Aberdour

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Aberdour
Scottish Gaelic Obar Dobhair
View over the harbor
View over the harbor
Coordinates 56 ° 3 ′  N , 3 ° 18 ′  W Coordinates: 56 ° 3 ′  N , 3 ° 18 ′  W
Aberdour (Scotland)
Aberdour
Aberdour
Residents 1633 (as of 2011)
administration
Post town BURNTISLAND
ZIP code section KY
prefix 01383 86
Part of the country Scotland
Lieutenancy Area Fife
Council area Fife
Civil Parish Aberdour
British Parliament Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
Scottish Parliament Cowdenbeath

Aberdour is a historic town and civil parish in the United Kingdom on the south coast of Fife in the east of the Central Lowlands , Scotland with around 1,600 inhabitants. The place is located between the small towns of Dalgety Bay and Burntisland on the north bank of the Firth of Forth with a view of the offshore island Inchcolm and the local medieval Augustinian Abbey Inchcolm Abbey . On the south-east opposite bank, the Scottish capital Edinburgh is just under 30 kilometers away by road .

history

Today's Aberdour consists of the two historical villages Wester Aberdour and Easter Aberdour , which emerged to the west and east of the mouth of the eponymous river Dour Burn and whose origins go back to Pictish times, probably in the "dark" 5th century between the departure of the Romans Britain and the Anglo-Saxon conquest . Wester Aberdour was promoted to a burgh of barony in 1501 , and Easter Aberdour to a burgh of regality in 1638 .

From the High Middle Ages , the historical development of Aberdour through the resident noble dynasties and the associated building activity is well documented. The abbots of Inchcolm Abbey and the lords of the castle, from 1458 the Earls of Morton , from the powerful, widely ramified Clan Douglas , who resided at Aberdour Castle from the 14th to the 18th century and owned it from the 14th to the 18th century, were particularly formative for the history of the Middle Ages and early modern times remained until the 20th century.

Before the Douglas', the Norman knight dynasty ruled the Mortimer castle and land in the 12th and 13th centuries, the whereabouts of which are still unclear. In 1314 King Robert I the Bruce handed over the rule to his deserved follower Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray , from whose second-born son John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray, it passed to the Douglas' in 1342, in the person of Sir William Douglas of Liddesdale ; According to other sources, it did not pass to Sir James Douglas of Dalkeith until 1351 .

Attractions

St Fillan's Church

In the municipality of Aberdour there are still some well-preserved medieval buildings that are listed in Category A of the Scottish Monument Classification and are therefore classified as nationally or internationally important architectural monuments, whose maintenance and management is carried out centrally by the Scottish authority Historic Scotland . In particular, these are:

  • Aberdour Castle , a partly well-preserved castle, built around 1200, which is next to Castle Sween the oldest still existing castle in Scotland.
  • In the immediate vicinity of the castle is St Fillan's Church , one of the best preserved medieval parish churches in Scotland; Basically built in the 12th century and fundamentally restored and rededicated in 1926.
  • The Augustinian Abbey on Inchcolm, whose origins go back to the first half of the 12th century and whose abbots were in constant rivalry with the lords of the castle. Inchcolm Abbey is one of the best-preserved groups of monastic buildings in Scotland.
  • Historically significant is also the mansion Aberdour House , built in the 17th century and 1725 by Robert Douglas, 12th Earl of Morton purchased and from then on, the old castle was peeling off, used as a family residence.

In addition, there is a large number of monuments, mainly classified in categories B and C, from different eras.

tourism

Because of its charming historical townscape, its sheltered coastal location and proximity to the capital Edinburgh, Aberdour is equally interesting for tourists, short vacationers and day trippers. In addition to travelers motivated by culture and history, bathers are particularly attracted, as Aberdour has two award-winning sandy beaches. On the east side of the village is Silver Sands , a fine sandy beach that is one of the seven Scottish beaches that have been awarded the international Blue Flag environmental certificate ; on the west side is Black Sands , which is characterized by darker, stony sand and a rougher coast and is particularly attractive because of its rock caves. Black Sands received the Seaside Award . In the summer months there is a regular ferry service from Aberdour Harbor to Inchcolm Abbey Island. In addition, the site is located on the 190 km long distance hiking trail Fife Coastal Path and has a golf course with 18 holes.

Transport and economy

Aberdour is on the A921 , the main thoroughfare south of Fife, about seven kilometers east of the M90 motorway . Edinburgh International Airport is 15 miles away. With the completion of the Forth Bridge railway bridge in 1890, the place was connected to the British rail network and in the same year the local train station opened, which is still in operation. The port of Aberdour was especially important for regional coal shipping since its expansion in the 18th century until around 1850; then it became a popular destination for pleasure boats from Leith and the first tourist infrastructure developed.

After the inauguration of the Forth Road Bridge in 1964, the traffic connections improved once again, so that the area around Dalgety Bay became a popular place to live for Edinburgh commuters, for whom a new small town was built with Dalgety Bay in 1962.

Originally, Aberdour was a flourishing fishing village that developed into a popular seaside resort and holiday destination in the 20th century. There were also coal mines and quarries in the vicinity.

Miscellaneous

  • Since July 2004 Aberdour is in a city partnership with the Italian community Corte Franca .
  • Some scenes from the independent film Desolation - 16 Years of Alcohol were shot on Black Sands beach .
  • The Aberdour Shinty Club is the only Shinty club in Fife that is active in the senior sector. The first team plays in the second-rate South Division One , the second a division lower in the South Division Two .
  • Since 1984, the Aberdour Festival has been held annually on ten days from the end of July to the beginning of August , with a broad program of musical and other performances. In summer 2013 it was held for the 30th time.
  • In 1744/45 the Scottish astronomer James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton, had the twelve-meter-high Aberdour House Obelisk built, as it is said, to be able to recognize his home from his new place of residence Edinburgh. The obelisk is listed in Category B in the Scottish Monument Classification.

Sons and Citizens of Aberdour

Born in Aberdour
Used to be in Aberdour

Web links

Commons : Aberdour  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Aberdour (Fife). citypopulation.de, March 27, 2011, accessed January 26, 2014 .
  2. ^ A b c Aberdour , Gazetteer for Scotland , accessed November 18, 2013
  3. ↑ www.scotland4all.com , accessed August 25, 2017.
  4. ↑ Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  5. ↑ Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  6. ↑ Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  7. ↑ Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  8. ↑ a b c Cities and Places: Aberdour , Scottland Signpost , accessed November 11, 2013
  9. ↑ AberdourSilverSands ( Memento June 11, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), Blue Flag, accessed November 19, 2013
  10. ↑ Black Sands, Aberdour , Fife Council, accessed November 19, 2013
  11. ↑ Scotland's top beaches announced for 2013 ( Memento from November 19, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
  12. ↑ fifecoastalpath.co.uk ( Memento of December 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), website of the hiking trail, accessed November 15, 2013
  13. ↑ Aberdour , Undiscovered Scotland , accessed November 18, 2013
  14. ↑ Town twinning ( Memento November 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), Fife Council, accessed November 12, 2013
  15. ↑ aberdourfestival.org (PDF; 1.2 MB), website of the organizer, accessed November 15, 2013
  16. ↑ Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .; Note : The statement made here alone “Under the instruction of the 13th Earl of Morton” must be wrong, since the 13th Earl of Morton died in 1738. (see, among others, The Douglas Archive )
  17. ↑ Obelisk, Aberdour , geograph.org (with photo), accessed November 19, 2013