Dumfries

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Dumfries
Scottish Gaelic Dùn Phris
View over Dumfries
View over Dumfries
Coordinates 55 ° 4 ′  N , 3 ° 37 ′  W Coordinates: 55 ° 4 ′  N , 3 ° 37 ′  W
Dumfries (Scotland)
Dumfries
Dumfries
Residents 32,914 2011 census
administration
Post town DUMFRIES
ZIP code section DG1, DG2
prefix 01387
Part of the country Scotland
Council area Dumfries and Galloway
British Parliament Dumfries and Galloway , Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale
Scottish Parliament Dumfriesshire , Galloway and West Dumfries

Dumfries [ dʌm'fɹiːs ] ( Gaelic Dùn Phris ) is the largest city and administrative center of the south of Scotland lying Council Area of Dumfries and Galloway . Until 1889 it was the administrative seat of the traditional county of Dumfriesshire . The city had 32,914 inhabitants in 2011.

geography

Dumfries is on the River Nith and near its confluence with the Solway Firth . The Galloway Forest Park begins about 30 kilometers west of the city. Nearby attractions such as Sweetheart Abbey attract tourists.

The main roads nearby, the highway A75 and the motorway M74 . With the Dumfries railway station , the city has a train station. It is operated by the Abellio ScotRail railway company.

history

In 1186 Dumfries received the rights of a Royal Burgh . In the area of ​​today's Castledykes Park, a royal castle was built in the 13th century, which no longer exists. Robert the Bruce , who later became King of Scotland, arrived in Dumfries on February 10, 1306 and learned that John Comyn was also staying there. The two met for a private conversation in the Franciscan church there. Bruce accused Comyn of betraying him, which Comyn denied. In anger, Bruce drew his dagger and seriously injured his opponent. When Bruce fled the church in fear, his companion Sir Roger de Kirkpatrick entered the building, found the still living Comyn and killed him. He said “I mak siccar” (in Scots this roughly means “I play it safe”). To this day, this is the motto of the Kirkpatrick family.

In 1633 King Charles I created the title of Earl of Dumfries and bestowed it on a member of the Crichton family. After several marriages, it came to the Crichton-Stuart family, who still carry it today. The current owner, Sir John Colum Crichton-Stuart , a former racing driver, also lists that of the 12th Earl of Dumfries among his 15 nobility titles .

Culture

The Scottish writer and poet Robert Burns lived in Dumfries for the last third of his life. First in a manor a few miles north of the city ( Ellisland Farm ), then in the village itself. In 1792 he accompanied the construction and the first years of the local Theater Royal , which is now considered the oldest active theater in Scotland. The theater also hosts the Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival, the Dumfries Music Festival, and performances by the Dumfries Musical Theater Company. Owned by the local private actors' association, the Guild of Players , since 1959 , it was renovated and modernized in 2015.

Attractions

Dumfries has a historic town center. The oldest building in town is the Old Bridge House from the mid-17th century. There are also several museums, for example about Robert Burns or the camera obscura in the Dumfries Museum . The latter and a museum about the city are housed in an old windmill. The River Nith that crosses the city is spanned by the Devorgilla Bridge .

climate

The British Isles have an oceanic climate with cool summers and mild winters ( Köppen : Cfc ). Dumfries is one of the snowiest places in Scotland because of its deep, sheltered location in the south west of the country.

Dumfries
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
110
 
6th
1
 
 
76
 
6th
1
 
 
81
 
8th
2
 
 
53
 
11
3
 
 
72
 
14th
6th
 
 
63
 
17th
9
 
 
71
 
19th
11
 
 
93
 
18th
10
 
 
104
 
16
9
 
 
117
 
13
6th
 
 
100
 
9
3
 
 
107
 
7th
1
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source: 1961-90 Station Averages ( Memento from February 10, 2001 in the Internet Archive ), Met Office
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Dumfries
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 6.0 6.2 8.3 11.1 14.3 17.2 18.5 18.2 15.7 12.9 8.6 6.8 O 12
Min. Temperature (° C) 0.7 0.6 1.8 3.3 5.8 8.8 10.5 10.4 8.6 6.3 2.6 1.3 O 5.1
Precipitation ( mm ) 110 76 81 53 72 63 71 93 104 117 100 107 Σ 1,047
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 1.4 2.4 3.2 4.8 5.9 5.8 5.7 5.0 3.7 2.9 2.0 1.2 O 3.7
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
6.0
0.7
6.2
0.6
8.3
1.8
11.1
3.3
14.3
5.8
17.2
8.8
18.5
10.5
18.2
10.4
15.7
8.6
12.9
6.3
8.6
2.6
6.8
1.3
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		110
76
81
53
72
63
71
93
104
117
100
107
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source: 1961-90 Station Averages ( Memento from February 10, 2001 in the Internet Archive ), Met Office

Sports

Queen of the South represents Dumfries in the Scottish Championship , home games are played at Palmerston Park Stadium. The Dumfries Rugby Club plays in the Scottish Rugby Union .

Personalities

The following personalities were born in Dumfries:

The following died in the city:

The Dumfries Academy visited personalities such as the writer and playwright J. M. Barrie , the missionary Jane Haining and the actor John Laurie .

Twin cities

Dumfries has partnerships with the following cities:

  • United StatesUnited States Annapolis , Maryland, USA
  • ItalyItaly Cantù , Lombardy, Italy
  • GermanyGermany Gifhorn , Germany
  • GermanyGermany Passau , Germany (until 1979, ended because of the incorporation of Dumfries)

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Information from the Scottish Parliament
  2. ↑ 2011 census
  3. ^ Website of the Dumfries Musical Theater Company
  4. ↑ MC Peel, BL Finlayson, TA McMahon: Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification . In: Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. . 11, 2007, ISSN  1027-5606 , pp. 1633-1644. (direct: Final Revised Paper ; PDF; 1.7 MB).