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Places of Scottish Interest - Edinburgh

Edinburgh's Home Page in America

See the Seal of Edinburgh for more information about design of the city's arms.  Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland - the location of the Scottish Parliament.  Edinburgh was known in Scottish legend and literature as Dunedin (Dun Eideann in Scots Gaelic).  See also Edinburgh's Royal Mile, probably the city's oldest street.  More photos of Edinburgh and facts about the Reformation in Scotland may be found at Reformation Scotland -- Edinburgh Castle and Reformation Scotland -- More Photos of Edinburgh Castle.  Off the Normal Tourist Path

There is a photographic tour of St. Mary's Cathedral, the repository of relics of St Andrew, Scotland's patron saint.  One relic of St Andrew came to the Cathedral in 1879 and the other was given by Pope Paul VI in 1969.  (More about St. Andrew at:
  History of St. Mary's Cathedral, and
  The Scotsman - St. Andrew - Patron Saint of Scotland

EdinPhoto is a Web site with a lot of photographs of Edinburgh:  The History of Photography in Edinburgh;  History of Edinburgh;  Photos of Edinburgh;  Edinburgh Today;  Postcards;  Frequently Asked Questions;  and more.

The Edinburgh Tattoo:  The first Edinburgh Tattoo took place in 1950. There were eight items in the programme. ... More than 12 million people have attended the Tattoo. The annual audience is around 217,000. ... Around 100 million people see the Tattoo each year on international television. ... Approximately 70 per cent of each audience is from outwith Scotland.  Half of these are from overseas.

High Street, Edinburgh - 1997

The History of Photography in Edinburgh has many intersting images of the city.  Since the earliest times, the bustling High Street has been the precinct of the legislator, the administrator and the judiciary.  Government in all its forms, to say nothing of trade and commerce, was concentrated in this small area.  This was the administrative and social nucleus of the ancient burgh. All the levers of power were to be found here, including the influential voice of the Church.  See other photos of Edinburgh by Peter Stubbs.

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Edinburgh Castle - 1997

Here is a view of Edinburgh Castle from Princes Street. See also a History of Edinburgh.

There seems to be some dispute about which city was the capital city of Scotland before it was Edinburgh. One's initial reaction is to name Scone because the ancient kings were crowned there. A second reaction is that each king had his own castle and court. Perhaps Edinburgh was the real first capital of an internationally recognized entity known as Scotland. Even the Silicon Glen FAQ and the Guide to Scotland do not have any remarks about the history of Scotland's capital.

It is interesting that several localities advertise themselves on-line as Scotland's ancient capital: Dunfermline, Dunkeld (religioous capital), Stirling, and perth. Just search on the term "Scotland's ancient capital" and you will be overwhelmed!

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Edinburgh Castle - 1997

Another view of Edinburgh Castle from Princes Street

A search on the term "Edinburgh Castle" rsdults in a lot of information about the castle and its history. The following links provide an introduction:

Edinburgh Castle The first two paragraphs add to the early history of the castle.

Edinburgh Castle, Scotland provides more information about the early years and the kings.

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Edinburgh Castle - 1997

A view of the Edinburgh Castle from the Camera Obscura In the High Street

For more history, search also on the following topics:
  James V's personal reign begins
  Battle of Solway Moss
  Mary, Queen of Scots
  Murder of Cardinal Beaton
  Mary marries Francis II of France
  Treaty of Edinburgh
  The return of Mary
  Mary marries Henry Darnley
  Darnley murdered
  Abdication of Mary
  James VI
  Mary flees to England
  Murder of regent Moray
  Ruthven Raid
  Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England

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Edinburgh Castle - 1997

A view of the inside of Edinburgh Castle

How far above sea level is Edinburgh Castle? Some detailed information on the Web about the physical characteristics of the castle are at the following sites:

Official Guide to Edinburgh Castle:  View the castle from above with a flyover 3D tour.  Learn the castle's history.  Visit the National War Museum of Scotland.

The Royal Scots Regimental Museum.

At the castle is the "Cannonball House" where a cannonball was carefully placed by engineers to mark the precise height above sea-level of the fresh springs at Comiston, in the hills to the south, which provided Edinburgh with its first piped supply of fresh water, in about 1621.

There are vaults underneath the city. See Edinburgh Vaults and pictures at Halloween.

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Central Edinburgh Meeting House

The Society of Friends (Quaker) Meeting House was built originally as a chapel for the United Original Secession Church (Paterson & Shiells, 1865.)  When the seceders returned to the Kirk, it became in 1960 'Kirk House', headquarters of the Edinburgh Battalion of the Boys' Brigade.  It was bought by the Religious Society of Friends in 1987, who converted it for their use.  It is now home to a thriving Quaker Meeting, is used as a meeting place and conference centre by a wide variety of organisations and managed as a Festival Fringe venue during August.

The house is at 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2JL and is accessed from the top of Lawnmarket or from the George IV Bridge/Victoria Street.

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Memorial to US Civil War

On Calton Hill in Edinburgh stands a Memorial to the US Civil War, the Emancipation Monument, erected in 1893, in the form of a statue of a freed slave paying homage to US President Abraham Lincoln.  This was the first monument to an American president in the United Kingdom and the only one outside the US that commemorates those who fought in the American War between the States, 1861-1865.  The monument commemorates the soldiers of Scottish descent who lost their lives in that war.  The inscription on the lower right of the monument is a quote from President Lincoln:  To preserve the jewel of liberty in the framework of freedom.

The American Civil War Roundtable UK has an article, Edinburgh's Civil War Memorial, discussing the memorial and its history. See also this most strikingly colorful photo of the memorial.

Among the other sights on Calton Hill are the replica of the Parthenon and the unfinished memorial to the Scottish servicemen who died in the Napoleanic Wars.  

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