[Oct. 2023] Every list of things to see in Glasgow, Scotland includes the Necropolis.
From the name, I imagined it to be some sort of ancient ruin, but during the walking tour, I discovered that it was actually a mass grave.
This is a 19th century cemetery located on a small hill beyond the “Bridge of Sighs” behind Glasgow Cathedral.
According to our guide Liz, “influential merchants are sleeping there.”
The number is said to be 50,000, but the actual number is thought to be much higher, as families were sometimes buried deep down and upper parts were sold off.
We were told that you can see all of Glasgow when you go up, so we went up there after the tour.
We did see a view of the town, but the view was not at all appealing.
Even though it is Scotland, it is very different from Edinburgh and has a landscape that is more similar to Birmingham.
I also took a look at the tombstones.
All of the women’s gravestones have inscriptions such as “wife of ○○” or “daughter of ○○.”
There was no tombstone of a man with the words “husband of ○○” written on it.
It is said that the reason Glasgow’s merchants flourished in the 18th century was because of their success in trading with the New World of America using the River Clyde.
When Glasgow Cathedral nearly fell into ruin and was on the verge of being demolished, apparently it was saved through negotiations with merchants.
I don’t think there was much explanation about the interior of the cathedral during the tour, but after the tour, we went inside and saw that it was a huge building with beautiful stained glass.
You will be surprised by the height of the ceiling.
It was interesting to see the carvings on the edges of the rows of benches that looked like human faces.
During our walking tour, we also passed by Strathclyde University, which is located in the middle of town.
There is a large mural on a side of the university building depicting a class scene, but when it was first painted, it was said that all the students were white men, which caused controversy.
So some were later replaced with women and black students.
There is also a wall painting of Frankenstein’s face, and the professor painted above it is a person who achieved great results in cadaver dissection.
Mary Shelley is said to have taken inspiration from this professor to create Frankenstein.
By the way, there are three universities in Glasgow, with a student population of 11,000.
It was said that students come from 140 countries.
