Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
's
fourth-largest city and the
51st-most-populous built-up area in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km
2 or 6,420/sq mi, the
second-highest in Scotland. It lies within the eastern
central Lowlands on the north bank of the
Firth of Tay, which feeds into the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
. Under the name of Dundee City, it forms one of the 32
council areas used for
local government in Scotland.
Within the boundaries of the
historic county of
Angus
Angus may refer to:
Media
* ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film
* ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record''
Places Australia
* Angus, New South Wales
Canada
* Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario
* East Angus, Quebec
Scotland
* An ...
, the city developed into a
burgh
A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burg ...
in the late 12th century and established itself as an important east coast trading port. Rapid expansion was brought on by the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, particularly in the 19th century when Dundee was the centre of the global
jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...
industry. This, along with its other major industries, gave Dundee its epithet as the city of "jute, jam and journalism".
Today, Dundee is promoted as "One City, Many Discoveries" in honour of Dundee's history of scientific activities and of the
RRS ''Discovery'',
Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic exploration vessel, which was built in Dundee and is now berthed at Discovery Point. Biomedical and technological industries have arrived since the 1980s, and the city now accounts for 10% of the United Kingdom's
digital entertainment Digital entertainment Industry includes, but is not restricted to, any combination of the following industries (that themselves have a considerable degree of overlap):
*digital media
*new media
*video on demand
*video games
*interactive entertainmen ...
industry, including mobile app development and gaming. Dundee has two universities – the
University of Dundee and
Abertay University. In 2014, Dundee was recognised by the United Nations as the UK's first
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
City of Design for its diverse contributions to fields including medical research, comics and video games.
A unique feature of Dundee is that its two professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
clubs,
Dundee F.C.
Dundee Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland, founded in 1893. The team are nicknamed "The Dark Blues" or "The Dee". The club plays its home matches at Dens Park.
The club was formed after a merg ...
and
Dundee United F.C.
Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club c ...
, have stadiums all but adjacent to each other.
With the decline of traditional industry, the city has adopted a plan to regenerate and reinvent itself as a cultural centre. In pursuit of this, a £1 billion master plan to regenerate and to reconnect the Waterfront to the city centre started in 2001 and is expected to be completed within a 30-year period. The
V&A Dundee
V&A Dundee is a design museum in Dundee, Scotland, which opened on 15 September 2018. The V&A Dundee is the first design museum in Scotland and the first Victoria and Albert museum outside London. The V&A Dundee is also the first building in the ...
– the first branch of the
V&A to operate outside of London – is the main centre piece of the waterfront project.
In recent years, Dundee's international profile has risen. ''
GQ'' magazine named Dundee the "Coolest Little City in Britain" in 2015 and ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' ranked Dundee at number 5 on its "Worldwide Hot Destinations" list for 2018.
History
The name "Dundee" is made up of two parts: the common
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
place-name element ''dun'', meaning fort; and a second part that may derive from a Celtic element, cognate with the Gaelic ''dè'', meaning 'fire'.
![Dundee1693 JohnSlezer2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Dundee1693_JohnSlezer2.jpg)
While earlier evidence for human occupation is abundant, Dundee's success and growth as a seaport town arguably came as a result of
William the Lion's charter, granting Dundee to his younger brother,
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
(later
Earl of Huntingdon) in the late 12th century. The situation of the town and its promotion by Earl David as a trading centre led to a period of prosperity and growth. The earldom was passed down to David's descendants, amongst whom was
John Balliol
John Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as ''Toom Tabard'' (meaning "empty coat" – coat of arms), was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered an ...
. The town became a
Royal Burgh
A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs.
Most royal burghs were either created by ...
on John's coronation as king in 1292.
The town and its castle were occupied by English forces for several years during the
First War of Independence and recaptured by
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...
in early 1312. The original Burghal charters were lost during the occupation and subsequently renewed by Bruce in 1327.
The burgh suffered considerably during the conflict known as the
Rough Wooing
The Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Roman Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the ...
of 1543 to 1550, and was occupied by the English forces of
Andrew Dudley
Sir Andrew Dudley, KG (c. 1507 – 1559) was an English soldier, courtier, and diplomat. A younger brother of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, he served in Henry VIII's navy and obtained court offices under Edward VI. In 1547&n ...
from 1547. In 1548, unable to defend the town against an advancing Scottish force, Dudley ordered that the town be burnt to the ground. In 1645, during the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities united in a pers ...
, Dundee was again besieged, this time by the Royalist
Marquess of Montrose. The town was finally destroyed by Parliamentarian forces led by
George Monck in 1651. The town played a pivotal role in the establishment of the
Jacobite cause when
John Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee
John Graham, 7th of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee (21 July 1648 – 27 July 1689) was a Scottish soldier and nobleman, a Tory and an Episcopalian. He was responsible for policing southwest Scotland during and after the religious unrest and r ...
raised the
Stuart
Stuart may refer to:
Names
* Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile
*Stuart (automobile)
Places
Australia Generally
*Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory
Northe ...
standard on the
Dundee Law in 1689. The town was held by the Jacobites in the 1715–16 rising, and on 6 January 1716 the Jacobite claimant to the throne,
James VIII and III (the Old Pretender), made a public entry into the town. Many in Scotland, including many in Dundee, regarded him as the rightful king.
A notable resident of Dundee was Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan of Camperdown,
Baron of Lundie (1 July 1731 to 4 August 1804). He was born in Dundee on 1 July 1731, the son of Alexander Duncan of Lundie, Provost of Dundee. Adam was educated in Dundee and later joined the Royal Navy on board the sloop Trial. He rose to be admiral and in October 1797 defeated the Dutch fleet off Camperdown (north of Haarlem). This was seen as one of the most significant actions in naval history.
The economy of mediaeval Dundee centred on the export of raw wool, with the production of finished textiles being a reaction to recession in the 15th century. Two government Acts in the mid 18th century had a profound effect on Dundee's industrial success: the textile industry was revolutionised by the introduction of large four-storey mills, stimulated in part by the 1742 Bounty Act which provided a government-funded subsidy on
Osnaburg
Osnaburg is a general term for coarse, plain-weave fabric. It also refers specifically to a historic fabric originally woven in flax but also in tow or jute, and from flax or tow warp with a mixed or jute weft.
Historic osnaburg
Osnaburg fabr ...
linen produced for export. Expansion of the
whaling
Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
It was practiced as an organized industry ...
industry was triggered by the second Bounty Act, introduced in 1750 to increase Britain's maritime and naval skill base. Dundee, and Scotland more generally, saw rapid population increase at end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, with the city's population increasing from 12,400 in 1751 to 30,500 in 1821.
The phasing out of the linen export bounty between 1825 and 1832 stimulated demand for cheaper textiles, particularly for cheaper, tough fabrics. The discovery that the dry fibres of
jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...
could be lubricated with
whale oil
Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Whale oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' ("tears, tear" or "drop").
Sperm oil, a special kind of oil obtained from the ...
(of which Dundee had a surfeit, following the opening of its gasworks) to allow it to be processed in mechanised mills resulted in the Dundee mills rapidly converting from linen to jute, which sold at a quarter of the price of flax. Interruption of
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n flax imports during the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
and of cotton during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
resulted in a period of inflated prosperity for Dundee and the jute industry dominated Dundee throughout the latter half of the 19th century. Unprecedented immigration, notably of Irish workers, led to accelerated urban expansion, and at the height of the industry's success, Dundee supported 62 jute mills, employing some 50,000 workers. Cox Brothers, who owned the massive
Camperdown Works
Camperdown Works was a jute works in Dundee, Scotland, which covered around 30 acres and at one point employed over 14,000, mostly female, workers. It was for a time the world's largest jute works and was owned by Cox Brothers.
Origins
The Cox ...
in
Lochee, were one of the largest jute manufacturers in Europe and employed more than 5,000 workers.
The rise of the textile industries brought with it an expansion of supporting industries, notably of the whaling, maritime and shipbuilding industries, and extensive development of the waterfront area started in 1815 to cope with increased demand for port capacity. At its height, 200 ships per year were built there, including
Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic research vessel, the . This ship is now on display at Discovery Point in the city. A significant whaling industry was also based in Dundee, largely existing to supply the jute mills with
whale oil
Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Whale oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' ("tears, tear" or "drop").
Sperm oil, a special kind of oil obtained from the ...
. Whaling ceased in 1912 and shipbuilding ceased in 1981.
![SCO Dundee, Tay Rail Bridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/SCO_Dundee%2C_Tay_Rail_Bridge.jpg)
While the city's economy was dominated by the jute industry, it also became known for smaller industries. Most notable among these were
James Keiller's and Sons, established in 1795, which pioneered commercial
marmalade production, and the publishing firm
DC Thomson, which was founded in the city in 1905. Dundee was said to be built on the 'three Js': Jute, Jam and Journalism.
The town was also the location of one of the worst rail disasters in British history, the
Tay Bridge disaster. The first
Tay Rail Bridge was opened in 1878. It collapsed some 18 months later during a storm, as a passenger train passed over it, resulting in the loss of 75 lives. The
most destructive fire in the city's history came in 1906, reportedly sending "rivers of burning whisky" through the street.
The jute industry fell into decline in the early 20th century, partly due to reduced demand for jute products and partly due to an inability to compete with the emerging industry in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
. This gave rise to unemployment levels far in excess of the national average, peaking in the inter-war period, but major recovery was seen in the post-war period, thanks to the arrival first of American light engineering companies like
Timex and
NCR, and subsequent expansion into microelectronics.
A £1 billion master plan to regenerate Dundee Waterfront is expected to last for a 30-year period between 2001 and 2031.
[; ; ] The aims of the project are to reconnect the city centre to the waterfront; to improve facilities for walking, cyclists and buses; to replace the existing inner ring road with a pair of east/west tree-lined boulevards; and to provide a new civic square and a regenerated railway station and arrival space at the western edge. A new
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
opened on 15 September 2018.
Governance
![City of Dundee Coat of Arms](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/City_of_Dundee_Coat_of_Arms.png)
Dundee was granted
Royal Burgh
A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs.
Most royal burghs were either created by ...
status on the coronation of
John Balliol
John Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as ''Toom Tabard'' (meaning "empty coat" – coat of arms), was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered an ...
as King of Scotland in 1292.
The city has two mottos – la, Dei Donum (''Gift of God'') and ''Prudentia et Candore'' (With Thought and Purity) a lthough usually only the latter is used for civic purposes.
Prior to 1996, Dundee was governed by the City of Dundee District Council. This was formed in 1975, implementing boundaries imposed in the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975.
The Act followed and largely implemented the report of the Royal Commission on Local Gove ...
. Under these boundaries, the Angus burgh and district of Monifieth, and the Perth electoral division of
Longforgan
Longforgan is a village and parish in the Carse of Gowrie, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies west of Dundee on the main A90 road.
History
A record survives of Sir Patrick Gray, as Baron of Longforgan, holding a baronial court here in 13 ...
(which included
Invergowrie
Invergowrie () is a village on the northwest bank of the Firth of Tay to the west of Dundee. Historically part of Perthshire, it was formerly incorporated as part of the city of Dundee, but is now administered as part of Perth and Kinross.
H ...
) were annexed to the county of the city of Dundee. In 1996, the Dundee City unitary authority was created following implementation of the
Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.
This placed
Monifieth and
Invergowrie
Invergowrie () is a village on the northwest bank of the Firth of Tay to the west of Dundee. Historically part of Perthshire, it was formerly incorporated as part of the city of Dundee, but is now administered as part of Perth and Kinross.
H ...
in the unitary authorities of
Angus
Angus may refer to:
Media
* ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film
* ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record''
Places Australia
* Angus, New South Wales
Canada
* Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario
* East Angus, Quebec
Scotland
* An ...
and
Perth and Kinross
Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and S ...
, largely reinstating the pre-1975
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
boundaries. Some controversy has ensued as a result of these boundary changes, with Dundee city councillors arguing for the return of Monifieth and Invergowrie.
Local government
![City Chambers, Dundee, Scotland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/City_Chambers%2C_Dundee%2C_Scotland.jpg)
Dundee is one of 32
council areas of Scotland,
and is represented by the Dundee City Council – a local council composed of 29 elected
councillor
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
s. Previously the city was a
county of a city and later a
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
of the
Tayside
Tayside ( gd, Taobh Tatha) was one of the nine regions used for local government in Scotland from 15 May 1975 to 31 March 1996. The region was named for the River Tay.
It was created by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, following recom ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
. Council meetings take place in the
City Chambers, which opened in 1933 in City Square. The civic head and chair of the council is known as the
Lord Provost, a position similar to that of mayor in other cities. The political head of the council is known as the Leader of the council or Leader of the Administration. The Leader chairs the Policy & Resources Committee.
Dundee House
Dundee House is the present headquarters of Dundee City Council, which opened in August 2011 to replace Tayside House. It was designed by Reiach and Hall and has won two prestigious architecture awards, including a Royal Institute of British A ...
, the new headquarters for the city council on North Lindsay Street, opened in August 2011.
This has replaced
Tayside House
Tayside House was an office block development in the city centre area of Dundee. The building served as the headquarters for Tayside Regional Council and its successor organisation following local government reorganisation, Dundee City Council ...
which was demolished in 2013 as part of the Dundee Waterfront improvements.
[
Elections to the council are normally on a four-year cycle. The most recent election took place on 5 May 2022. Since 2007, the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 has meant that there are eight multi-member wards which elect three or four councillors by ]single transferable vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
, to produce a form of proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
. The 2012 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 2012.
International
* 2012 United Nations Security Council election
Africa Egypt
* 2012 Egyptian presidential election
Mali
* 2012 Malian presidential election
* 2012 Malian parliamentary electio ...
gave the SNP overall control of the council with 16 seats. However the 2017 contest saw the SNP lose their majority, although they remained the largest party with 14 councillors. Scotland's longest-serving councillor, Ian Borthwick
Ian Borthwick is a former independent politician initially a member of the Labour Party who served in local government starting in 1963, and was Lord Provost of Dundee between 2017 and 2022.
He was Scotland's longest-serving councillor and D ...
, sits on the council.
Westminster and Holyrood
For elections to the British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...
at Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
, the city area and portions of the Angus
Angus may refer to:
Media
* ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film
* ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record''
Places Australia
* Angus, New South Wales
Canada
* Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario
* East Angus, Quebec
Scotland
* An ...
council area are divided in two constituencies. The constituencies of Dundee East and Dundee West are represented by Stewart Hosie
Stewart Hosie PC (born 3 January 1963) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dundee East since 2005. He has served as the SNP Treasury Spokesperson since December 2022. He served as the SNP Sh ...
(Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...
) and Chris Law (Scottish National Party), respectively, both of whom were re-elected at the 2019 General Election. For elections to the Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
at Holyrood, the city area is divided between three constituencies. The Dundee City East constituency and the Dundee City West constituency are entirely within the city area. The Angus South (Holyrood) constituency includes north-eastern and north-western portions of the city area. All three constituencies are within the North East Scotland electoral region: Shona Robison (SNP) is the Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.
Electoral system
The ad ...
(MSP) for the Dundee East constituency; Joe Fitzpatrick
Joseph Martin FitzPatrick (born 1 April 1967) is a Scottish politician who is a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), and has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Dundee City West since the 2007. He is Convener of the Sc ...
(SNP) is the current MSP for the Dundee West constituency and Graeme Dey (SNP) is the current MSP for the Angus South constituency.
Dundee was also part of the pan-Scotland European Parliament constituency until 31 January 2020 when the U.K. left the EU. Seven Members of the European Parliament (MEP)s were elected using the d'Hondt method
The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest- ...
of party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a subset of proportional representation electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected (e.g., elections to parliament) through their position on an electoral list. They can also be us ...
. In the last European Election Scotland voted, it returned three SNP MEPs, one Liberal Democrat MEP, one Conservative and Unionist
The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. It is the current governing party, ...
MEP and one Brexit Party MEP, to the European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
.
Winston Churchill served as one of two MPs for Dundee from 1908
Events
January
* January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica.
* January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...
to 1922
Events
January
* January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes.
* January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
.
2014 Scottish independence referendum
On 18 September 2014, Dundee was one of four council areas to vote "Yes" in the Scottish independence referendum
A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side wo ...
, with 57.3% voting "Yes" on a 78.8% turnout. With the highest Yes vote for any local authority in Scotland, some in the Yes Scotland campaign nicknamed Dundee the 'Yes City', including former First Minister Alex Salmond.
Geography
Dundee sits on the north bank of the Firth of Tay on the eastern, North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
Coast of Scotland. The city lies NNE
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
of Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and NNW of London. The built-up area occupies a roughly rectangular shape long by wide, aligned in an east to west direction and occupies an area of . The town is bisected by a line of hills stretching from Balgay Hill (elevation of 143 m) in the west end of the city, through the Dundee Law (174 m) which occupies the centre of the built up area, to Gallow Hill (83 m), between Baxter Park
Baxter Park is a park located in the east of Dundee, Scotland. It was designed between 1862-63 and is the only complete park wholly designed by Sir Joseph Paxton in Scotland. The park is included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Land ...
and the Eastern Cemetery. North of this ridge lies a valley through which cuts the Dighty Water burn, the elevation falling to around 45 m. North of the Dighty valley lie the Sidlaw Hills, the most prominent hill being Craigowl Hill (455 m).
The western and eastern boundaries of the city are marked by two burns Burns may refer to:
* Burn, an injury (plural)
People:
* Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters
Business:
* Burns London, a British guitar maker
Places:
;In the United States
* Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...
that are tributaries of the River Tay
The River Tay ( gd, Tatha, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing') is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in Great Britain. The Tay originates ...
. On the westernmost boundary of the city, the Lochee burn meets the Fowlis burn, forming the Invergowrie
Invergowrie () is a village on the northwest bank of the Firth of Tay to the west of Dundee. Historically part of Perthshire, it was formerly incorporated as part of the city of Dundee, but is now administered as part of Perth and Kinross.
H ...
burn, which meets the Tay at Invergowrie basin.[ The Dighty Water enters Dundee from the village of ]Strathmartine
Strathmartine is an area of Angus, Scotland (named after a local mythical hero, ''Strathmartin The Dragonslayer''). It is to the north of Dundee and the surrounding district is often referred to as "the Howe o Strathmartine".
The parishes of M ...
and marks the boundaries of a number of northern districts of the city, joining the Tay between Barnhill and Monifieth.[ The Scouring burn in the west end of the city and Dens Burn in the east, both of which played important roles in the industrial development of the city, have now been ]culvert
A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...
ed over.
Geology
The city lies within the Sidlaw-Ochil anticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is the ...
, and the predominant bedrock type is Old Red Sandstone of the Arbuthnott-Garvock group.[; ] Differential weathering
Weathering is the deterioration of Rock (geology), rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs ''in situ'' (on site, with little o ...
of a series of igneous intrusion
In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...
s has yielded a number of prominent hills in the landscape, most notably the Dundee Law (a late Silurian
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...
/early Devonian
The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...
Mafic
A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks include ...
rock intrusion) and Balgay hill (a Felsic
In geology, felsic is a modifier describing igneous rocks that are relatively rich in elements that form feldspar and quartz.Marshak, Stephen, 2009, ''Essentials of Geology,'' W. W. Norton & Company, 3rd ed. It is contrasted with mafic rocks, whi ...
rock intrusion of similar age).[ In the east of the city, in Craigie and Broughty Ferry, the bedrock geology is of ]extrusive rock
Extrusive rock refers to the mode of igneous volcanic rock formation in which hot magma from inside the Earth flows out (extrudes) onto the surface as lava or explodes violently into the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere to fall back as Pyroclastic ...
s, including mafic lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...
and tuff
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...
.[
The land surrounding Dundee, particularly that in the lower lying areas to the west and east of the city, bears high quality soil that is particularly suitable for arable farming. It is predominantly of a ]brown forest soil
Brown earth is a type of soil. Brown earths are mostly located between 35° and 55° north of the Equator. The largest expanses cover western and central Europe, large areas of western and trans-Uralian Russia, the east coast of America and east ...
type with some gleying, the lower parts being formed from raised beach sands and gravels derived from Old Red Sandstone and lavas.
Location
Urban environment
Very little of pre-Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
Dundee remains, the destruction suffered in the War of the Rough Wooing being almost total, with only scattered, roofless shells remaining. The area occupied by the medieval burgh of Dundee extends between East Port and West Port, which formerly held the gates to the walled city. The shoreline has been altered considerably since the early 19th century through development of the harbour area and land reclamation. Several areas on the periphery of the burgh saw industrial development with the building of textile mills from the end of the 18th century. Their placement was dictated by the need for a water supply for the modern steam powered machinery, and areas around the Lochee Burn ( Lochee), Scouring Burn ( Blackness) and Dens Burn (Dens Road area) saw particular concentrations of mills. The post war period saw expansion of industry to estates along the Kingsway.
Working class housing spread rapidly and without control throughout the Victorian era, particularly in the Hawkhill, Blackness Road, Dens Road and Hilltown areas. Despite the comparative wealth of Victorian Dundee as a whole, living standards for the working classes were very poor. A general lack of town planning coupled with the influx of labour during the expansion of the jute industry resulted in insanitary, squalid and cramped housing for much of the population. While gradual improvements and slum clearance
Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy used to transform low income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; ...
began in the late 19th century, the building of the groundbreaking Logie housing estate marked the beginning of Dundee's expansion through the building of planned housing estates, under the vision of city architect James Thomson, whose legacy also includes the housing estate of Craigiebank
Craigiebank is an area of eastern Dundee, Scotland. It borders three other areas of the city: West Ferry to the east, Pitkerro to the north, Baxter Park and East Port to the south-west.
The Craigiebank housing estate was planned in 1918 as a ...
and the beginnings of an improved transport infrastructure by planning the Kingsway bypass.
Modernisation of the city centre continued in the post-war period. The medieval Overgate was demolished in the early 1960s to make way for a shopping centre, followed by construction of the inner ring road and the Wellgate Shopping Centre. The Tay Road Bridge
The Tay Road Bridge ( gd, Drochaid-rathaid na Tatha) carries the A92 road across the Firth of Tay from Newport-on-Tay in Fife to Dundee in Scotland, just downstream of the Tay Rail Bridge. At around , it is one of the longest road bridges in E ...
, completed in 1966 had as its northern landfall the docklands of central Dundee, and the new associated road system resulted in the city centre being cut off from the river. An acute shortage of housing in the late 1940s was addressed by a series of large housing estates built in the northern environs including the Fintry, Craigie, Charleston and Douglas areas in the 1950s and early 1960s. These were followed by increasingly cost-effective and sometimes poorly planned housing in throughout the 1960s. Much of this, in particular the high-rise blocks of flats at Lochee, Kirkton, Trottick, Whitfield, Ardler and Menzieshill, and the prefabricated Skarne housing blocks at Whitfield, have been demolished since the 1990s or are scheduled for future demolition.
Climate
The climate, like the rest of lowland Scotland, is Oceanic
Oceanic may refer to:
*Of or relating to the ocean
*Of or relating to Oceania
**Oceanic climate
**Oceanic languages
**Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)"
Places
* Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...
( Köppen-Geiger classification Cfb). Mean temperature and rainfall are typical for the east coast of Scotland, and with the city's sheltered estuarine position, mean daily maxima are slightly higher than coastal areas to the North, particularly in spring and summer. The summers are still chilly when compared with similar latitudes in continental Europe, something compensated for by the mild winters, similar to the rest of the British Isles. The nearest official Met Office
The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...
weather station is Mylnefield, Invergowrie
Invergowrie () is a village on the northwest bank of the Firth of Tay to the west of Dundee. Historically part of Perthshire, it was formerly incorporated as part of the city of Dundee, but is now administered as part of Perth and Kinross.
H ...
which is about west of the City Centre.
A record high of was recorded in July 2013. The warmest month was July 2006, with an average temperature of (average high , average low ). In an 'average' year the warmest day should reach , and in total just 1.86 days[ ] should equal or exceed a temperature of per year, illustrating the rarity of such warmth.
On average, 4.73 days should record a minimum temperature at or below -5 °C and there are 53.26 days of air frost on average. From 1991-2020, Mylnefield averaged 0.9 ice days, 50 days with precipitation of more than 5mm and 19.56 days with more than 10mm. The weather station is in plant hardiness zone 10a.
Demography
Dundee's recorded population reached a peak of 182,204 at the 1971 census. According to the 2011 census, the City of Dundee had a population of 147,268. A more recent population estimate of the City of Dundee has been recorded at 149,680 in 2020. The demographic make-up of the population is much in line with the rest of Scotland. The age group from 30 to 44 forms the largest portion of the population (20%). The median age of males and females living in Dundee was 37 and 40 years, respectively, compared to 37 and 39 years for those in the whole of Scotland.
The place of birth of the town's residents was 94.16% United Kingdom (including 87.85% from Scotland), 0.42% Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
, 1.33% from other European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
(EU) countries, and 3.09% from elsewhere in the world. The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 35.92% in full-time employment, 10.42% in part-time employment, 4.25% self-employed, 5.18% unemployed, 7.82% students with jobs, 4.73% students without jobs, 15.15% retired, 4.54% looking after home or family, 7.92% permanently sick or disabled, and 4.00% economically inactive for other reasons. Compared with the average demography of Scotland, Dundee has both low proportions of people born outside the United Kingdom and for people over 75 years old.
Natives of Dundee are called Dundonians and are often recognisable by their distinctive dialect of Scots as well as their accent, which most noticeably substitutes the monophthong /ɛ/ (pronounced "eh") in place of the diphthong
A diphthong ( ; , ), also known as a gliding vowel, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of the speech o ...
/aj/ (pronounced "ai"). Dundee, and Scotland more generally, saw rapid population increase at end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, with the city's population increasing from 12,400 in 1751 to 30,500 in 1821. Of particular significance was an influx of Irish workers in the early to mid-19th century, attracted by the prospect of employment in the textiles industries. In 1851, 18.9% of people living in Dundee were of Irish birth.
The city has also attracted immigrants from Italy, fleeing poverty and famine, in the 19th century Jews, fleeing from the Russia controlled portions of partitioned Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and from German occupation in the 20th. Today, Dundee has a sizeable ethnic minority
The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...
population, and has around 4,000 Asian residents which is the fourth-largest Asian community in Scotland. The city also has 1.0% of residents from a Black/African/Caribbean background.
Dundee has a higher proportion of university students – one in seven of the population – than any other town in Europe, except Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
. The 14.2% come from all around the world to attend the local universities and colleges. Dundee is a major attraction for Northern Irish students who make up 5% of the total student population. The city's universities are believed to hold the highest percentage of Northern Irish students outside of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
and have a big impact on the local economy and culture. However, this has declined in recent years due to the increase of tuition fees for students elsewhere in the UK. Dundee also has a lot of students from abroad, mostly from the Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
and other EU countries but with an increasing number from countries from the Far East and Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
.
Ethnicity
Economy
In 1911 40% of the city were employed in the jute industry. By 1951 this had dropped to 20%, and now is effectively zero.
The period following World War II was notable for the transformation of the city's economy. While jute still employed one-fifth of the working population, new industries were attracted and encouraged. NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation, previously known as National Cash Register, is an American software, consulting and technology company providing several professional services and electronic products. It manufactures self-service kiosks, point-of-sale termin ...
selected Dundee as the base of operations for the UK in late 1945, primarily because of the lack of damage the city had sustained in the war, good transport links and high productivity from long hours of sunshine. Production started in the year before the official opening of the plant on 11 June 1947. A fortnight after the 10th anniversary of the plant the 250,000th cash register was produced.
By the 1960s, NCR had become the principal employer of the city producing cash registers, and later ATMs, at several of its Dundee plants. The firm developed magnetic-strip readers for cash registers and produced early computers. Astral, a Dundee-based firm that manufactured and sold refrigerators
A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...
and spin dryers was merged into Morphy Richards and rapidly expanded to employ over 1,000 people. The development in Dundee of a Michelin
Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...
tyre-production facility helped to absorb the unemployment caused by the decline of the jute industry, particularly with the abolition of the jute control by the Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
on 30 April 1969.
Employment in Dundee changed dramatically during the 1980s with the loss of nearly 10,000 manufacturing jobs due to closure of the shipyards, cessation of carpet manufacturing and the disappearance of the jute trade. To combat growing unemployment and declining economic conditions, Dundee was declared an Enterprise Zone in January 1984. In 1983, the first Sinclair ZX Spectrum home computers were produced in Dundee by Timex. In the same year the company broke production records, despite a sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
by workers protesting against job cuts and plans to demolish one of the factory buildings to make way for a supermarket. Timex closed its Dundee plant in 1993 following an acrimonious six-month industrial dispute
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Labor (economics), work. A strike usually takes place in response to grievance (labour), employee grievance ...
. The Michelin Tyre factory closed in June 2020, with the loss of 850 jobs.
Modern day
Dundee is a regional employment and education centre, with around 325,000 people within 30 minutes' drive of the city centre and 860,000 people within one hour. Many people from North East Fife, Angus and Perth and Kinross
Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and S ...
commute to the city. As of 2015, there were 395 employers who employed 250 or more staff; over a five-year period (2011–2015) the number of registered enterprises in Dundee increased by 20.9% from 2,655 to 3,210. The largest employers in the city are NHS Tayside, Dundee City Council, University of Dundee, Tayside Contracts, Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
, D. C. Thomson & Co and BT.
Other employers include limited and private companies such as NCR, Michelin
Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...
, Alliance Trust
Alliance Trust plc is a publicly traded investment and financial services company, established in 1888 and headquartered in Dundee, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. It is one of the ...
, Aviva
Aviva plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It has about 18 million customers across its core markets of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. In the United Kingdom, Aviva is the largest general ...
, Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...
, Asda, Stagecoach Strathtay
Stagecoach Strathtay is a Scottish bus operating company which covers the Dundee and Angus areas, and parts of Grampian. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, which bought Strathtay Scottish Omnibuses Ltd as part of Yorkshire Traction i ...
, Tokheim
Tokheim is an American manufacturer of fuel dispensers. It is one of the world's leading manufacturers and servicers of fuel dispensing equipment.
The group has operations in many countries and offers fuel dispensers and pumps, retail automation ...
, Scottish Citylink
Scottish Citylink is a long-distance express coach operator in Scotland and Ireland (where it operates as Irish Citylink) and England (where it operates as Stansted Citylink). The company was formed as a subsidiary of Scottish Transport Group i ...
, Rochen Limited, C J Lang & Son ( SPAR Scotland), Joinery and Timber Creations, HBOS, Debenhams, Xplore Dundee, and W. L. Gore and Associates
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. is an American multinational manufacturing company specializing in products derived from fluoropolymers. It is a privately held corporation headquartered in Newark, Delaware. It is best known as the developer of wat ...
. Between 2009 and 2014 the hardest-hit sectors, in terms of jobs, were Information and Communication, Construction and Manufacturing which each lost around 500 full-time jobs. By contrast, the Professional, Scientific and Technical sector saw an upsurge in jobs in addition to the Business Administration and Support Service sector which increased by approximately 1,000 full-time and 300 part-time jobs in the same six-year period. Gross median weekly earnings of full-time employees in Dundee in 2015 was £523.50; men received £563.40 and women £451.80. Gross weekly pay for all employees in Dundee has increased from £325.00 in 2000 to £380.00 in 2015.
The biomedical
Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine) and biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
sectors, including start-up biomedical companies arising from university research, employ just under 1,000 people directly and nearly 2,000 indirectly. Information technology and video game development have been important industries in the city for more than 20 years. Rockstar North, developer of ''Lemmings
A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae) together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also include ...
'' and the '' Grand Theft Auto'' series was founded in Dundee as DMA Design by David Jones; an undergraduate of the Abertay University. Rockstar Games returned to Dundee in 2020 when they acquired Ruffian Games to form Rockstar Dundee
Rockstar Dundee Limited (formerly Ruffian Games Limited) is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Dundee. The studio is best known for developing ''Crackdown 2''.
Gary Liddon, Billy Thomson, and Gareth Noyce f ...
. Other game development studios in Dundee include Denki
Denki is an interactive television and console game developer based in Dundee, Scotland. The company is the developer of over 180 console and interactive television games, covering a range of platforms. Denki has worked extensively in the dig ...
, Dynamo Games
Dynamo Games Ltd was an independent video game developer and publisher based in Dundee, Scotland. Established in 2004, it developed titles for the Google Android mobile operating system. Besides developing games for various handheld formats, Dyn ...
, 4J Studios
4J Studios Limited is a British video game developer based in Dundee. It has a second office located in East Linton. Founded in April 2005 by VIS Entertainment alumni Chris van der Kuyl, Paddy Burns and Frank Arnot, the company is best known fo ...
and Outplay Entertainment, among others.
Dundee is also a key retail destination for North East Scotland and has been ranked 4th in Retail Rankings in Scotland. The city centre offers a wide variety of retailers, department stores and independent/specialist stores. The Murraygate and High Street forms the main pedestrian area and is home to a number of main anchors such as Marks and Spencer
Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
, Accessorise and Zara. The main pedestrian area also connects the two large shopping centres; the Overgate Centre which is anchored by Debenhams, H&M, Next
Next may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare
* ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage
* '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film
Lit ...
, Argos, and The Perfume Shop
The Perfume Shop is a United Kingdom perfume retailer founded in 1992 and owned by A.S. Watson (Health & Beauty UK) Ltd, which is part of the A.S. Watson Group. The A.S. Watson Group acquired The Perfume Shop in 2005. The company is based in H ...
and the Wellgate Centre by Home Bargains
Home Bargains is a British variety store chain founded in 1976 by Tom Morris in Liverpool, England, as Home and Bargain. It is the trading name of TJ Morris Ltd.
History
The retailer was founded by owner Tom Morris in 1976 as a single store ...
, T. J. Hughes
T. J. Hughes, registered and styled as TJ Hughes, is a British discount department store brand which first emerged in Liverpool in 1912
The business grew to become a national chain with 57 stores by 2011 but shrank to just six locations after e ...
, B&M, Superdrug, Iceland, Holland & Barrett, Poundland, Savers, The Works, Hydro Electric, Bright house, Other retail areas in the city include Gallagher Retail Park, Kingsway East Retail Park and Kingsway West Retail Park.
Landmarks
The city and its landscape are dominated by The Law and the Firth of Tay. The Law, a large hill to the north of the City Centre
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
was the site of an Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
Hill Fort
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
, upon which the Law War Memorial, designed by Thomas Braddock, was erected in 1921 to commemorate the fallen of World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The waterfront, much altered by reclamation
Reclaim, reclaimed, reclaimer, reclaiming or reclamation means "to get something back".
It may refer to:
* Land reclamation, creating new land from oceans, riverbeds, or lake beds
* Dedesertification, reversing of the land degradation in arid ...
in the 19th century, retains several of the docks that once were the hub of the jute and whaling industries, including the Camperdown and Victoria Docks. The Victoria Dock is the home of the frigate HMS ''Unicorn'' and the North Carr Lightship
''North Carr'' is the last remaining Scottish lightship . She is in length, in beam and 268 tons.
The purpose of the vessel was to warn mariners by sight, light or sound of the dangers of the North Carr rocks which are situated off Fi ...
, while Captain Scott's RRS ''Discovery'' occupies Craig Pier, from where the ferries to Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
once sailed.
The oldest building in the city is St Mary's Tower, which dates from the late 15th century. This forms part of the City Churches, which consist of St Clement's Church, dating to 1787–8 and built by Samuel Bell, Old St Paul's and St David's Church, built in 1841–42 by William Burn, and St Mary's Church, rebuilt in 1843–44, also by Burn, following a fire. Other significant churches in the city include the Gothic Revival St Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, built by Sir George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...
in 1853 on the former site of Dundee Castle in the High Street, and the Catholic St. Andrew's Cathedral, built in 1835 by George Mathewson in Nethergate.
As a result of the destruction suffered during the Rough Wooing
The Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Roman Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the ...
, little of the mediaeval city (aside from St Mary's Tower) remains and the earliest surviving domestic structures date from the Early Modern Era. A notable example is the Wishart Arch (or East Port) in Cowgate. It is the last surviving portion of the city walls. Dating from prior to 1548, it owes its continued existence to its association with the Protestant martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
George Wishart, who is said to have preached to plague victims from the East Port in 1544. Another is the building complex on the High Street known as Gardyne's Land, parts of which date from around 1560. The Howff
The Howff is a burial ground in the city of Dundee, Scotland. Established in 1564, it has one of the most important collections of tombstones in Scotland, and is protected as a category A listed building.
The majority of graves face exactl ...
burial ground in the northern part of the City Centre also dates from this time; it was given to the city by Mary Queen of Scots in 1564, having previously served as the grounds of a Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
abbey.
Several castles can be found in Dundee, mostly from the Early Modern Era. The earliest parts of Mains Castle
Mains may refer to:
* Mains electricity ("line power" in the United States)
* Mains electricity by country
* Electricity transmission
* Public utility, "mains services", including electricity, natural gas, water, and sewage disposal
* Main course ...
in Caird Park were built by David Graham in 1562 on the site of a hunting lodge of 1460. Dudhope Castle
Dudhope Castle is an extended late medieval tower house located on the southern face of Dundee Law in Dundee, Scotland.
History Construction and private ownership
The castle was originally built in the late 13th century by the Scrymgeour famil ...
, originally the seat of the Scrymgeour family, dates to the late 16th century and was built on the site of a keep of 1460. Claypotts Castle
Claypotts Castle is a late medieval castle in the suburban West Ferry area of Dundee, Scotland. It is one of the best-preserved examples of a 16th-century Z-plan tower house in Scotland. Now surrounded by modern housing, the castle is maintai ...
, a striking Z plan castle in West Ferry, was built by John Strachan and dates from 1569 to 1588. In 1495 Broughty Castle was built and remained in use as a major defensive structure until 1932, playing a role in the Anglo-Scottish Wars and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities united in a pers ...
. The castle stands on a shallow tip projecting into the Firth, alongside two beaches, one of sand, the other of pebbles. The ruins of Powrie Castle
Powrie Castle is a ruined 16th-century castle located in the north of Dundee, Scotland. It was designated as a scheduled monument in 1971. The early 17th-century north range of the castle is now a separate fortified house and has been converted ...
, north of Fintry, date from the 16th-century castle north.
North of the City Churches, at the end of Reform Street, lies the High School of Dundee, built in 1829–34 by George Angus in a Greek Revival style. Another school building of note is Morgan Academy
Morgan Academy is a Secondary School in the Stobswell area of Dundee, Scotland.
History
The building was designed in 1862 by the Edinburgh architects John Dick Peddie and Charles Kinnear, opening in 1866 as the Morgan Hospital, a charitable in ...
on Forfar Road, built in 1863, designed by John Dick Peddie in a Dutch Gothic style.
Dundee's industrial history as a centre for textile production is apparent throughout the city. Numerous former jute mills remain standing and while some lay derelict, many have been converted for other uses. Of particular note are the Tay Works, built by the Gilroy Brothers c.1850–1865, Camperdown Works
Camperdown Works was a jute works in Dundee, Scotland, which covered around 30 acres and at one point employed over 14,000, mostly female, workers. It was for a time the world's largest jute works and was owned by Cox Brothers.
Origins
The Cox ...
in Lochee, which built and owned by Cox Brothers, one of Europe's largest jute manufacturing companies, and begun in 1849, and Upper Dens Mill and Lower Dens Works, built by the Baxter Brothers in the mid-19th century.
A more recent landmark is the Tower Building of the University of Dundee built between 1959 and 1961. At the time of its construction only the Old Steeple was taller in the city. The Tower was built to replace the original college buildings which stood on the site. The building houses the university's main administration and includes galleries and the university's Archive, Records Management and Museum Services.
Many 1960s landmark multi-storey housing buildings were demolished in the late 2000s. The former Tayside House block, nicknamed 'Faulty Towers' by many local people, was demolished in 2013 as part of the waterfront redevelopment program. According to the architectural historian Charles McKean
Charles McKean FRSE FRSA FRHistS FRIBA (16 July 1946 – 29 September 2013) was a Scottish historian, author and scholar.
Biography
McKean was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 16 July 1946. He was educated at Fettes College, the University of Po ...
and his co-authors of Lost Dundee, the best views in the city were from Tayside House, because these were the only views from which the building itself could not be seen.
Transport
Road
Dundee is served by the A90 road
The A90 road is a major north to south road in eastern Scotland, running from Edinburgh to Fraserburgh, through Dundee and Aberdeen. Along with the A9 and the A82 it is one of the three major north–south trunk roads connecting the Centra ...
, which connects the city to the M90 and Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
in the west with Forfar and Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
in the north. The part of the road that is in the city is a dual carriageway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
and forms the city's main bypass on its north side, known as the Kingsway. East of the A90's Forfar Road junction, the Kingsway East continues as the A972 and meets the A92 at the Scott Fyffe roundabout. Travelling east, the A92 connects the city to Arbroath
Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902.
It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen.
The ...
and Montrose and to the south with Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
, via the Tay Road Bridge
The Tay Road Bridge ( gd, Drochaid-rathaid na Tatha) carries the A92 road across the Firth of Tay from Newport-on-Tay in Fife to Dundee in Scotland, just downstream of the Tay Rail Bridge. At around , it is one of the longest road bridges in E ...
.
The A930 links the city with coastal settlements to the east, including Monifieth and Carnoustie. Progressing westward from where the A92 meets the Tay Road Bridge at the Riverside Roundabout, the A85 follows the southern boundary of the city along Riverside Drive and towards the A90 at the Swallow Roundabout. The A85 multiplexes with the A90 and diverges again at Perth.
Also meeting the A92 and A85 at the Riverside Roundabout is the A991 Inner Ring Road, which surrounds the perimeter of the city centre, returning to the A92 on the east side of the Tay Road Bridge. The A923 Dundee to Dunkeld road meets the A991 at the Dudhope Roundabout, and the A929 links the A991 to the A90 via Forfar Road.
Buses
Dundee has an extensive network of bus routes. The Seagate bus station
Seagate bus station serves the city of Dundee, Scotland. It has nine stances.
Located five minutes' walk from the city centre, it has bus links to many Scottish towns and cities as well as links to London and other major cities
The bus statio ...
is the city's main terminus for journeys out of town. Xplore Dundee operates most of the intra-city services, with other more rural services operated by Stagecoach Strathtay
Stagecoach Strathtay is a Scottish bus operating company which covers the Dundee and Angus areas, and parts of Grampian. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, which bought Strathtay Scottish Omnibuses Ltd as part of Yorkshire Traction i ...
. The city's two railway stations are the main Dundee station, near the waterfront, which has now finished re-construction as part of the waterfront re-development programme and the much smaller Broughty Ferry railway station, Broughty Ferry station at the eastern end of the city.
There are also many inter-city bus services offered by Megabus (Europe), Megabus, Scottish Citylink, Citylink and National Express Coaches, National Express.
Rail
Passenger services at Dundee are provided by ScotRail, CrossCountry, Caledonian Sleeper and London North Eastern Railway. There are other nearby stations at Invergowrie railway station, Invergowrie, Balmossie railway station, Balmossie and Monifieth railway station, Monifieth.
No freight trains have served the city since the Freightliner Group, Freightliner terminal in Dundee was closed in the 1980s.
Airport
Dundee Airport offers commercial flights to London City Airport, London City, George Best Belfast City Airport, Belfast City and Sumburgh Airport, Sumburgh (Shetland) by Scotland's Airline: Loganair. The airport is capable of serving small aircraft and is located west of the city centre, adjacent to the River Tay.
The nearest major international airport is Edinburgh Airport, to the south.
Seaport
The cargo port of Dundee is one of the largest economic generators in the city and is operated by Forth Ports. Seafarers arriving at the port are offered welfare and pastoral assistance by seafarers charity Apostleship of the Sea.
Education
Colleges and universities
Dundee is home to two universities and a student population of approximately 20,000.
The University of Dundee became an independent entity in 1967, after 70 years of being incorporated into the University of St Andrews. It was founded in 1881 by Mary Ann Baxter and her distant cousin John Boyd Baxter as University College, Dundee, and teaching began in 1883. It fully merged with the University of St Andrews in 1897 and was reorganised as Queen's College, Dundee in 1954. Significant research in biomedical
Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine) fields is carried out in the School of Life Sciences (University of Dundee), School of Life Sciences. The University is also home to Dundee Law School, situated in the Scrymgeour Building on the main campus and the University of Dundee School of Medicine, School of Medicine, based at the city's Ninewells Hospital. The university also incorporates the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design and the teacher training college.
Abertay University was founded as Dundee Institute of Technology in 1888. Previously, the buildings formed Bell Street Technical College, a further education college. It was granted university status in 1994 under the Further and Higher Education Act, 1992. The university is noted for its computing and creative technology courses, particularly in the fields of computer games technology and Computer security, cyber-security. Notable alumni include David Jones, founder of DMA Design (now known as Rockstar North), Sir Brian Souter, founder of Stagecoach Group, Stagecoach, and Lord Iain McNicol, former General Secretary of the Labour Party.
Dundee College is the city's umbrella further education college, which was established in 1985 as an institution of higher education and vocational training. As of 2013, it merged with Angus College in Arbroath
Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902.
It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen.
The ...
, to become Dundee and Angus College (D&A College).
The Al-Maktoum College of Higher Education was established in Dundee in Blackness Road in 2002. It is a research-led institution of higher education which are currently offering programmes accredited by Scottish Qualifications Authority, SQA in the study of Islam and Muslims, Arabic language and Islamic Economics and Finance. It is an independent institution. It is named after its patron, Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Schools
Schools in Dundee have a pupil enrolment of over 20,300. There are 37 primary state schools and 8 secondary state schools in the city. There are 11 primary and 2 secondary Roman Catholic denominational schools which, as in the rest of Scotland, are open to children of all denominations. The remainder are non-denominational. There is also one specialist school that caters for pupils with learning difficulties aged between five and 18 from Dundee and the surrounding area.
Dundee has one independent school, the High School of Dundee, which was founded in the 13th century by the Abbot and monks of Lindores Abbey. The current building was designed by George Angus in a Greek Revival style and built in 1832–34. Notable students in the early modern period included Thomas Thomson (chemist), Thomas Thomson, Hector Boece, and the brothers James, John and Robert Wedderburn who were the authors of ''The Gude and Godlie Ballatis'', used early in the Scottish Reformation as a vehicle to spread Protestant theology. According to Blind Harry's largely apocryphal work ''The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace'', William Wallace was also educated in Dundee.
Religious sites
Christian groups
The Church of Scotland Presbyterian polity, Presbytery of Dundee is responsible for overseeing the worship of 37 congregations in and around the Dundee area, although changing population patterns have led to some of the churches becoming linked charges. Due to their city centre location, the City Churches, Dundee Parish Church (St Mary's) and the Steeple Church, are the most prominent Church of Scotland buildings in Dundee. They are on the site of the medieval parish kirk of St Mary, of which only the 15th-century west tower survives. The attached church was once the largest parish church in medieval Scotland.
Dundee was unusual among Scottish medieval burghs in having two parish kirks; the second, dedicated to Pope Clement I, St Clement, has disappeared, but its site was approximately that of the present City Square. Other presbyterian groups include the Free Church which meet at St. Peters (the historic church of Robert Murray McCheyne, Robert Murray M'Cheyne) where prominent theologians David Robertson (minister), David Robertson and Sinclair B. Ferguson regularly preach.
In the Middle Ages Dundee was also the site of houses of the Dominican Order, Dominicans (Blackfriars), and Franciscans (Greyfriars), and had a number of hospitals and chapels. These establishments were sacked during the Scottish Reformation, in the mid-16th century, and were reduced to burial grounds, now Barrack Street (also referred to as the Dek-tarn street) and The Howff
The Howff is a burial ground in the city of Dundee, Scotland. Established in 1564, it has one of the most important collections of tombstones in Scotland, and is protected as a category A listed building.
The majority of graves face exactl ...
burial ground, respectively.
St Paul's Cathedral, Dundee, St. Paul's Cathedral is the seat of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Brechin (Episcopalian), Diocese of Brechin. It is charged with overseeing the worship of 9 congregations in the city, as well as a further 17 in Angus, the Carse of Gowrie and parts of Aberdeenshire. Since 2018 the diocese has been led by Andrew Swift (bishop), Bishop Andrew Swift. St. Andrew's Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Diocese of Dunkeld, led by Bishop Stephen Robson. The diocese is responsible for overseeing 15 congregations in Dundee and 37 in the surrounding area, including St Mary, Our Lady of Victories Church, Dundee, St Mary, Our Lady of Victories Church in the city.
There are Methodism, Methodist, Baptist, Congregationalist, United Reformed Church, Pentecostalism, Pentecostalist and Salvation Army churches in the city, and non-mainstream Christian groups are also well represented, including the Unitarianism, Unitarians, the Society of Friends, the Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, Christadelphians, and the Latter Day Saint, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Other religious communities
Muslims are served by the Dundee Central Mosque built in 2000 to replace their former premises on the Hilltown. There are three other mosques in the city including;
Jamia Masjid Tajdare Madina on Victoria Road, Jame Masjid Bilal on Dura Street and Al Maktoum Mosque on Wilkie's Lane. Alongside these there is an Islamic Society on the University of Dundee campus.
The Sikh community is served by the Guru Nanak Gurdwara on Victoria Road, which serves its community in Dundee.
A recorded Jewish community has existed in the city since the early 19th century. There is a small Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Dundee Synagogue, synagogue at Dudhope Park that was built in the 1960s, with the Hebrew Burial Grounds located three miles (5 km) to the east. Dundee Buddhist Group is a Buddhism, Buddhist Temple based in Reform Street. There is also a Hindu mandir in Taylor's Lane situated in the West End, Dundee, West End of the city.
Culture
Dundee made a bid to be named the 2017 UK City of Culture, and on 19 June 2013 was named as one of the four short-listed cities alongside Kingston upon Hull, Hull, Leicester and Swansea Bay. Ultimately, Dundee's bid was unsuccessful, with Hull winning the contest. Dundee came in fifth place in a newspaper survey regarding numbers of cultural venues in the United Kingdom, ahead of other Scottish cities.
In August 2021, Dundee made a joint bid with Perth and Kinross
Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and S ...
, Angus
Angus may refer to:
Media
* ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film
* ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record''
Places Australia
* Angus, New South Wales
Canada
* Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario
* East Angus, Quebec
Scotland
* An ...
and Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
for the UK City of Culture again in 2025 under the title of 'Tay Cities'.
Dundee also went to bid to become the European Capital of Culture in 2023 but due to 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, the United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union in June 2016, Dundee's bid, along with those of other British cities submitting bids, was discontinued by the European Commission.
Museums and galleries
The city's main museum and art gallery, McManus Galleries, is in Albert Square. The exhibits include work by James McIntosh Patrick, Alberto Morrocco and David McClure (artist), David McClure amongst the collection of fine and decorative art, items from Dundee's history and natural history artefacts.
Dundee Contemporary Arts (abbreviated DCA) opened in 1999 is an international art centre in the Nethergate close to Dundee Rep, which houses two contemporary art galleries, a two-screen arthouse cinema, a print studio, a visual research centre and a café bar.
Britain's only full-time public observatory, Mills Observatory at the summit of the city's Balgay Hill, was given to the city by linen manufacturer and keen amateur scientist John Mills in 1935.
Sensation Science Centre in the Greenmarket is a science centre based on the five senses with a series of interactive shows and exhibits. Verdant Works is a museum dedicated to the once dominant jute industry in Dundee and is based in a former jute mill.
The University of Dundee also runs several public museums and galleries, including the D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum and the Tayside Medical History Museum. The university, through Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design also offers the Cooper Gallery for contemporary art, and its archives including: the abcD (artists' books collection Dundee); the REWIND Archive (video art collection); and the Richard Demarco Digital Archive.
The V&A Dundee
V&A Dundee is a design museum in Dundee, Scotland, which opened on 15 September 2018. The V&A Dundee is the first design museum in Scotland and the first Victoria and Albert museum outside London. The V&A Dundee is also the first building in the ...
Museum of Design opened in September 2018 and is built south of Craig Harbour onto the River Tay
The River Tay ( gd, Tatha, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing') is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in Great Britain. The Tay originates ...
in a building designed by Kengo Kuma. It was officially opened by the Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Earl and Countess of Strathearn in 2019. It is the centrepiece of the city's waterfront redevelopment. The new museum may bring another 500,000 extra visitors to the city and create up to 900 jobs.
The city's archival records are mostly kept by two archives: Dundee City Archives, operated by Dundee City Council and the University of Dundee's Archive Services.
Dundee City Archives holds the official records of the city and of the former Tayside Regional Council. The archive also holds the records of various people, groups and organisations connected to the city. The university's Archive Services hold a wide range of material relating to the university and its predecessor institutions and to individuals associated with the university, such as D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson. Archive Services also holds the archives of several individuals, businesses and organisations based in Dundee and the surrounding area. The records held include a substantial number of business archives relating to the jute and linen industry in Dundee; records of other businesses including the archives of the Alliance Trust
Alliance Trust plc is a publicly traded investment and financial services company, established in 1888 and headquartered in Dundee, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. It is one of the ...
and the department store G. L. Wilson; the records of the Brechin Diocese of the Scottish Episcopal Church; and the NHS Tayside Archive. The same archive also holds the Michael Peto collection which includes thousands of the photojournalist's photographs, negatives, slides, publications and papers.["Michael Peto Photographic Collection"](_blank)
, University of Dundee. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
Literature
Dundee has a strong literary heritage, with several authors having been born, lived or studied in the city. These include A. L. Kennedy, Rosamunde Pilcher, Kate Atkinson (writer), Kate Atkinson, Thomas Dick (scientist), Thomas Dick, Mary Shelley, Mick McCluskey, John Burnside (writer), John Burnside and Neil Forsyth. The Dundee International Book Prize is a biennial competition open to new authors, offering a prize of £10,000 and publication by Polygon Books. Past winners have included: Andrew Murray Scott, Claire-Marie Watson and Malcolm Archibald. William McGonagall, regularly cited as the "world's worst poet", worked and wrote in the city, often giving performances of his work in pubs and bars. Many of his poems are about the city and events therein, such as his work ''The Tay Bridge Disaster''.
Dundee's poetic heritage is represented by the 2013 poetry anthology ''Whaleback City'' edited by W. N. Herbert and Andy Jackson (Dundee University Press) containing poems by McGonagall, Don Paterson, Douglas Dunn, John Burnside and many others. City of Recovery Press was founded in Dundee, and has become a controversial figure in documenting the darker side of the city.
Cinema
The Dundee Mountain Film Festival (DMFF), held in the last weekend of November, presents the best presenters and films of the year in mountaineering, mountain culture and adventure sport, along with an art and trade exhibition. DMFF is also one of the members of International Alliance for Mountain Film (IAMF) among other important international mountain film festivals.
Dundee Contemporary Arts hosts an annual horror film festival called ''Dundead'', which started in 2011.
The city also has two Multiplex (movie theater), Multiplex cinemas, Odeon Cinemas, Odeon and Cineworld.
Music
Dundee is home to a full-time repertory ensemble, which originated in 1939. One of its alumni, Hollywood actor Brian Cox (actor), Brian Cox, is a native of the city. The Dundee Repertory Theatre, built in 1982, is also the base for the Scottish Dance Theatre company.
Dundee's principal concert auditorium, the Caird Hall (named after its benefactor, the jute baron James Key Caird) in the City Square regularly hosts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Various smaller venues host local and international musicians during Dundee's annual Jazz, Guitar and Blues Festivals.
Dundee has hosted the Royal National Mòd, National Mod a number of times – 1902, 1913, 1937, 1959 and 1974.[List of Mod's places]
for each year on Sabhal Mòr Ostaig website
Dundee also hosted BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend back in 2006 and was due to host for a second time in 2020 but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to this, there is speculation that the city will host the 2021 festival.
Popular music groups such as the 1970s soul-funk outfit Average White Band, the Associates (band), Associates, the band Spare Snare, Danny Wilson (band), Danny Wilson, The Hazey Janes, and the Indie rock bands The View (band), The View and The Law (Scotland band), The Law are from Dundee. Musician, songwriter and performer Michael Marra was born and raised in Dundee. Ricky Ross (musician), Ricky Ross of Deacon Blue and singer-songwriter KT Tunstall are former pupils of the High School of Dundee, although Tunstall is not a native of the city. The Northern Irish indie rock band Snow Patrol was formed by students at the University of Dundee. Brian Molko, lead singer of Placebo (band), Placebo, grew up in the city as did Ian Cussick, singer of Lake (German band), Lake. At the end of June, Dundee hosts an annual blues festival known as the ''Dundee Blues Bonanza''.
Media
Dundee is home to DC Thomson & Son Ltd, established in 1905, which produces over 200 million magazines, newspapers and comics every year; these include ''The Beano'', ''The Dandy'' and ''The Press and Journal (Scotland), The Press and Journal''.
Dundee is home to one of eleven BBC Scotland broadcasting centres, located within the Nethergate Centre. STV North's Tayside news and advertising operations are based in the Seabraes area of the city, from where an ''STV News Tayside'' opt-out bulletin is broadcast, (though not on Digital Satellite), within the nightly regional news programme, ''STV News at Six''. The city also had a community internet TV station called The Dundee Channel which was launched on 1 September 2009.
The city has three local radio stations. Radio Tay was launched on 17 October 1980. The station split frequencies in January 1995 launching Tay FM for a younger audience and Tay 2 playing classic hits. In 1999, Discovery 102 was launched, later to be renamed Wave 102 following a claim by The Discovery Channel that the station could mistakenly be linked to its brand.
Sport and recreation
Football
Dundee has two professional association football, football clubs: Dundee F.C., Dundee, founded in 1893, and Dundee United F.C., Dundee United, founded in 1909 as Dundee Hibernian. Dundee FC currently plays in the Scottish Championship and Dundee United currently play in the Scottish Premiership. Their grounds Kilmac Stadium and Tannadice Park are just 100 metres apart, closer together than any other football stadiums in the UK. The Dundee derby is one of the most highly anticipated fixtures in Scottish football.
Dundee is one of four British cities to have produced two European Champion Clubs' Cup, European Cup semi-finalists. Dundee lost to A.C. Milan in European Cup 1962-63#Semi finals, 1963 and Dundee United lost to A.S. Roma in European Cup 1983-84#Semi-finals, 1984. Dundee also reached the semi-finals of the forerunner to the UEFA Cup in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1967-68#Semifinals, 1968 and Dundee United were runners-up in the UEFA Cup in UEFA Cup 1986-87#Final, 1987. There are also seven junior football teams in the area: Dundee North End F.C., Dundee North End, East Craigie F.C., East Craigie, Lochee Harp F.C., Lochee Harp, Lochee United F.C., Lochee United, Dundee Violet F.C., Dundee Violet, Broughty Athletic F.C., Broughty Athletic and Downfield F.C., Downfield.
Ice hockey
Dundee Stars, the main ice hockey team, play at the Dundee Ice Arena. The team joined the Elite Ice Hockey League, Elite League in the 2010/2011 season. They are one of three professional ice hockey teams in Scotland, and play against teams from England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
in the Elite League. In the 2013/2014 season, Dundee Stars won the Gardiner Conference trophy, their only one to date. The majority of the players are from Canada and the United States. Omar Pacha is the current head coach and general manager of the Dundee Stars. There are also two amateur ice hockey teams, Dundee Tigers and Dundee Comets, who both play in the Scottish National League (ice hockey), Scottish National League.
Rugby
The city is also home to six rugby union teams. Dundee HSFP, Dundee High School Former Pupils play in Scottish National League Division One, the second tier of Scottish club rugby. The remainder of the teams compete in the Caledonia Regional League – Harris Academy RFC, Harris Academy FP play in Caledonia Division One, Morgan Academy FP RFC, Morgan Academy FP and Panmure RFC, Panmure in Caledonia Division Two Midlands, Dundee University Medics and Stobswell in Caledonia Division Three Midlands.
Other sports
Local sports clubs include Dundee Handball Club, Grove Menzieshill Hockey Club; Dundee Wanderers Hockey Club, Dundee Volleyball Club, Dundee Northern Lights Floorball Club, Dundee Hawkhill Harriers, Dundee City Aquatics, Dundee Hurricanes and Dundee & Angus Radio Controlled Car Klub (DARCCK).
The Olympia Leisure Centre (2013), Olympia Leisure Centre, opened in 2013, has a swimming pool.
There is a velodrome, Caird Park Velodrome.
Public services
Dundee and the surrounding area is supplied with water by Scottish Water. Dundee, along with parts of Perthshire and Angus is supplied from Lintrathen and Backwater Reservoir, Backwater reservoirs in River Isla, Perthshire, Glen Isla. Electricity distribution is by Scottish Hydro Electric plc, part of the Scottish and Southern Energy group.
Waste management is handled by Dundee City Council. There is a kerbside recycling scheme that currently only serves 15,500 households in Dundee. Cans, glass and plastic bottles are collected on a weekly basis. Compostable material and non-recyclable material are collected on alternate weeks. Paper is collected for recycling on a four-weekly basis.
Recycling centres and points are at a number of locations in Dundee.[; ] Items accepted include steel and aluminium cans, cardboard, paper, electrical equipment, engine oil, fridges and freezers, garden waste, gas bottles, glass, liquid food and drinks cartons, plastic bottles, plastic carrier bags, rubble, scrap metal, shoes and handbags, spectacles, textiles, tin foil, wood and yellow pages. Recent figures taken in 2008, suggest the city council has a recycling rate of 36.1%.
Law enforcement is provided by Police Scotland. The headquarters of the Dundee Branch of Police Scotland is situated in West Bell Street. There are also four police stations which serve the city: Maryfield, Lochee, Downfield and Longhaugh.
Health care, Healthcare is supplied in the area by NHS Tayside. Ninewells Hospital, is the only hospital with an accident and emergency department in the area. Dundee is also served by the East Central Region of the Scottish Ambulance Service which covers the city, Tayside and Kingdom of Fife. There is one ambulance station for the city; on West School Road.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service operate three fire stations, covering the city and surrounding villages. The main station is at Blackness Road and there is a control room at Macalpine Road fire station.
Sister cities
Chronologically:
* Orléans, France (1946)
* Zadar, Croatia (1959)
* Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria, United States (1962)
* Würzburg, Germany (1962)
* Nablus, Palestine (1980)
* Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2004)
* West Dundee, Illinois, West Dundee, United States (2013)
Freedom of the City
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the City of Dundee.
Individuals
* John Leng (politician), Sir John Leng: 1902.
* Whitelaw Reid: 1906.
* H. H. Asquith, Rt Hon H. H. Asquith : October 1912.
* Emma Grace Marryat: 1918.
* Tom Johnston (British politician), Rt Hon Thomas Johnston : 1947.
* Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother: 1954.
* List of provosts of Dundee, Maurice McManus: 1981.
* Nelson Mandela: 9 October 1993.
* Ramsay MacDonald, Rt Hon Ramsay MacDonald
* Stanley Baldwin, Rt Hon Stanley Baldwin
* Rev. William Macmillan
* Jim McLean, James McLean
Military Units
* The Black Watch, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment): 1954.
See also
* Brittle Bone Society, a UK charity established in 1968 in Dundee
* Dundee Museum of Transport
* History of Dundee#Notable Dundonians and people associated with Dundee
* Alexander Crawford Lamb, Alexander C. Lamb and references to the Lamb Collection, which is held in the City Museum and the Local History Centre of Dundee Central Library
Notes
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Dundee City Council
National Library of Scotland: SCOTTISH SCREEN ARCHIVE
(selection of archive films about Dundee)
{{Authority control
Dundee,
Port cities and towns in Scotland
Port cities and towns of the North Sea
Lieutenancy areas of Scotland
Council areas of Scotland
Cities in Scotland
Civil parishes of Scotland
Populated places in Dundee