after the union between Britain and Ireland . The Denburn Valley was also crossed by a viaduct to Union Street with a single span arch of 130 feet. Along these new streets was built the nucleus of the �Granite City' in buildings designed by John Smith and Archibald Simpson, the shaping of modern Aberdeen had began. It is easy to forget that this street, lined with buildings on both sides, is actually supported on huge granite arches from near the Castlegate to around Crown Street . Only by using the old mediaeval roads on a lower level can you begin to get a concept of the scale. (Look at the arches from Correction Wynd and the green, then view the massive span of Union Bridge over the railway and the culverted Denburn.)

The construction of Union Street was followed by similar viaducts along Union Terrace and Rosemount Viaduct. This opened the whole area to the west and the resulting development probably precipitated the bankruptcy of the city.

Union Street is one of the most imposing and famous thoroughfares in Scotland. From Castle Street it runs for nearly a mile (1.5 km), is 70 ft (21 m) wide, and originally contained the principal shops and most of the public buildings, all of granite. Part of the street crosses the Denburn ravine (utilized for the line of the Great North of Scotland railway) by Union Bridge, a fine granite arch of 132 ft (40 m) span, with portions of the older town still fringing the gorge, 50 feet (15 m) below the level of Union Street

The cultural side was not neglected since the Public Library Acts were adopted in 1884 and the Art Gallery opened the following year. In the 1830s Aberdeen , like the rest of the country, was affected by a fever for Parliamentary and Burgh Reform. There were processions, public demonstrations and mass meetings, the largest of which took place on Broad Hill in May 1832, attended by 40,000 people. The Burgh Reform Act of 1833 put an end to the self-election of Town Councils and was greeted as a great triumph for democracy. Until 1860 however, membership of the Council was open to Burgesses only.

Since the beginning of the 1900's Aberdeen changed dramatically, with new reforms and legislations being introduced, with the more radical movements and the industrial revolution. Aberdeen became a trading port for every nation.

Owing to the variety and importance of its chief industries Aberdeen is one of the most prosperous cities in Scotland. Very durable grey granite was quarried at Rubislaw quarry for more than 300 years, and blocked and dressed paving "setts", kerb and building stones, and monumental and other ornamental work of granite have long been exported from the district to all parts of the world. Quarrying finally ceased in 1971.

This, though once the predominant industry, was surpassed by the deep-sea fisheries, which derived a great impetus from improved technologies throughout the twentieth century. Lately, however, catches have fallen due to overfishing in previous years by foreign boats in Scottish waters, and the use of the harbour by oil support vessels. Aberdeen remains an important fishing port, but the catch landed there is now eclipsed by the more northerly ports of Peterhead and Fraserburgh..

In addition to fisheries research, Aberdeen is well regarded for the agricultural and soil research that takes place at The Macaulay Institute, which has close links to the city's two universities.

Most of the leading pre-1970s industries date from the 18th century amongst them woollens(1703), linen(1749), and cotton (1779). These gave employment to several thousands of operatives. The paper-making industry is one of the most famous and oldest in the city, paper having been first made in Aberdeen in 1694. The industry has however, all but collapsed. Donside Paper Mill closed in 2001 and the Davidson Mill (run by BPB Paperboard) in 2005. Flax-spinning and jute and combmaking factories also flourished, along with successful foundries and engineering works.

In the days of wooden ships ship-building was a flourishing industry, the town being noted for its fast clippers, many of which established records in the "tea races". The introduction of trawling revived this to some extent, and despite the distance of the city from the iron fields there was a fair yearly output of iron vessels. The last major shipbuilder in Aberdeen, Hall Russells, closed in the late 1980's.

Aberdeen is a vibrant modern city, home to a superb university, superb shopping and nightlife, and of course Aberdeen FC, one of Scotland's best Premier league football clubs � Aberdeen is blessed by being surrounded by a hinterland as tourism rich as anywhere on Scotland, featuring the superb Grampian Whisky, Victorian Heritage and Grampian Castle Trails, glorious Royal Deeside, the lovely fishing villages and towns of the North East � and not far away the delightful Moray Coast with superb beaches, wildlife and dolphin watching opportunities. .

Aberdeen has many more historic related sights within its boundaries, which include the Torry Battery, The Battery was built to defend the city and the harbour of Aberdeen. It superseded a number of older structures. The blockhouse, built in the 1490s, was a response to a perceived threat of sea-borne attack by English forces. It was rebuilt several times but remained the primary defence for the city for many centuries. It was not only the medieval battery but also the storehouse for the town's armaments and on occasion acted as a place of execution for pirates. It was also used during world war II as a gun emplacement.