Perth (Scotland)
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Perth Scottish Gaelic Peairt |
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| Coordinates | 56 ° 24 ′ N , 3 ° 26 ′ W | ||
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| Residents | 46,970 2011 census | ||
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| Post town | PERTH | ||
| ZIP code section | PH1, PH2, PH3, PH14 | ||
| prefix | 01738 | ||
| Part of the country | Scotland | ||
| Council area | Perth and Kinross | ||
| British Parliament | Ochil and South Perthshire , Perth and North Perthshire | ||
| Scottish Parliament | Perthshire South and Kinross-shire , Perthshire North | ||
Perth ( [ pɛrθ ] or [ pɜːθ ]) ( Scottish Gaelic Peairt ) is a city of 46,970 inhabitants in Scotland . It has had the royal rights of a free city ( royal burgh ) since the Middle Ages and is located on the Tay . It is the administrative seat of the Perth and Kinross region . Until 1975 it was the capital of what was then the county of Perthshire .
Surname
The name Perth comes from the Pictish word for forest or undergrowth. In the Middle Ages the city was long known as “St. John's Toun “after the church dedicated to John the Baptist . It was on St. John's Street. The name lives on in the club name of the local football club, St. Johnstone FC
The name Perth has meanwhile been used for other cities around the world, the most famous being Perth in Western Australia . She was named at the request of the then War and Colonial Minister Sir George Murray because he was born in Perth, Scotland.
history
Mesolithic finds in the city and the surrounding area suggest that hunters and gatherers lived in the area around 8,000 years ago. From around 4000 BC. One finds menhirs and stone circles near the city. In the east of the city, near Carpow , a well-preserved dugout canoe was found dating from around 1000 BC. The Carpow dugout canoe . A Roman legionary camp was also found in Carpow .
Early Middle Ages
The name suggests a Pictish settlement. The geographical conditions with a river crossing and a flood-proof flat hill on the west bank of the Tay were ideal for a settlement.
The proximity to Scone , the center of the Kingdom of Alba since the reign of Kenneth I MacAlpin (843–858), which is only three kilometers northeast and to the large Augustinian abbey of the same name founded by King Alexander I (1107–1124) , promoted the importance of Perth at the time. The city was for a long time the actual capital of Scotland due to the frequent presence of the royal court. In the Abbey of Scone the so-called " Stone of Destiny " was kept, on which the Scottish kings up to Alexander III. were crowned.
12th and 13th centuries
King David I of Scotland (1124-1153) gave the city the title "burgh" in the early 12th century. Furthermore, contemporary documents report that the city also had the title "kirk" (church). The fact that so many documents are available from that time is not least due to the arrival of Dominican monks, the so-called "Blackfriars", whose monastery in Perth was founded by King Alexander II (1219–1249) around 1240.
In the 12th and 13th centuries, Perth was one of the kingdom's richest trading cities (along with Berwick , Aberdeen and Roxburgh ). Countless craftsmen settled in the city and formed guilds (such as the "Hammermen" (blacksmiths) or the "Glovers" (glove makers)). Today's street names still point to the medieval craftsmen, such as Skinnergate (Gerbertor) and Cutlog Vennel (Bootsbauergasse).
The city's trade relations also extended to large parts of the European continent, as evidenced by excavations in the city area, during which foreign luxury goods were found, such as Spanish silk and pottery from France. Wine was a major import item, not least because of the church. The most important trade routes led to France, the Netherlands and the Baltic Sea. The royal castle was destroyed by one of the frequent floods of the Tay in 1209. It stood in the area of today's parking garage next to the New Council Office.
14th century and English occupation
Due to the frequent wars of the 14th century, the city's prosperity eventually declined. King Edward I of England marched with his army to Perth in 1296 and the city, protected only by a moat and light fortification, fell quickly. The English immediately began to build stronger fortifications and in 1304 they began to protect the city with a wall. After a long siege, Robert the Bruce recaptured the city in early 1313 and had the fortifications destroyed.
In 1332 the heir apparent Edward Balliol , son of John Balliol , invaded the country to ascend the Scottish throne. He got support from King Edward III. from England. Robert the Bruce had died three years earlier, and the regent, who ruled the country for his underage son David, quickly fell into the hands of Balliol's army at the Battle of Dupplin Moor . Balliol took Perth in September and was crowned king that same month, which sparked a civil war. Balliol was quickly expelled, but returned the next year. In 1336 he was finally deposed and his followers were expelled from Perth in 1339. With the intention of making Perth a permanent English base within Scotland, King Edward III. of England in 1336 six monasteries in Perthshire and Fife to raise money so that the city could build massive stone defensive walls, towers and fortified gates. The city walls at that time followed the streets of Albert Close, Mill Street, South Methven Street, Charterhouse Lane and Canal Street. Even back then, a road ran along the inner wall. From this street today's streets developed.
A water arm, which was branched off from the Almond as an artificial canal, served on the one hand to power the municipal water mill, and on the other hand it formed an additional line of defense outside the walls. There were various city gates in the walls. The Red Brig Port (at the end of Skinnergate), the Turret Brig Port (at the end of High Street), the Southgait Port (at the end of South Street) and the Spey Port (at the end of Speygate). There was probably another smaller gate that led to Curfew Row earlier. These fortifications were the strongest in Scotland in the Middle Ages. At the time of the Jacobite uprising in 1745, they were still almost in their original condition, but were destroyed in the second half of the 18th century and today nothing can be seen of them, at least above ground. The last tower, Monk's Tower on the corner of Tay Street and Canal Street, was destroyed around 1810.
Late 14th and 15th centuries
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During the Middle Ages, Perth had only one church, the Burgh Kirk of St John the Baptist . Since this church dominated the cityscape, the city was repeatedly called “St. John's Toun of Perth “(with modifications) called.
The construction of today's church began on the old foundations in the 15th century. After various changes, its lead-clad tower defines the cityscape today. The southern portal and the sacristy , which existed in the Middle Ages , as well as the northern transept were demolished in the 19th century to widen the street. After the Reformation , the building was divided into three sections, the East, West and Middle Church, which was further supported by drawn-in walls.
It was not until the 1920s that the medieval look of the church was restored by Sir Robert Lorimer , who turned the building into a war memorial for the fallen soldiers of World War I from Perthshire.
Despite the destruction during the Reformation, the church still has the largest collection of medieval bells hanging in their original location in Britain. Another rare treasure is a 15th century brass candlestick from the Netherlands that encloses a small statue of the Virgin Mary. In fact, it is the only candlestick of its kind that has survived in Scotland. The collection of church objects from the period after the Reformation can now be viewed in the Perth Museum.
There were many ecclesiastical buildings in medieval Perth, such as the house of the Dominicans (Blackfriars), the Franciscans (Greyfriars) and the only Scottish Carthusian monastery . West of the city, at the junction of Jeanfield Road and Riggs Road near Tullilum, there was still the Carmelite House (Whitefriars). The manor of the bishops of Dunkeld was also located there. The bishops also owned a house within the city walls on the corner of South Street and Watergate.
Other church buildings were the hospitals (with the associated chapels) of St. Anne, St. Paul, St. Catherine and, just south of the city, St. Mary Magdalene. There were also three chapels: St. Mary's, St. Laurence's, and Our Lady of Loretto. None of these buildings still exist today. However, parts of the Dominican and Carmelite monasteries have been the subject of archaeological excavations, as has part of the cemetery of the St. Laurence Chapel. In the Middle Ages, Perth was part of the Diocese of St Andrews .
In 1396, Perth was the scene of a strange event. In the north of Inch, a meadow in front of the city, the "Battle of the Clans" took place. Each of 30 people from the Chattan Clan and the Cameron Clan competed against each other to end a long-running feud between the Highland clans. This "competition" took place under the eyes of King Robert III. (1390–1406) and his court, who watched the spectacle from the Gilten Arboretum, a Dominican garden. Though reports have varied, the Chattan clan is believed to have been victorious after the last of their opponents escaped to safety by escaping across the Tay. This struggle is described in Sir Walter Scott's novel "The Beautiful Perth Girl".
King James I of Scotland was also a guest in the Dominican house in 1437 , when rebellious nobles forced their way into the house at night. The house was outside the city walls and was only secured by a small moat, so one of them, Robert Graham, had no trouble stabbing the king. Queen Joan Beaufort and her children fled to Edinburgh. This event may have contributed to the fact that the future kings no longer ruled from Perth, but chose Edinburgh as their seat in the 1450s. James I was buried in Perth's Carthusian Monastery, the monastery he founded in 1429. The Scottish queens Joan Beaufort and Margaret Tudor also found their final resting place here.
16th Century
While England was gripped by political and religious turmoil in the mid-16th century, John Knox began the Scottish Reformation on the grassroots. His sermon in the Church of St. John the Baptist, in which he condemned idolatry in 1559, led the incited mob to destroy the altar of the church and then attack the houses of the Dominicans, Franciscans and Carthusians. Scone Abbey was looted shortly afterwards. Marie de Guise , the regent and mother of the young Queen Mary, was able to fight the uprisings successfully, but Presbyterianism remained strong in Perth.
17th and 18th centuries
King Charles II of England was crowned at Scone in 1651. But just a year later, Oliver Cromwell's parliamentary troops appeared in Perth, who had just been victorious in the English Civil War . Cromwell built a fortified citadel in the South Inch (a large park south of the city) in 1652, one of five citadels he had built in Scotland to intimidate and keep the country quiet.
The hospital, the bridge and several dozen houses in Perth were destroyed in order to get building materials for the fortress. Even gravestones from the Franciscan cemetery were used. It was completed in 1661, shortly after Cromwell's death, and was demolished almost immediately. The ditch, which was originally filled with water from the Tay, was still visible in the late 18th century, but no longer today.
The reinstatement of Charles II as king was not smooth either and there were Jacobin uprisings, which were supported by Perth. Perth was occupied by them three times, in 1689, 1715 and 1745.
Late 18th century to the present day
Perth College was founded in 1760 and significant industry settled in the city, which now had 15,000 residents. Linen, leather, bleached products and whiskey became the main export items. In 1804 Thomas Dick received an invitation from the city to work as a teacher at the Secession School in Methven. He agreed and stayed there for ten years. During his time, he increased the school's reputation by promoting academic training, establishing a public library and, in particular, setting up an institute for handicrafts.
Under the name "Literary and philosophical societies, suitable for the mediocre and lower strata of society", he wanted to enable access to education for underprivileged strata as well. In five articles in the "Monthly Magazine" in 1814 he called for the expansion of such facilities.
The Royal Hospital in Perth was built in 1814. Nevertheless, the conditions in the city remained unsanitary, so that it was not surprising that the city was ravaged by a cholera epidemic in 1830 . Water lines and gas supply were built in the 1820s and the first electricity line was stretched in 1901.
Although Perth was a garrison town and there were significant social and industrial changes from World War I, life in Perth remained relatively unchanged, as Dr. Bill Harding in his investigation, "... and the Tay Flows On: Perth and the First World War" stated in 2000.
Because of its location, Perth was ideally situated to become a transport hub when the railroad was introduced. The first train station was built in 1848. In the 1890s, horse-drawn wagons became fashionable. However, they were soon replaced by electric trams.
traffic
Road traffic
Perth is still today a hub for car and train travelers in Scotland. The M90 motorway runs from the south end of the city to the A9 , connecting it with Stirling and Glasgow in the south west and Inverness in the north. Other major roads are the A85 to Crieff and Crianlarich , the A93 to Blairgowrie and Rattray , the A94 to Coupar Angus and Forfar and the A90 to Dundee and Aberdeen. The M90 runs past the city to the south and east, the M9 to the west. The motorways join the A93 at Broxden Junction, one of the busiest motorway junctions in Scotland.
railroad
From Perth there are regular rail connections to Fife, Edinburgh and Waverley across the Forth Bridge, east to Dundee and Aberdeen and south to Glasgow Queen Street Railway Station. There are trains to London twice a day, one operated by NXEC and arriving at King's Cross Station , while the Caledonian Sleeper arrives in Euston in the morning.
The station only has seven platforms. In earlier times there were more arriving on the local lines that passed through Perthshire. The station is on Glasgow Road.
Bus transport
There are many buses in Perth. The local buses are operated by the "Stagecoach Group". Intercity buses depart from Leonhard Street and connect most of Scotland's major destinations with the city. There is also a park-and-ride service from the Broxden motorway junction to the city center.
Air traffic
Perth has a small airport in New Scone, about 7 km northeast of Perth. There are no commercial flights there, only private planes and flight schools use it. The nearest major airports are in Edinburgh and Aberdeen . From Dundee Airport , only 20 minutes away, there are flights to London City Airport , Belfast and Birmingham .
bridges
There are four bridges in Perth that cross the Tay. The northernmost is Smeaton's Bridge (also known as Perth Bridge), which was built in 1771. About 500 m downstream is the Queen's Bridge from 1960, which replaced the old Victoria Bridge. The third bridge is in the center of Perth and is a railway bridge. It was built in 1863. Finally, there is the Friarton Bridge, the southernmost way to cross the Tay. It is part of the M90 motorway.
It is considered to build a pedestrian bridge further upstream.
politics
Administrative structure
Perth is part of the Perth and Kinross parish constituency and the Mid Scotland and Fife constituency for the Scottish general election. For UK Parliament elections, it belongs to the Perth and North Perthshire constituency.
Town twinning
Perth has partnerships with the German city of Aschaffenburg (since 1956), Bydgoszcz in Poland , Haikou in China , Perth (since 2000) in the Canadian province of Ontario , Pskow in Russia and Cognac in France .
economy
Despite the demise of whiskey distilleries, which have long been sold and closed (although the city name still appears on labels), Perth remained an economic hub. High-tech companies have settled here, as have insurance companies and banks. The largest employers are Norwich Union, the Bank of Scotland and the Scottish and Southern energy company. Retail mainly takes place in the city center. There is St. John's shopping center there. All the well-known British department stores are represented on the main shopping street of the High Street. Nevertheless, the city center has not lost its historical character, not least due to the remains of the city wall, the cathedral and the newly restored market hall.
Sports
The St. Johnstone FC is the professional football club in the city. It plays in the McDiarmid Park Stadium on Crieff Road in the west of the city. Until 1990 the club played in the Muirton Park Stadium, but this had to give way to a supermarket chain and the first McDonalds snack bar could be built in Perth. There are two other sub-class football clubs in Perth, Jeanfield Swifts FC and Kinnoull FC
A large sports complex is the Bell's Sport Center, northwest of the city center. Before the Greenwich Dome in London was built, it was the largest domed structure in Britain.
Every year in May, Perth hosts the largest volleyball tournament in Scotland - the Scottish Open Volleyball Tournament. During the event there is a large tent camp around the sports center where the teams spend the night. The general assembly of the Scottish Volleyball Federation traditionally takes place during the tournament.
The Perth Leisure Pool, west of the train station, is the city's swimming center. The complex replaced the swimming pool from 1887 in the 1980s.
The Perthshire RFC is the city's rugby club, which plays in the third Premiership division and plays its games right next to Bell's Sport Center.
A racecourse is located about five kilometers from the center on the grounds of the Scone Palace. In addition to regular horse races, other outdoor events are also held here.
The Dewar's Center is home to a speed skating rink and facilities for curling.
media
The only newspaper in Perth is the Perthshire Advertiser, which still has its offices in Perth but is printed in Blantyre .
There is no local radio in Perth, only the hospital radio has its own program and supplies the two hospitals, Royal Infirmary and Murray Royal Hospital with broadcasts. It was voted the best hospital radio in the country in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2007.
Network Cittaslow
In March 2007, Perth joined the Cittaslow network. The main goals are to improve the quality of life in cities and to prevent the unification and Americanization of cities where franchise businesses dominate. Supporting and emphasizing cultural diversity and the own and special values of the city and its surroundings are also central Cittàslow goals. Important goals are the quality of life for residents and visitors.
Art and music
The Perth Museum and Art Gallery is one of the oldest local museums in Scotland. It's at the end of George Street near the Tay.
The old waterworks houses the Ferguson Gallery, which exhibits most of the work of the artist JD Ferguson.
The new wave band “ Fiction Factory ” from Perth had the hit “(Feels like) Heaven” in 1984 and became known nationwide.
The arts festival is held annually in May in Perth and hosts art, theater, opera and classical events in the city. It lasts for several weeks and has recently expanded its repertoire to include rock, pop, and comedy events.
In September 2005 the Horsecross concert hall with 1,600 seats was opened. It was built on the site of the Horsecross Market. The modern hall cost £ 20 million, mostly from the Millennium Celebration Fund.
Perth's theater is more than 100 years old and is located on the pedestrianized High Street.
Although there were innumerable cinemas in the city in earlier years, only one cinema remains today, The Playhouse. The others have been closed or used for other purposes, such as bingo halls.
The Scottish band Alestorm comes from Perth, which is dedicated to pirate metal.
Parks
The North Inch and the South Inch are the two central parks in Perth. They were given to the city in 1377 by King Robert III. donated by Scotland.
The North Inch connects directly to the north of the center. It is bounded in the east by the Tay. A fitness trail leads around the entire park. There is a golf course in the north.
Right at the other end of the center is South Inch Park. A path connects the two parks, which runs along the banks of the Tay. There are many recreational activities in the South Inch, including bowling, an adventure playground, a skate rink and, in summer, a bouncy castle.
Branklyn Garden on the east bank of the Tay is owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is a private garden that mainly presents plants and objects from China , Tibet , Bhutan and the Himalayas . The center of the garden is a bed of blue poppies from the Himalayas.
The Norie-Miller Riverside Walk is located between the Perth Bridge and the Queens Bridge and is often referred to as the "Middle Inch". It's a sculpture trail that ends near Branklyn Garden.
Bell's Cherrybank Gardens are sponsored by the Bell's whiskey brand and are home to Europe's largest collection of heather known as the Bell's National Heather Collection.
tourism
The city has a variety of well-known architectural and historical attractions to visit, including the Scone Palace and the Church of St. John. The Military Museum of the Black Watch Regiment is located in Balhousie Castle . The castle itself, which is still inhabited by the Eviot family, was greatly modified and enlarged in the 19th century and has little of its original appearance.
The wooded hills of Kinnoul Hill and Craigie Hill have good views of the city and are good walking opportunities.
Just outside of town are two castles maintained by Historic Scotland , Huntingtower Castle and Elcho Castle . Huntingtower Castle was formerly the seat of the Earl of Gowrie , Elcho Castle was formerly inhabited by the Wemyss family. Both castles are good examples of Scottish late medieval castle construction and popular wedding venues.
Personalities
- John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (1875–1940), born in Perth
- Lynn Cameron (* 1979), curler, born in Perth
- Michelle Duncan (* 1978), actress, born in Perth
- Lisa Evans (* 1992), soccer player, born in Perth
- Charlie Guest (* 1993), ski racer, born in Perth
- David Octavius Hill (1802–1870), painter, lithographer and photographer, born in Perth
- Don Halliday (* 1947), sprinter, born in Perth
- Margaret of Scotland (1424–1445), Crown Princess of France, born in Perth
- Ewan McGregor (* 1971), actor, born in Perth
- Eve Muirhead (* 1990), curler; born in Perth
- Gordon Muirhead (* 1955), Curler, Eve's father
- John Wood (1812–1871), naval officer, explorer, geodesist and cartographer, born in Perth
- David Wotherspoon (* 1990), soccer player, born in Perth
Web links
- Official site of the city
- History of Perth
- Perth and Kinross Local Government
- Perthshire Tourist Board
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2011 census
- ↑ The Fair City of Perth ( Memento of the original from October 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed October 14, 2016
