Dufftown (Scotland)

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Dufftown
Scottish Gaelic Baile Bhainidh
Downtown Dufftown with clock tower
Downtown Dufftown with clock tower
Coordinates 57 ° 27 ′  N , 3 ° 8 ′  W Coordinates: 57 ° 27 ′  N , 3 ° 8 ′  W
Dufftown (Scotland)
Dufftown
Dufftown
Residents 1667 2011 census
administration
Post town KEITH
ZIP code section AB55
prefix 01340
Part of the country Scotland
Council area Moray
British Parliament Moray
Scottish Parliament Moray

Dufftown ( Scottish Gaelic : Baile nan Dubhach; formerly Baile Bhainidh ) is a town in the north-east of the Highlands of Scotland at the confluence of the Fiddich and Dullan Water rivers . According to the 2011 census, there were 1,667 people in Dufftown.

history

Mortlach, now part of Dufftown, is one of the oldest Christian settlements in Scotland. Mortlach Church , now on the outskirts, dates from the 6th century and is one of the oldest churches in Scotland. There is also a Pictish cross in the neighboring cemetery . This indicates a settlement in the early Middle Ages . At the end of the 12th century, Balvenie Castle (now also on the outskirts of Dufftown) was built and the settlement at its feet was appropriately named Balvenie. James Duff, 4th Earl Fife founded the town of Dufftown on this site in 1817 as a home for returning soldiers and named it after himself. In the center of the town is the Clock Tower, which today houses the tourist office.

whiskey

Between 1823 and 1897 no fewer than seven whiskey distilleries were founded in the town: Mortlach in 1823 , Glenfiddich in 1887 , Balvenie in 1892 , Convalmore in 1893 , Dufftown in 1895 , Glendullan in 1897 and Parkmore around 1900 . This then coined the well-known word: Rome was built on seven hills, Dufftown stands on seven stills (“ Rome was built on seven hills, Dufftown stands on seven stills ”).

But this saying was only valid for a few years: Parkmore was closed again in 1931; In 1974, however, another distillery, Pittyvaich, was built. Convalmore closed in 1985; In 1990 Kininvie was built. Pittyvaich was closed in 1993 and demolished in 2002. So that the slogan can still apply today, either Convalmore, which is at least still used as a whiskey warehouse, or the Allt-a-Bhainne distillery a few miles away (built in 1975 ) counted as the seventh distillery in Dufftown.

Nevertheless, Dufftown is considered the whiskey capital of Speyside , Scotland or even the whole world. And so there are not only whiskey distilleries in the small town, but a special whiskey shop, a small whiskey museum, the Spirit of Speyside Whiskey Festival in spring and the Autumn Speyside Whiskey Festival in autumn .

Others

The Dufftown Highland Games have been taking place on the last evening of July since 1892 .

From Easter to the end of September, the Keith and Dufftown Railway runs on weekends between Dufftown and Keith .

In the clock tower there is a bell that is said to have "killed McPherson". McPherson was a Robin Hood- like person who was hanged in MacDuff on the Banffshire Coast when the sheriff rang the bell that was then there. Allegedly he wanted to hasten the execution by ringing the bell (prematurely) because he knew that a messenger was on the way with the pardon.

Near Dufftown there is said to be the fictional Hogwarts wizarding school invented by Joanne K. Rowling , where Harry Potter was also trained.

Daughters and sons of the city

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dufftown - Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland. Retrieved November 23, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Iain Mac Tailleir: Place-names. (PDF) Scottish Parliament, p. 41 , accessed on November 23, 2019 (English).
  3. ↑ 2011 census
  4. ^ Dufftown - Scotland's Malt Whiskey Capital, Tourism Administration information brochure

Web links

Commons : Dufftown  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files