Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city. It has an official population estimate of 210,400.Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands. During the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries, Aberdeen's buildings incorporated locally quarried grey granite, whose mica deposits sparkle like silver. The city has a long, sandy coastline. Since the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, other nicknames have been the Oil Capital of Europe or the Energy Capital of Europe. The area around Aberdeen has been settled since at least 8,000 years ago, when prehistoric villages lay around the mouths of the rivers Dee and Don. In 1319, Aberdeen received Royal Burgh status from Robert the Bruce, transforming the city economically. The city's two universities, the University of Aberdeen, founded in 1495, and the Robert Gordon University, which was awarded university status in 1992, make Aberdeen the educational centre of the north-east. The traditional industries of fishing, paper-making, shipbuilding, and textiles have been overtaken by the oil industry and Aberdeen's seaport. Aberdeen Heliport is one of the busiest commercial heliports in the world and the seaport is the largest in the north-east of Scotland.
Aberdeen has been the host of a few theatres through history. Some of them has been converted or destroyed over the years. The most famous ones includes:
His Majesty's Theatre (HMT), on Rosemount Viaduct
The Tivoli, on Guild Street
Capitol Theatre, on Union Street
The Palace Theatre, on Bridge Street
The most renown concert hall is the Music Hall on Union Street, built in 1822.
Aberdeen has two universities, the University of Aberdeen and The Robert Gordon University. Aberdeen's student rate of 11.5% is higher than the national average of 7%.
The University of Aberdeen began as King's College, Aberdeen, which was founded in 1495 by William Elphinstone (1431–1514), Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland. Marischal College, a separate institution, was founded in "New" Aberdeen by George Keith, fifth Earl Marischal of Scotland in 1593. These institutions were amalgamated to form the present University of Aberdeen in 1860. The university is the fifth oldest in the English speaking world.
Aberdeen Airport (IATA: ABZ, ICAO: EGPD) is an international airport, located at Dyce in the City of Aberdeen, approximately 5 NM (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) northwest of Aberdeen city centre. 2.76 million passengers used Aberdeen Airport in 2010, a reduction of 7.4% compared with 2009, making it the 15th busiest airport in the UK. The airport was the second busiest airport in Scotland, and sixth busiest in the UK by number of flight movements in 2010.
The airport is owned and operated by BAA, which also owns and operates five other UK airports, and is itself owned by ADI Limited, an international consortium, which includes Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and GIC Special Investments, that is led by the Spanish Ferrovial Group.
Aberdeen Airport is a base for BMI Regional (a subsidiary of BMI) and Eastern Airways. The Airport also serves as the main heliport for the Scottish offshore oil industry. Installations serviced directly from Aberdeen stretch from the Argyll field (approx 56°N) to the Bruce field (60°N).
The airport terminal provides various shopping and eating facilities before and after security, including WHSmith, Boots, Dixons, Costa Coffee and duty free stores. In addition, the airport's other facilities include a games area, car hire, internet access, bureau de change, tourist information services and executive lounges.
There is also a Thistle Hotel and Speedbird Inn on the airport site, with a Travelodge and Marriott Hotel between the airport and the nearby Dyce railway station. Additionally, it was announced that a 175-room Hilton "Garden Inn" concept hotel will be opened on the Airport site in Autumn 2009.
