Aberdeen — The Granite Secret

Your investigation begins on Union Street, Aberdeen's historic commercial artery, nicknamed the 'Granite Mile'. This one-kilometer avenue, built from 1801 as part of a neoclassical urban plan completed around 1820, connected the port to the city center. Here you can see St Nicholas Kirk, the parish church founded in 1256 and rebuilt after a fire in 1742. Its west tower, 50 meters high, is the work of Archibald Simpson (1837-1842), an architect who profoundly marked the architecture of Aberdeen and the Aberdeenshire-and-north-east. The central site, visible from your starting point, houses the East Kirk and West Kirk, divided in 1742 following religious disputes, bearing witness to the city's past tensions.

Continuing your journey along Union Street, you arrive at Marischal College, an iconic Aberdeen landmark. Founded in 1593 by George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal, for the University of Aberdeen, it boasts a neo-Gothic granite facade, completed in 1906 by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie. With a height of 50 meters and an estimated granite surface area of 365,000 m², this facade is the second largest in the world after the Washington Capitol. The college, located 500m east of St Nicholas Kirk, is a Category A "Scottish Historic Building", representing an essential milestone in the heritage of Aberdeenshire-and-north-east and a remarkable example of granite use in the city.

A short walk away, you discover Union Terrace Gardens, a green space carved out between 1873 and 1879 above a railway line. These public gardens, covering 1.2 hectares, are spread over three levels and feature a Victorian bridge and an 1879 cast-iron fountain. Renovated in 2011 for £140 million, they offer a striking contrast to the granite facades adjacent to Union Street. This development is a testament to the urban growth of the "Granite City" in the Victorian era, a place of relaxation for Aberdeen residents and a site that illustrates the city's ability to integrate nature into its dense architectural fabric.

Your route then takes you to Provost Skene's House, a half-timbered house dating from 1545, restored in 1933 as a museum. This residence is one of the few wooden survivors in this granite city and was occupied by George Skene, Lord Provost of Aberdeen from 1676 to 1688. Located on Guestrow, near Union Street and 400m from St Nicholas Kirk, it offers a glimpse into pre-granite domestic architecture and the lives of Aberdeenshire-and-north-east notables. Nearby, the 1686 Mercat Cross, with its 1823 four-faced clock, symbolizes municipal power and marks the historic center of the old town, near Castle Street.

Finally, your journey through Aberdeen concludes with a discovery of the history and heritage of this "Granite City". From His Majesty's Theatre, an Edwardian Baroque granite theater built in 1906 by Frank Matcham, on Rosemount Viaduct, 600m northwest of St Nicholas Kirk, to the majestic facades of Union Street, you have traced the evolution of a city built on stone. You take with you the city's motto "Bon Accord", a perfect agreement between its past, its present, and the richness of its architecture that make Aberdeen a unique destination for lovers of "Scottish Historic Building" and "Category A listed buildings".