St. Machar's Cathedral

The other day I took a little stroll down to St. Machar's Cathedral, one of the oldest cathedrals in Scotland. It is less than a five-minute walk from the University, and once was the ecclesiastical center of Old Aberdeen. The location of this church has been a place of worship since AD 580, and the current building was constructed around 1520. It is still an active church today, unlike many of the other church buildings in the area (upon good advice, I am waiting to attend services there until the weather warms up a bit - it is quite cold in the sanctuary).




The twin towers of the building are built in the style of 14th century Scottish castles, and their walls are so thick that they contain spiral staircases within them. The impressive ceiling is one of the top three "heraldic ceilings" in Europe. It includes the coats-of-arms of the King of Scots, the Pope, and the Holy Roman Emperor, as well as many others.



The cathedral also boasts of extravagent stained glass windows, beautiful archways, an impressive organ, and an ancient graveyard. One of my favorite aspects, though, is that they actually welcome photography. So many cathedrals that I have been to won't allow photography inside, but the attendant at St. Machar's told me to take as many photos as I wanted. What more could I ask for?