History

Glasgow's name derives from the Gaelic word Ghlaschu, meaning dear, green place. It's generally agreed that the city was founded in the 6th century by St. Kentigern, a Christian missionary more commonly known as St. Mungo. Mungo means the dear one, who is also Glasgow's patron saint. The 13th century Glasgow Cathedral was supposedly built on the site upon which his settlement's church originally stood. This ground was consecrated in the 4th century by St Ninian.

The city's coat of arms is: Here is the Bird that never flew Here is the Tree that never grew Here is the Bell that never rang Here is the Fish that never swam.

It may sound like a riddle, but it's actually based upon miraculous events in the life of St. Mungo. The bird represents a robin that he brought back to life after being unfairly blamed for its death. The bell represents one that the Pope gave to him. The tree represents a hazel branch that Mungo ignited after some boys extinguished the holy fire of the monastery in Culross. The fish recalls a time that Mungo came to the rescue of an adulterous queen. King Hael suspected his wife, Queen Langeoreth, of infidelity and his suspicions were not unfounded. He discovered that she had even given her wedding ring to her lover, a knight. Hael secretly took the ring, hurled it into the River Clyde and demanded that his flighty wife produce it. At a loss, Langeoreth asked her lover for help. He confessed all to St. Mungo, who bid him catch a salmon from the Clyde and lo and behold; the ring was in the mouth of the fish.

The city's motto is "Lord let Glasgow flourish through the preaching of thy word and praising of thy name." Sadly, there are no good stories associated with it and it's usually shortened to the much snappier "Let Glasgow Flourish."

Glasgow became a Burgh in 1175 when King William the Lionheart signed a charter. Another William who played a part in the city's history was William "Braveheart" Wallace, who was born in the village of Elderslie in Renfrewshire. At the start of the 14th century, Wallace trounced the English in a battle which was waged where the top end of High Street is nowadays.

In 1451 Glasgow University was founded; it's the fourth oldest in the UK and the second oldest in Scotland. St Andrews came first. The original site was in High Street, it re-located to Gilmorehill in 1870. In 1490, an archbishopric was established and Glasgow was consequently granted city status.

It was as a port town that the city's trade began to flourish. In 1707 the Treaty of Union with England prepared the way for a growth in overseas trade, especially with the colonies. The Treaty was met with great resistance by the people of Glasgow who resented any alliance with the "auld enemy," even if it was to their benefit. Glasgow imported goods such as tobacco, rum, sugar and cotton from the Americas. Many of these imports were promptly re-exported to France, Germany, Italy, Holland and Norway. Fortunes were made but they were in danger of being lost again as the American War of Independence was looming so overseas trading was due to receive a major blow. Luckily for the city, many of the merchants were far-sighted enough to diversify before it was too late. With the development of a super-charged steam engine by Greenock-born James Watt in the 18th century, Glasgow turned its attentions to the textile industry and started to build cotton mills. The Industrial Revolution had begun.

Glasgow then went on to shipbuilding and by 1835 it was responsible for half the tonnage of steam ships produced in Britain. It's from this economically powerful period that much of the city's magnificent architecture springs. The shipbuilding legacy lived on into the 1900s. The Cunard Shipping Line was established here and famous transatlantic liners like the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, QE2 and the Royal Yacht Britannia were all built at Clydebank. As was The Waverley, the last ocean-going paddle steamer in the world, which was built by A&J Inglis in 1947.

Railway lines to Garnkirk (1831) and Edinburgh (1842), in addition to the Caledonian Railway (1845), boosted both Glasgow's productivity and population further. There was a huge influx of Irish immigrants escaping from the potato famine of the 1940s as well as Highlanders, all in need of work and shelter. By the mid-19th century the population of Glasgow had reached 420,000. As with most cities experiencing such a boom in their working-class population, housing was built cheaply and inadequately resulting in a proliferation of slums. Nonetheless, Glasgow had the best water supply in the UK, thanks to pipes from Loch Katrine in the Trossachs. Glasgow's water is still piped from this source today.

At the end of the 19th century, Glasgow decided it was time to show off a little. The International Exhibition was held in 1888 in Kelvingrove Park and again in 1901, when Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum was opened as part of the celebrations. The underground network had opened in 1896 so travel around the city was easier than ever before, despite its expanding boundaries. Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928), a local designer and architect, is responsible for many of the private homes and public buildings which sprang up around this time, as well as influencing the development of art nouveau across Europe. Glasgow got the chance to showcase its treasures again in 1938, when the Empire Exhibition was held in Bellahouston Park.

After World War II, the city's population dropped dramatically as people moved away from the hustle and bustle of Central Glasgow out to new towns on the outskirts with a less industrial atmosphere. The unemployment rate was high and morale was low, the city was suffering under harsh economic conditions and the industries of old, which had brought Glasgow such prosperity, were no longer viable. In the 1980s, the city cleaned up its act (and its streets) and set out to reclaim its reputation as "Second City" of the much depleted Empire. A smart promotion campaign, in addition to the opening of prestigious attractions in the 1980s such as The Burrell Collection, the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, and Princes Square kept Glasgow in the public consciousness. The city honed new skills in tourism and service industries, leading to its role as host to the National Garden Festival in 1988; a major coup.

Glasgow is now Scotland's largest city. It has also won awards in the past such as "Europe's City of Culture" and the "UK City of Architecture and Design." An incredible city rich in history and beauty, Glasgow plenty to offer the interested traveler.