Marischal College is a building and former university in the centre of the city of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland. The building is owned by the University of Aberdeen and used for ceremonial events. A significant portion of the College building is leased on a long-term basis to Aberdeen City Council, providing the council with corporate office space adjacent to the city's Town house, the historic seat of local government. Formerly the seat of the ancient Marischal College and University of Aberdeen founded in 1593, the building was retained by the unified University of Aberdeen following its creation in 1860 by the merger of Marischal College and King's College, a university founded in 1495 in Old Aberdeen to the north of the modern Aberdeen city centre. The buildings of Marischal College continued to be used for general university purposes until recent times and were significantly rebuilt and expanded upon throughout this period. The construction of the modern college building began in 1835 and took its present form in the early part of the 20th century, following the demolition of previous buildings on the site. It is the second largest granite building in the world. In recent times, teaching at the university gravitated towards King's College or Foresterhill for medicine students and a new purpose for Marischal College was considered. As a consequence, a significant portion of the building is currently leased on a long-term basis to Aberdeen City Council for office space, teaching no longer taking place on the site. The university has retained the Mitchell Hall and a number of other significant parts of the building, in addition to the Marischal Museum for its own use. The building is currently undergoing extensive interior renovation to provide this office space and is currently closed to the public.