Scottish Architecture (World of Art)

Scotland is unique among smaller European countries in the distinctiveness and richness of its architectural heritage, dominated from the earliest times by monumental stone buildings. Prehistoric tombs and houses, early Christian, Romanesque, and Gothic churches, medieval and Renaissance castles and palaces were followed from the seventeenth century onward, under the stimulus of burgeoning wealth and power, by buildings reflecting a dazzling range of stylistic movements and forceful designers, including world-renowned names such as Robert Adam, Alexander Thomson, and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. When artistic reaction came in the twentieth century, Scotland again saw distinctive developments and personalities.