Glasgow is the largest and most populous county in Scotland and lies in the Central Region. The population of Glasgow is now 600,000 however this figure was much higher in past times before many people were relocated to new towns such as Cumbernauld and East Kilbride. At one point during the 19th century Glasgow was the fourth largest city in Europe after London, Paris and Berlin; Glasgow was also known as the ‘second city of the empire’ due to its financial and trading importance.

Glasgow is the third largest economy in the UK after London and Edinburgh with over 12,000 companies employing over 410,000 people. Major industries in present day Glasgow include: finance, biotechnology, electronics, software development and various service industries. Traditional heavy industries such as ship building, transportation of coal and other goods and metal working have been gradually replaced over the years through investment by The Scottish Executive which is based in the centre of Glasgow.

Glasgow University is one of the longest established and well respected educational institutions and was founded in 1451 and has its main buildings in the West part of the city in buildings designed in the Gothic Revival style by Sir George Gilbert Scott. Other significant educators are: the Glasgow School of Art, the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of West Scotland.

Glasgow is one of the only cities in the UK with a fully operation underground train system, alongside Birmingham and London. There is one line starting from the South of the city to the West, another line taking in the East of the city were never completed. Glasgow is home to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum which is second only to Edinburgh Castle in attracting tourists with millions coming each year to see dinosaurs, Egyptian remains, Roman relics and Salvador Dali’s world famous ‘Christ of St John of the Cross’.

Famous Glaswegians include artist Robert Rennie Macintosh, inventor of the TV set John Logie Baird, Prime Minster Gordon Brown, chemist Joseph Lister, writer Robert Louis Stevenson, industrialist James Watt and architect Alexander ‘Greek’ Thompson.