Old Aberdeen

Old Aberdeen is part of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by the Aberdeen Corporation Act 1891 (54 & 55 Vict. c. cxxiv). It retains the status of a community council area.

The town's motto is "concordia res parvae crescunt" ("through harmony, small things increase").

Located to the north of Aberdeen city centre, Old Aberdeen was for a long time fairly isolated at the edge of the city, being followed to the north by the River Don, Seaton Park and the small Brig o' Balgownie hamlet. Since the 1960s, and the North Sea oil boom of the 1970s, however, housing development has surrounded the area, in particular with the nearby Tillydrone development.

Old Aberdeen was an important political, ecclesiastical and cultural centre since the Late Middle Ages. It was distinct from the more commercial New Aberdeen and they remained separate cities until 1891. In the 1630s the Covenanters challenged the Doctors of Aberdeen by holding a meeting in Muchalls Castle and responding to certain letters issued by the doctors, thus setting the stage for the first battle of the Bishops' Wars, when William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal and the Marquess of Montrose led a Covenanter army of 9,000 men over the Causey Mounth to attack forces at the Bridge of Dee, effectively gaining control of Old Aberdeen.

The central part of the old town is a conservation area rich in historical buildings, some dating to the Middle Ages, and many vernacular buildings of the 17th-early 19th centuries built in the locally ubiquitous grey granite. A notable feature of the later buildings is the early use of hand-made bricks to build up gables, top garden walls, etc.; this use of brick being rare elsewhere in Scotland before the late 19th century. A number of the streets remain paved with stone setts. There are also several university buildings from the late 20th century.

Old Aberdeen is effectively the main campus of the University of Aberdeen. There are also residential and commercial properties, but many of these are owned by the university or owned by the staff and students of the university. Additionally the area includes a small police station, a pub, a bakery, and until recently its own Post Office. To the north of the university lies St Machar's Cathedral, whose medieval ecclesiastical buildings formed the original Old Aberdeen before the University arrived in 1495.

Major historic buildings in Old Aberdeen include: the late 15th century King's College Chapel, one of two surviving Scottish medieval churches with open "crown" spires, and which has the largest surviving collection of medieval woodcarving in any Scottish building; St Machar's Cathedral itself; the recently restored Old Town House (early 18th century); and the Brig o' Balgownie (14th century), now pedestrianised, and which is a contender for the title of Scotland's oldest surviving bridge.

Old Aberdeen is now fully incorporated into the Aberdeen City council area, with its local authority as Aberdeen City Council. Old Aberdeen remains a community council area within the city. For elections to Aberdeen City Council, Old Aberdeen forms part of the 'Tillydrone/ Seaton/Old Aberdeen' electoral ward, which elects three councillors. These are currently Jim Noble, Alex McLellan (both SNP), and Ross Grant (Labour)