Scottish Blog

Dundee is Scotland’s fourth biggest city and one of it’s most important economically.

Dundee currently has a population of just fewer than 160,000. In terms of Scottish geography, Dundee is located on the northern bank of Firth of Tay, in the eastern side of Scotland. The city itself is formed in the basalt plug of an extinct volcano. Due to its geography, Dundee is Scotland’s only city that faces south, making it the sunniest city in the country.

Dundee was given the status of a Burgh in 1191 in a charter by William the Lion. There are a number of stories which explain how the city was named. The most likely of these, refers to the Scottish Gaelic translation of the name, Dun Dèagh, meaning “Fort on the Tay”. This explanation would fir in historically. On the other hand, a popular folk tale as to how Dundee received its name involves the brother of William the Lion, David, the 8th Earl of Huntingdon. The story claims, David named the town Donum Dei, after narrowly escaping death there while returning from the Crusades.

An interesting point about, Dundee is it was the first town in the world to use electric streetlights. In fact the lights were the same ones as invented by James Bowman Lindsay. Further, it is believed that James Chalmers invented the modern postage stamp in Dundee. Another curios point is that, Winston Churchill was the MP of Dundee between 1908 and 1922.

Dundee, established itself as one of Scotland’s important cities because of its harbor and relatively easy access to open waters and therefore trade. Because of this, it was made a lucrative target during times of conflict. This was especially apparent during the various wars with England, as in each it suffered some of the heaviest losses of all Scottish cities.

Dundee appears on numerous occasions in Scottish history. This enriches Dundee with a rich heritage and in it’s own sense making it a Scottish icon.