Glasgow Vacations And Charles Rennie Mackintosh
October 14th, 2009 by Karl FraserScotland is an incredibly popular place to visit and one of the most exciting cities to visit is Glasgow. Glasgow has a vast array of visitor attractions covering an enormous diversity in tastes. While there are many modern attractions many people visit the city to take in the sights of the city's spectacular architecture including the many works of the famous Art Nouveau architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was born in Glasgow in 1868. He worked as an architect from the age of 16 and in 1890 he was a winner of the Alexander Thomson Travelling Studentship which allowed him to take a tour of Italy. After he returned, in 1893, he gained his first big project, the Glasgow Herald Building.
Around Glasgow you will see many Charles Rennie Mackintosh buildings and of special note is the breathtaking Glasgow School of Art which is considered his very finest work. Another couple of places well worth visiting are the House for an Art Lover and Hill House (in Helensburgh). Two other places associated with Mackintosh are the lighthouse and Queens Cross Church which I look at in more detail below.
The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse is actually the Glasgow Herald Building mentioned above. It is Scotland's Centre for Architecture, Design and the City, and features an ever changing programme of superb exhibitions and events. The Mackintosh Centre is found here and where you will find a wealth of information on the life and works of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. From the Mackintosh Tower it is possible to get the finest views across the city of Glasgow, to get there you need to go to the third floor and then climb a helical staircase but it is well worth the effort I assure you. However, if you do not fancy expending that sort of energy you could always take the lift to the viewing platform on the sixth floor instead.
Queens Cross Church
Glasgow's Queens Cross Church, though no longer an active church, is famous for being the only church ever designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh that was completed. Many people know it as the Mackintosh church and it first came into use in 1899 and was decommissioned in the 1970's. It is now open to the public and home to the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society.
If you are visiting Glasgow to take in the architectural works of Mackintosh you should not miss the opportunity of viewing some of the other fine buildings found across the city. Probably the most important building is the Glasgow Cathedral, the only medieval cathedral to survive complete during the destruction of the Scottish Reformation. One of the more recent elements are the stained glass windows which are the finest example of 20th century stained glass in Scotland.
