Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Doric column with Sir Walter Scott at the top. It was the first such monument built
in the author's honor, about 5 years after his death.
Gallery of Modern Art
GOMA, as it is better known, is housed in the former
Royal Exchange in Royal Exchange Square, where Ingram Street meets Queen
Street. The building—originally surrounded by farmland—was built as a mansion
for an 18th-century tobacco magnate. Later it was expanded by one of the city's busy
19th-century architects, David Hamilton, who added a dramatic portico to the front.
Now the pile and its square are at the heart of the city, near George Square and
Buchanan Street. The galleries on different floors are slightly pretentiously named
after earth, fire, air, and water. The permanent collection has works by Euan Uglow,
Stanley Spencer, and John Bellany, as well as art from the “new Glasgow boys” who
emerged in the 1980s, such as Peter Howson, Ken Currie, and the late Steven
Campbell. Before controversially becoming a museum in the mid-1990s, the pile
was used as a public library and recently the basement was converted to that func-
tion again.
Royal Exchange Sq., Queen St.
&
0141/287-3050.
www.glasgowmuseums.com. Free admission. Mon-
Wed and Sat 10am-5pm; Thurs 10am-8pm; Fri and Sun 11am-5pm. Underground: Buchanan St. Bus: 12,
18, 40, 62, or 66.
Glasgow Cathedral
Also known as the Cathedral of St. Kentigern or St.
Mungo's, Glasgow Cathedral dates to the 13th century. The edifice is mainland
Scotland's only complete medieval cathedral—the most important ecclesiastical
building of that era in the entire country. Unlike other cathedrals across Scotland,
this one survived the Reformation practically intact, although 16th-century protes-
tant zeal did purge it of all Roman Catholic relics (as well as destroying plenty of
historical documents). Later, misguided architectural “restoration” led to the demo-
lition of its western towers, forever altering the Cathedral's appearance.
The lower church is where Gothic design reigns, with an array of pointed arches
and piers. The Laigh Kirk (lower church), whose vaulted crypt is said to be one of
the finest in Europe, also holds St. Mungo's tomb. Mungo's death in 612 was
recorded, but the annals of his life date only to the 12th century. Other highlights of
the interior include the Blackadder aisle and the 15th-century nave with a stone
screen (unique in Scotland) showing the seven deadly sins.
For one of the best views of the Cathedral (and the city, too, for that matter), cross
the ravine (through which the Molendinar Burn once ran before being diverted
underground) into the
Central Necropolis
. Built on a proud hill and dominated
by a statue of John Knox, this graveyard (patterned in part on the famous Père
Lachaise cemetery in Paris) was opened in the 1830s. It is emblematic of the mixing
of ethnic groups in Glasgow, as the first person to be buried here was Jewish, as Jews
were the first to receive permission to use part of the hill for burial grounds.
Glasgow Cathedral, Cathedral Sq., Castle St.
&
0141/552-6891.
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk. Free
admission. Apr-Sept Mon-Sat 9:30am-6pm, Sun 1-5pm; Oct-Mar Mon-Sat 9:30am-4pm, Sun 1-4pm.
Sun morning service at 11am. Train: High St. Bus: 11, 36, 37, 38, 42, or 89.
Glasgow School of Art
Architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh's global
reputation rests in large part on this magnificent building on Garnethill above
Sauchiehall Street, a highlight of the Mackintosh trail that legions of his fans from
across the world follow through the city. Completed in two stages (1899 and 1909),
the building offers a mix of ideas promoted by the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau
