Europe
Bulgaria & Scotland
Bulgarians started coming to Scotland in 2014, after gaining the right to work and study in the UK as EU nationals. At the Bulgarian school in Edinburgh, children learn language, literature, history and geography of their ancestral country, and take part in Bulgarian folk dance and song classes. There is also a dynamic Bulgarian dance group at the University of Glasgow. One of the better-known local Bulgarians, artist Aleksander Buzilov, moved to Scotland to work on a fruit farm. He fell in love with Dundee and captured his feelings in a series of paintings.
Kosovo & Scotland
The 1998-99 war in the Balkans forced Albanian Kosovars to flee as their lives were in danger due to ethnic cleansing. Scotland offered them safety within the biggest ever refugee settlement programme in our country. Evacuated Kosovars settled in Springburn, Paisley, and North Berwick. Soon after arrival, they set up initiatives such as a dance group and a football team. Many of these refugees returned to Kosovo after the war ended. Others remained here and still work in our education and charity sectors, among others.
Poland & Scotland
Did you know that Bonnie Prince Charlie was half-Polish and 30,000 Scots lived in Poland in the 17th century? During World War II, Polish soldiers guarded the Scottish coast against Nazi invasion, and some of them settled locally. Today, around 60,000 Poles reside here. Signs of Polish presence in Scotland include many grocery shops, restaurants, and arts and culture organisations. Have you seen the Great Polish Map of Scotland in the Scottish Borders or the statue of the beloved Wojtek the Bear in Edinburgh?
Romania & Scotland
Although Romania joined the EU in 2007, it wasn’t until seven years later that its citizens were given the right to work in the UK and some moved here. There are around 12,000 Romanians living in Scotland nowadays. A Romanian grocery shop on Glasgow’s Victoria Road is known for marking various holidays with flamboyant decorations, including colourful lights, plushies, and even bringing in real ponies that stop the crowds. Romania and Scotland are also linked by their shared patron saint, St Andrew.
Slovakia & Scotland
Slovakia and Scotland share mountainous landscapes dotted with castles, folk music with breathtaking wind instruments, and populations of 5.5 million. The origins of modern Slovakia can be linked to a Scottish political activist and historian, R. W. Seton-Watson. His work contributed to Czechoslovakia breaking out from the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I. This later helped pave the way for Slovakia as we know it.
Today, around 2500 Slovak people live in Scotland, including many Roma. Most of them moved here after Slovakia joined the EU in 2004. They work in beauty, music, community development, manufacturing, and other fields.
Spain & Scotland
Did you know that in the late 1890s, the Escoces Football Club was formed in Barcelona by textile workers from Ayrshire? Later, many of the club's players went on to play for FC Barcelona. A Glasgow-born forward, George Pattullo, scored 41 goals for Barcelona in just 20 matches during the 1910-11 season. Nowadays, many Spanish people live in Scotland, with Edinburgh being home to around 30.000 of them. Spanish is one of the key languages taught at Scottish schools, many local restaurants serve Spanish tapas, and several planes a day take Scots to sunny destinations in Spain.
Ukraine & Scotland
Migration between Ukraine and Scotland is centuries old. While 18th-century Ukrainian students came to Edinburgh to study medicine, the Scottish engineer Charles Gascoigne founded the industrial city of Luhansk. Many Ukrainian refugees fled to Scotland during the Second World War, and more recently, since February 2022, due to the ongoing war.
Today, there are several Ukrainian arts and culture groups in Scotland. Scottish audiences can enjoy Ukrainian choral singing and contemporary art in local venues. On Calton Hill in Edinburgh, there is a plaque commemorating Volodymyr the Great, a mediaeval king of Ukraine.