Description of the attraction
The University of Aberdeen is the third oldest university in Scotland and the fifth in Great Britain, founded in 1495. In its present form, the university has existed since 1860, when two old educational institutions merged: King's College in Old Aberdeen and Marishal College in New Aberdeen.
Royal College was founded in 1495 by the Bishop of Aberdeen William Elphinstone at St. Mahar's Cathedral. During the Scottish Reformation, Catholic teachers were expelled from the university, but in general, King's College retained the spirit of Catholicism. Marischal College, by contrast, was founded by Reformation supporter Georg Keith, Earl of Marischal. This university was located in New Aberdeen, the commercial part of the city, and in many respects fundamentally differed from King's College - the university took an active part in the life of the city, and students were allowed to live not only on campus, but also in the city. The long history of rivalry between the two educational institutions developed not only in the field of scientific disputes - it often came to street fights between students.
In 1641, King Charles I of Scots attempted to merge the two universities into one - Carolina University of Aberdeen. Their union was ratified by the parliament of Oliver Cromwell and lasted until the restoration of the monarchy, when all previous laws lost force and the two educational institutions became independent again. Their final unification took place only in 1860.
Now the university consists of three colleges: arts and social sciences, natural sciences and medicine and physical sciences, each of which, in turn, consists of separate faculties and departments.
The buildings that originally housed King's College and Marishal College are the pride of Aberdeen's architecture. The oldest buildings in the Royal College complex date back to 1500 - the Crown Tower and the Chapel. The openwork "lamppost" tower is considered a masterpiece of medieval architecture, and oak seats with awnings and other elements of the original decor have been preserved in the choir of the chapel. In 1913, a new building was built, New Kings, which is designed in the same style as the old buildings.
Marishal College is a magnificent example of neo-Gothic architectural style. Now most of the building is occupied by the city council of Aberdeen, the university owns only the northern wing, where the Marishal Museum and the Great Hall are located.
