Glasgow is one of the most exciting cities in Scotland. This incredibly diverse city offers so many different things to see and do that virtually any visitor will find that there is simply too much to take in over a couple of days. Glasgow vacations are becoming incredibly popular and many flock to the city to enjoy the architecture of the city, especially that which is connected with the famous Scottish architect and designer, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Born in 1868, in Glasgow, Charles Rennie Mackintosh worked as an apprentice architect from the age of 16. He won the Alexander Thomson Travelling Studentship in 1890 and used the prize money to tour Italy. Upon his return, in 1893, he started the Glasgow Herald Building, his first grand project.

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 Glasgow Herald Building mentioned above is now a fantastic visitor attraction called the Lighthouse. Featuring six floors containing various temporary and permanent exhibitions it is Scotland’s Centre for Architecture, Design and the City. Within the building you will find the excellent Mackintosh Centre and few can resist the views available from the Mackintosh Tower. If you can not manage the helical staircase a lift is available which takes you to a modern viewing platform up on the sixth floor.

Queens Cross Church

The Queens Cross Church is the only church, ever designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, to be completed. In fact this church, also known as The Mackintosh church, is the only church he designed in Scotland. The church is located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow. In 1896, the Free Church of St Matthew, Glasgow, commissioned the new church and hall to be built. The memorial stone was laid on 23rd June 1898, and the church held it’s first service on 10th September 1899. When the church was eventually decommissioned, it became home to the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society. The society now own and operate the church as a tourist attraction.

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.