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Glasgow Travel Guide
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| Glasgow
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Glassgow's
earliest history, like so much else in this surprisingly
romantic city, is obscured in a swirl of myth. The city's
name is said to derive from the Celtic Glas-cu, which loosely
translates as "the dear, green place" –
a tag that the tourist board are keen to exploit as an antidote
to the sooty images of popular imagination. It is generally
agreed that the first settlers arrived in the sixth century
to join Christian missionary Kentigern – later to
become St Mungo – in his newly founded monastery on
the banks of the tiny Molendinar Burn.
William
the Lionheart gave the town an official charter in 1175,
after which it continued to grow in importance, peaking
in the mid-fifteenth century when the university was founded
on Kentigern's site – the second in Scotland after
St Andrews. This led to the establishment of an archbishopric,
and hence city status, in 1492, and, due to its situation
on a large, navigable river, Glasgow soon expanded into
a major industrial port. The first cargo of tobacco from
Virginia offloaded in Glasgow in 1674, and led to a boom
in trade with the colonies until American independence.
Following the Industrial Revolution and James Watt's innovations
in steam power, coal from the abundant seams of Lanarkshire
fuelled the ironworks all around the Clyde, worked by the
cheap hands of the Highlanders and, later, those fleeing
the Irish potato famine of the 1840s.
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| Glasgow
Travels & Tours |
Glasgow Cathedral
In 543 AD, Glasgow's patron saint St Mungo founded this
cathedral on the site of a Christian burial ground. It is
Scotland's oldest medieval church and now houses the Church
of Scotland. The first stone church on this site was established
in 1136 by Bishop Achaius and King David I, but was destroyed
by fire and rebuilt in 1197. The present building is in
the Gothic "First Pointed" style and dates from
the 13th century. Bishop William de Bondington (1233-1258)
supervised the initial work but the cathedral was not completed
until 200 years later. Approximately 550 years ago, Glasgow
University was founded in the sacristy of the upper church,
which also houses the nave and choir, while in the suitably
solemn lower church you can visit the shrine of St Mungo.
People's Palace and Winter Gardens
Discover the Glaswegians' story in the People's Palace,
through this exhibition that documents social and industrial
life through the ages. Originally a cultural centre for
the working class, this red sandstone edifice was built
in 1898. Today it contains many interactive exhibits that
kids will enjoy, including listening posts where you can
compare different Scottish accents. The adjacent Winter
Gardens suffered fire damage in 1998, but the greenhouse
is back in business with a collection of beautiful exotic
plants on display.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
Kelvingrove Gallery was built to house the 1901 International
Exhibition. This red sandstone building still provokes strong
reactions today and most people in Glasgow either decidedly
love it or loathe it. According to local legend, the gallery
was built back to front by mistake, but this is just a myth—it
was intended to face the river rather than the road. The
collection within ranges from local historical art to Rodin
sculptures, natural history specimens of varying interest
and a Storm Trooper costume from the original Star Wars
films.
Old Firm Clashes
Anyone hoping to understand Glasgow must come to an understanding
of the Old Firm. Rangers FC and Celtic FC are the two biggest
football clubs in Scotland, and two of the biggest in the
world. The rivalry is intense and tainted by religious sectarianism:
many Glaswegians would like to see an end to it. Nonetheless,
the four games a year (not to mention Cup Final matches
at Hampden Park) are genuine spectacles, and violence is
actually quite unusual.
IMAX
Theatre
As part of the Glasgow Science Centre, the stunning, state-of-the-art
IMAX Theatre showcases the most cutting edge cinematic technology.
At 80 by 60 feet, it's Scotland's biggest screen so no matter
how far back you sit the picture will still take your breath
away. The 12,000 watt sound system has to be heard to be
believed and it's easy to lose yourself in the experience
completely. Unfortunately, there aren't too many films that
can be shown on a screen this size so the programme is limited
but once you've seen a film here, normal cinemas just don't
seem good enough anymore.
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