Welcome to Dundee

The city of Dundee is located on the north shore of the Firth of Tay in the Scottish county of Angus, approximately 460 miles north of London and 21 miles north-east of Perth.

The city has a population of around 154,000. Administratively the City of Dundee covers an area of approximately 60 sq kms.

It is a vibrant city, the fourth largest in Scotland, which has greatly enhanced its appeal in recent years with some splendid urban regeneration and a renewed focus on culture and the arts. The 19th-century saw the town's first great period of prosperity as a ship-building, whaling, and jute centre and there is some fine architecture from this period. As one would expect, there are excellent shopping, leisure and entertainment, and visitor facilities. The city is also home to the famous 'The Beano' comic, produced by Dundee firm D.C.Thomson.

There was a Pictish settlement here during the Iron Age, called Alec-tum, meaning a handsome place. William the Lion granted the town a royal charter in 1191, making it a burgh. Edward I occupied the Castle in 1296, removing the charter and thereby the townspeople's right to control local government. In 1297, Edward I was removed by Williim Wallace, but the city was occupied again from 1302 to 1312. However, Robert the Bruce removed Edward, destroyed the castle, and granted the burgh a new charter in 1327. Later that century, during the Hundred Years War, Richard II burnt the town to the ground. In 1545 Dundee became a walled city, but in 1547 the town was again partly destroyed, this time by English naval bombardment. Dundee's status as a Royal Burgh was confirmed in the Great Charter of Charles I in 1641. However, the town suffered again during both the Scottish and English Civil Wars. Dundee became established as a trading and industrial centre during the 18th and 19th centuries. Flax was imported from the Baltic countries for linen production and jute; at one time there were 36 spinnning mills here. Marmalade became another famous export of the town. Dundee also prospered as a whaling port with over 2,000 ships being built between 1871 and 1881. The ship which Robert Falcon Scott took to the Antarctic , RRS Discovery, was built here in 1901; it returned here in the 1980s and is moored next to the visitor centre.

Historically the town's economy was based upon jute and whaling, but today the service industry, including tourism, is the largest sector of the local economy, employing around 68% of all workers.

David, 8th Earl of Huntingdon and brother of William the Lion, is said to have named the town Donum Dei ('God's gift') upon narrowly escaping death during his return from the Crusades. However, this story may not be accurate as the name appears to come from Dun Dèagh meaning Fort on the Tay ("Dun" is a common prefix in Scottish placenames such as Dunfermline and Dunkeld).