Glasgow EuroWalk

Glasgow Cathedral - photo J Wilson Glasgow Cathedral, also called the High Kirk of Glasgow or St Kentigern's or St Mungo's Cathedral, was built before the Reformation from the late 12th century onwards and is the only medieval cathedral on the Scottish mainland to have survived the Reformation with its roof on. The cathedral is said to have been built where the patron saint of Glasgow, Saint Mungo, built his church. The tomb of the saint is in the lower crypt.  The congregation is part of the Church of Scotland's Presbytery of Glasgow and its services and associations are open to all. It sits alongside Glasgow Royal Infirmary, opened in 1794, and the Glasgow Necropolis graveyard, opened in 1833. Information from Visit Scotland - their page is at: https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/glasgow-cathedral-p254881 This is an excellent document about the European influences: Historic-Churches.pdf (cramondassociation.org.uk) Photos of Cathedral and Stained Glass on page by J.W...

The oldest existing house in Glasgow. Built in 1471 by Bishop Muirhead who had previously built St Nicholas' Chapel (to the south of Provands Lordship) in 1456, along with St Nicholas' Hospital which adjoined it.  Bishop Muirhead, as Bishop of Glasgow was appointed to the Council of Regency which ruled Scotland until James III was old enough to take over.  James III was only 9 years old when James II died. Bishop Muirhead was sent as ambassador to arrange the marriage of young James to Margaret, princess of Denmark, which took place in 1469.  At the same time, he helped negotiate the cession of the Orkney and Shetland Islands from Norway to Scotland. More info:  https://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSA05012&t=2 Provand's Lordship Photo: J.Wilson Can also see some of this and further Norwegian links on the Scottish diaspora tapestry: http://www.scottishdiasporatapestry.org/norway   Previous Back to Route Next

The University was founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, and is Glasgow's second-oldest university. It was founded through the will of John Anderson, professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow, who left the majority of his will, along with specific instructions to create a place of "Useful Learning", specialising in practical subjects "for the good of mankind and the improvement of science".  In 1828, the institution was renamed Anderson's University but this name was changed in 1887 as there was no legal authority to use the title "University".  It was called at that time the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College, then becoming the Royal Technical College in 1912 and then the Royal College of Science and Technology in 1956. The University's City Centre campus is now named after its founder John Anderson. It received its royal charter in 1964 as the first technological university in the United Kingdom. The Uni...

City of Glasgow College established relationships with partners across the European Union and participated in many EU Funded projects since 1994. Links were forged with many EU member states including: Finland, Latvia, Germany, France, Netherlands, Slovenia, Malta, Ireland, Spain, and Iceland  City of Glasgow Faculty of Nautical studies- took part in a 3 year project to investigate innovative educational ideas around decision making partnering up with 6 other nautical colleges including IMT Atlantique, France and the French Naval Academy  https://www.imt-atlantique.fr/sites/default/files/Dahoy/Dahoy-brochure-V.finale.pdf The new campus on Cathedral Street: Photos: J.Wilson And the Campus on the River Clyde near Glasgow Green with lifeboat training into the Clyde! (on Eurowalk 1 route !):   Previous Back to Route Next

The Italian Centre - Images by J Wilson The Italian Centre opened in 1991. The design is based on an Italian-style palazzo, with cafes and fashion boutiques around a central courtyard. Many famous brands have been located here, including Versace Collections (the UK's first Versace store) and Emporio Armani. However although these brands are no longer situated here, it is still home to some high class fashion boutiques and eating places.  There are various statues ... the John Street Mercury statue (representing finance ..) and the Italia statue on the rooftop (pictured). https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/lifestyle/13273920.eye-spy-glasgow-the-messenger-of-the-gods-in-glasgows-italian-centre/  which were designed by architect Alexander Stoddart -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Stoddart   Also Artist Shona Kinloch has two statues in the courtyard "Thinking of Bella" - of a man and a dog both gazing upwards.  http://www.glasgowsculpture.com/pg_biography.php...

Chopin played a concert in 1848 in the Merchants' Hall - which at that time was situated in the building later known as the Sheriff Court on the corner of Hutcheson and Ingram streets.  The date was September 27, and anyone who was anybody was there. The cream of west of Scotland society and the aristocracy turned out for the occasion, including the Duchess of Argyll, countless countesses, lords, ladies, and baronesses. The occasion was extremely well-documented. Diarists, commentators, and all the papers were there. The Herald recorded the nineteenth-century equivalent of a city-centre traffic jam as the ''large concourse of carriages began to draw up in Hutcheson Street and the streets adjoining''  The matinée musicale given by Chopin on the 27th of September 1848 in the Merchants? Hall, Glasgow, attracted many a music-lover. The organizer of the concert - John Muir Wood - was told that "so many private carriages had never been seen at any concert in the town...

Fascinating history of the oldest building in Glasgow that is still used for its original purpose. Was the home of the various Guilds and Trades such as milliners, bakers, skinners, etc and included the Cordiners, the leather workers, named after Cordoba in Spain where the finest leathers were produced. https://www.tradeshouselibrary.org/uploads/4/7/7/2/47723681/trades_hall_paintings.pdf   Previous Back to Route Next

Note :   Jenny Lind features on the  Euro Driving Tour  and this Eurowalk 1 Route The area known as Jenny Lind in the South of Glasgow seems a strange place and way to commemorate the famous 19th-century Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind (1820-1887), known as the Swedish Nightingale (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Lind) . It would seem that at some point she had put up in an inn (or farmhouse) in the area which changed its name in honour of the occasion. See https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/17330363.jenny-lind-glasgow-area-named-greatest-showman-star/ .  The area is part of the Stirling Maxwell estate, so one cannot help wondering if there is some link between this great artist and the wealthy family, as there was for Chopin. Jenny Lind’s presence on the Glasgow cultural scene, however, is better documented. The following advertisement is found in the  Glasgow Herald  on 29 September 1848 (alongside reports of Chopin’s visits, and concern ...

Bucks Head Building One of many interesting buildings built/designed by Alexander "Greek" Thomson in 1862-1863, this is the first building where he used  elevated iron columns within his neo-classical designs. Today, it is still a major city landmark. The building was renovated in 2003 and today contains a Caffe Nerro.  This building was the only time that "Greek" Thomson used a combination of elevated iron columns with a trabeated façade. The external supports are apparently largely structural rather than ornamental. The deer sculpture on the top of the current building was carved by well known Glasgow sculptor John Mossman. The building replaced a popular hotel which had been on the site since the 1750s, the Bucks Head Hotel:  https://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSA03551 . The hotel had originally been built as the home of Provost John Murdoch (1709 - 1776), a leading Glasgow merchant and Provost three times. Alexander "Greek" Thomson designed ...

Magnus Magnusson, born in Iceland in 1929 and of Mastermind and BBC fame, was Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University from 2002 - 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3561915.stm and https://www.gcu.ac.uk/theuniversity/chancellor/previouschancellors/ Magnus's daughter Sally Magnusson set up the Charity Playlist for Life, to help create musical memories for people with dementia - read more here about this:  https://www.playlistforlife.org.uk/our-history/ Glasgow Caledonian University also has taken part in the Erasmus+ scheme and the European Project Term.  Photo : J. Wilson Map Reference: Eurowalk 1: Cathedral and Necropolis to Bucks Head Building

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This magnificent building was modeled on the Doge's Palace in Venice. Built in 1892 and features orange, yellow, and blue bricks. The story goes that T empleton wanted to build a factory to make his carpets. However, he was always refused planning permission. In exasperation, he asked his architect which he thought was the most famous building. The Doge’s Palace was the reply. "Model the factory on that" was his instruction! At one time 10% of people in Glasgow were involved in the production of carpets and textiles at the peak of the industrial revolution.  Templeton’s Carpet Factory: Historic attraction at Glasgow Green - Clyde Waterfront Heritage   You may also want to stop off for a beer as there is a brewery/pub/restaurant famously also making beer in the German style here -  WEST Brewery – Glaswegian heart. German head. (westbeer.com) . The West Brewery brews its beer according to the German Purity Law of 1516, so can only be brewed using four ingredients: wate...

Glasgow Green has a fascinating social and political history that is summarised in this excellent leaflet from Glasgow City Council:  https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=31478&p=0 The Peoples Palace has exhibitions of the social and political history and has the wonderful winter gardens glasshouse. The glasshouse apparently is designed to resemble the upturned hull of Nelson's ship. Some Jacobite History: In January 1746, Prince Charles Edward Stuart reviewed his army at Glasgow Green on their return from their failed mission to England:  TheGlasgowStory: 1560 to 1770s: Learning and Beliefs: Jacobites   and  TheGlasgowStory: Bonnie Prince Charlie . And here is an unusual link with Liechtenstein and the Jacobite lineage:   The 'rightful heir' to the Scottish throne | UK | News | Express.co.uk In the shadow of the People's Palace Museum, the Irish and Highland Famine memorial is a tribute to the large number of Irish people, who were forced t...

Location of the ascent of a historic balloon flight by Italian Vincenzo Lunardi in 1785: Lots more information in this reference: https://kddandco.com/2020/08/08/lunardi-in-campsie/ Map Reference: Eurowalk 2 - Along the Clyde

Adjacent to St Andrews Roman Catholic Cathedral, on Clyde Street. The centrepiece is a memorial to the Arandora Star tragegy from WW2 when the liner, the Arandora Star, which was sunk while carrying mainly Scots-Italian civilians who had been rounded up from their homes, shops and cafes as “enemy aliens” in 1940.   http://www.italianscotland.com/index.php/cloister-garden Photo: J.Wilson There is a Panel to commemorate the Arandora Star tragedy on the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry:  http://www.scottishdiasporatapestry.org/barga-panel4 Map Reference: Eurowalk 2 : Along the Clyde

Photo thanks to B.Porr Opened in 1840 and designed by an Irish born customs offical John Taylor, who worked for the customs. Still to be expanded and photograph needed!

La Pasionaria” (“The Passion Flower”) sculpture by Dan Dooley (http://www.glasgowsculpture.com/) La Pasionaria was Dolores Ibárruri, a Spanish Republican politician, communist, and prominent anti-fascist propagandist during the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939.  Her phrase "Better to Die on your feet than live forever on your knees" is carved on the plaque. La Pasionaria served as inspiration for sculptor Arthur Dooley in 1974, when various trade unions and Labour movement supporters funded the memorial. It is a memorial to British citizens who served in the brigades during the war. Photo: J. Wilson On the plinth it says: " 2,100 VOLUNTEERS WENT FROM BRITAIN; 534 WERE KILLED, 65 OF WHOM CAME FROM GLASGOW".  These volunteers  from across Europe went to Spain to join the brigades and help in the fight against a fascist insurgency, all sadly in vain as the fascists rose to power under the leadership of Francisco Franco. An interesting blog about some of this ...

Bridge Pillar Public Art work by Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925 – 2006) on pillars remaining from the now disused Caledonian Railway bridge.  Ian Hamilton Finlay was a poet, writer, visual artist and gardener who is internationally recognised for his work in all these areas.  Photo: J. Wilson The bridge pillars have a carved excerpt from Plato's Republic "All Greatness Stands Firm in the Storm" in English and Greek. It is thought to maybe be a comment on the decline of the Empire or industrial heritage maybe? The sculptor had won a commission from the New Works for Different Places; Four Cities Project organised by Television South West Arts. Interesting snippet - the French Communist Party presented Ian Hamilton Finlay with a bust of Saint Just -read more here  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Hamilton_Finlay Discussion on the translation here:  https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1658814 https://www.citycentrecontemporaryarttrail.co.uk/artworks/ArtWorkabout/2 Map Re...

This spectacular building is the domed Clyde Navigation Trust Building (now The Clydeport Building). The Trust, established by Act of Parliament in 1858, brought city fathers, shipbuilders, merchants and industrialists together to develop and manage the River Clyde and its trade. http://www.clydewaterfront.com/clyde-heritage/the-broomielaw/clyde-navigation-trust    The building was designed by Glasgow architect J. J. Burnet (1882-86 and extended in 1905-8 in an Italianate Baroque style.  Carvings by sculptor John Mossman featuring Father Clyde Enthroned and figures of the Sea Gods Poseidon and Amphitrite with Seahorses and their son Triton, and the Greek Goddess.of harvest and agriculture, Demeter leading a Bull.  There are also statues of Thomas Telford, James Watt and Henry Bell, by Albert Hodge (1908) Photo: J. Wilson Map Reference: Eurowalk 2 : Along the Clyde

Finnieston Crane The Titan Crane at Finnieston (adjacent to the SEC complex)  is one of four Titan cranes which have been preserved on the Clyde out of the numerous cranes which used to be seen on the Clyde. The Titans were the biggest!  The Finnieston crane was used to load newly produced railway engines onto ships for shipping worldwide. If you look further down the river, you will see another Titan crane which was situated at the Barclay, Curle & Co.  Clydeholm Yard at Whiteinch.   In 1912, Barclay, Curle & Co. built a ship called the Jutlandia ,  for the East Asiatic Company, a Danish business with headquarters in Copenhagen. Two sister ships were built in Denmark at the same time (the first was Selandia). These three were the first large sea-going ships in the world to have diesel engines. Rudolf Diesel , a German, patented his engine in 1892. Almost immediately the Glasgow shipbuilders negotiated a licence and by 1914 had the first works ...

Glasgow's Riverside Museum was named European Museum of the Year (EMYA) 2013 at a ceremony in Belgium.  The prestigious award is presented to museums which have been built or extensively refurbished within the previous three years. ( https://europeanforum.museum/winners/emya/ ) The £74m Riverside Museum, on the banks of the River Clyde, opened in 2011 and features the city's transport, shipbuilding and engineering heritage. It was designed by award-winning architect Zaha Hadid .  The European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) was founded in 1977 under the auspices of the Council of Europe.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-22587979   The sail training ship the Glenlee which is docked here was from  1922 the sail training ship  Galatea  in the Spanish Navy. Photo: J. Wilson (2011) Map Reference: Eurowalk 2: Along the Clyde

There is an interesting Glasgow connection with Luxembourg in that the a ward winning Glasgow design and motion studio Playdead won an award for creating a short film for the Luxembourg Space Agency  https://www.playdead.tv/ portfolio/space-resources/ https://www.playdead.tv/ They won the Grand Prix at the 2020 Scottish Design Awards with ‘Driving the future of Space Exploration’ film. Image Credit: ESA/Hubble, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Image Attrib: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Starsinthesky.jpg Map Reference: Eurowalk 2: Along the Clyde

Kelvinside Hillhead Parish church - modelled on Sainte Chappelle in Paris - also with a stained glass window by William Morris and by Cottier.  Photos : J.Wilson Map Reference: Eurowalk 3: West End Wander