GLASGOW Radu Rebecca
IX MIE
Glasgow is a port city on the River Clyde in Scotland's
western Lowlands, the largest city in Scotland, and third
most populous in the United Kingdom. It's famed for its
INTRODUC Victorian and art nouveau architecture, a rich legacy of
the city's 18th–20th-century prosperity due to trade and
TION shipbuilding. Today it's a national cultural hub, home to
institutions including the Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet
and National Theatre of Scotland, as well as acclaimed
museums and a thriving music scene.
QUICK HISTORY
Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become the largest seaport in
Britain. Expanding from the medieval bishopric and royal burgh, and the later establishment of the
University of Glasgow in the fifteenth century, it became a major centre of the Scottish
Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. From the eighteenth century onwards, the city also grew
as one of Great Britain's main hubs of transatlantic trade with North America and the West Indies.
With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the population and economy of Glasgow and the surrounding region
expanded rapidly to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of chemicals, textiles and engineering; most notably
in the shipbuilding and marine engineering industry, which produced many innovative and famous vessels. Glasgow
was the "Second City of the British Empire" for much of the Victorian era and Edwardian period, although many cities
argue the title was theirs. .
Glasgow hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games and is also well known in the
sporting world for the football rivalry referred to as the Old Firm, between Celtic
. and Rangers. Glasgow is also known for the Glasgow patter, a distinct dialect that is
noted for being difficult to understand by those from outside the city.
WHAT TO VISIT
.
THE KELVINGROVE
ART GALLERY AND
MUSEUM
The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum i s a
museum and art gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. It
reopened in 2006 after a three-year refurbishment and
since then has been one of Scotland's most popular
visitor attractions.
The gallery is located on Argyle Street, in the West End
of the city, on the banks of the River Kelvin (opposite the
architecturally similar Kelvin Hall, which was built in
matching style in the 1920s, after the previous hall had
been destroyed by fire). It is adjacent to Kelvingrove
Park and is situated near the main campus of the
University of Glasgow on Gilmorehill.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is one of
Scotland's most popular free attractions and features 22
themed, state-of-the-art galleries displaying an
astonishing 8000 objects.
GLASGOW
CATHEDRAL
Glasgow Cathedral, also called the High Kirk of
Glasgow or St Kentigern's or St Mungo's
Cathedral, is today a gathering of the Church of
Scotland in Glasgow.
The title cathedral is honorific and historic,
dating from the period before the Scottish
Reformation and its former status as the Roman
Catholic mother church of the Archdiocese of
Glasgow and thus the cathedra of the Archbishop
of Glasgow (which is now in St. Andrew's
Cathedral, the present mother church of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow). The
current congregation is part of the Church of
Scotland's Presbytery of Glasgow. Glasgow
Cathedral is located north of High Street and east
of Cathedral Street, beside the Glasgow Royal
Infirmary.
GLASGOW SCIENC
Glasgow Science Centre is a visitor attraction located
in the Clyde Waterfront Regeneration area on the
south bank of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland.
Queen Elizabeth II opened Glasgow Science Centre
on 5 June 2001.
It is one of Scotland's most popular paid-for visitor attractions.
It is a purpose-built science centre composed of three principal
buildings: 1. Science Mall, 2. Glasgow Tower and 3. an IMAX
cinema. The Scottish tourist board, VisitScotland, awarded
Glasgow Science Centre a five star rating in the visitor
attraction category. As well as its main location, Glasgow
Science Centre also manages the visitor centre at Whitelee
Wind Farm, which opened to the public in 2009.
1. SCIENCE
MALL
The largest of the three main, titanium-clad buildings takes a crescent shape structure and houses a
Science Mall. In architectural terms it represents the canted hull of a ship, a reference to the adjacent
'canting basin', where vessels were brought to have the marine growth removed from their hulls.
Internally, there are three floors of over 250 science-learning exhibits. As is usual for science centres,
.
the exhibits aim to encourage interaction, and can be used or played with as part of the informal
learning experience the centre aims to deliver. The building was designed by BDP.
On Floor 1, amongst the many interactive exhibits that demonstrate scientific principles, visitors can
access a Science Show Theatre and the Glasgow Science Centre Planetarium. The planetarium
contains a Zeiss optical-mechanical projector that projects images of the night sky onto a 15m
diameter dome. There is an area specifically aimed at young children called, The Big Explorer.
On Floor 2, visitors can explore opportunities in STEM careers in the My World of Work Live
interactive exhibition space. There is also The Lab, primarily used as an educational workshop space.
Floor 3 was refurbished in 2012 and reopened to the public on 28 March 2013. It now houses an
interactive exhibition about human health and wellbeing in the 21st century called, BodyWorks.
Visitors are invited to consider their bodies, health and lifestyle from a new perspective through 115
interactive exhibits, research capsules and live laboratory experiences.
The Ground Floor of the Science Mall contains the Ticket desk, Cafes, Gift Shop, and a cloakroom.
There are a number of flexible room spaces on the Ground Floor that are used for a variety of
educational and corporate purposes: an education space called, The Egg; a lecture-theatre space
called, The Auditorium; and The Clyde Suite. Access to Glasgow Tower for the public is also via the
Ground Floor.
2. GLASGOW
TOWER
The Glasgow Tower was designed to be the
tallest freely-rotating tower in the world. It
missed its opening date in 2001 and has been
plagued by problems ever since. It has been
closed for over 80% of its life, and was closed
from August 2010 until July 2014.
3. IMAX CINEMA
The IMAX cinema was the first IMAX cinema to be built
in Scotland. The single auditorium seats 370 in front of a
rectangular screen measuring 80 feet (24 m) by 60 feet
(18 m) and has the capability to show 3D films as well as
standard 2D films in IMAX format.
It opened to the public in October 2000 and it premiered The
First Film Entitled "Dolphins", several months prior to the
opening of the two other buildings. On 6 September 2013,
Cineworld agreed a 10-year lease to operate the IMAX
cinema and opened a Starbucks on site.
Glasgow is one of the most beautiful cities in the UK, rich in history and culture.
