Portal:Edinburgh
The Edinburgh Portal
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Edinburgh castle and Balmoral Hotel clock tower at night.
Edinburgh panorama from Calton Hill, early evening .
View across Calton Hill monuments to Firth of Forth and Fife beyond.
Old town Skyline.
Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags, part of Holyrood Park.
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Edinburgh (/ˈɛdɪnbərə/ (
listen); Scots: Edinburgh; Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Èideann [ˌt̪un ˈeːtʲən̪ˠ]) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth. Edinburgh is Scotland's second-most populous city and the seventh-most populous city in the United Kingdom.
Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament and the highest courts in Scotland. The city's Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. The city has long been a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scots law, literature, philosophy, the sciences and engineering. It is the second-largest financial centre in the United Kingdom, and the city's historical and cultural attractions have made it the UK's second-most visited tourist destination attracting 4.9 million visits, including 2.4 million from overseas in 2018.
Edinburgh's official population estimates are 506,520 (mid-2016) for the Edinburgh locality, 518,500 (mid-2019) for the City of Edinburgh council area, and 1,339,380 (2014) for the wider city region. Edinburgh lies at the heart of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland city region comprising East Lothian, Edinburgh, Fife, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian. (Full article...)
Selected location article
There have been several town walls around Edinburgh, Scotland, since the 12th century. Some form of wall probably existed from the foundation of the royal burgh in around 1125, though the first building is recorded in the mid-15th century, when the King's Wall was constructed. In the 16th century the more extensive Flodden Wall was erected, following the Scots' defeat at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. This was extended by the Telfer Wall in the early 17th century. The walls had a number of gates, known as ports, the most important being the Netherbow Port, which stood halfway down the Royal Mile. This gave access from the Canongate which was, at that time, a separate burgh.
The walls never proved very successful as defensive structures, and were easily breached on more than one occasion. They served more as a means of controlling trade and taxing goods, and as a deterrent to smugglers. By the mid 18th century, the walls had outlived both their defensive and trade purposes, and demolition of sections of the wall began. The Netherbow Port was pulled down in 1764, and demolition continued into the 19th century. Today, a number of sections of the three successive walls survive, although none of the ports remain. (Full article...)
Selected images
The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland in Edinburgh Castle
David Hume, Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist born in Edinburgh in 1711
The BT building in Edinburgh Park
The Castle Rock
The ruins of Holyrood Abbey
The National Monument of Scotland (right) and Nelson Monument (left)
Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland
View looking west along George Street
The Dean Gallery, part of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Scottish baronial-style turrets on Victorian tenements in St. Mary's Street
View over Edinburgh
Ratho Park Golf Club
Edinburgh (from Salisbury Crags) by William Crozier, a painter associated with The Edinburgh School
The Princes Street Gardens, the best known park in Edinburgh
The High Street, part of the Royal Mile
City Observatory, the Gothic Tower
St Giles' Cathedral, the principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh
Jenners Department Store, the oldest department store in Scotland
Two Edinburgh Trams seen at the West End - Princes Street stop
Charlotte Square, a garden square in the New Town
Queensferry Crossing road bridge
Fountain at Holyrood Palace
The Governor's House
Sir Walter Scott
Architecture in Edinburgh
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Selected transportation article
The Union Canal, full name the Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal, is a canal in Scotland, running from Falkirk to Edinburgh, constructed to bring minerals, especially coal, to the capital. It was opened in 1822 and was initially successful, but the construction of railways, particularly the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, which opened in 1842, diminished its value as a transport medium. It fell into slow commercial decline and was closed to commercial traffic in 1933. It was officially closed in 1965. The canal is listed as three individual scheduled monuments by Historic Scotland according to the three former counties, Midlothian, West Lothian and Stirlingshire, through which it flows.
It has benefited from a general revival of interest in canals and, as a result of the Millennium Link, was reopened in 2001 and reconnected to the Forth and Clyde Canal in 2002 by the Falkirk Wheel. It is now in popular use for leisure purposes. (Full article...)
Selected area article
Church Hill is a street and small surrounding area in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Full article...)
Selected environment article
Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is traditionally said to have been "built on Seven Hills", in an allusion to the seven hills of Rome. While there is considerable room for debate as to which hills are included and excluded from the seven, seven possibilities are listed in an old rhyme:
- Abbey, Calton, Castle grand,
- Southward see St Leonards stand,
- St Johns and Sciennes as two are given,
- And Multrees makes Seven.
The Pentland Hills are also just to the south of the city, and their lower slopes are within the city boundary, especially around Hillend, Swanston and Balerno. Some of the hills are formed from dead volcanoes that last erupted 400 million years ago, and all show the effect of glaciation. (Full article...)
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Selected arts article
Scottish Ballet is the national ballet company of Scotland and one of the five leading ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet. Founded in 1969, the company is based in Glasgow, the resident ballet company at the Glasgow Theatre Royal and from 2009 in their purpose-built ballet centre in Tramway Arts Centre, Glasgow. (Full article...)
Selected education article
Heriot-Watt University (Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted university status by royal charter in 1966. It is the eighth-oldest higher education institute in the UK. The name Heriot-Watt was taken from Scottish inventor James Watt and Scottish philanthropist and goldsmith George Heriot.
Known for its focus on science and engineering, it is one of the 39 old universities in the UK comprising the second cluster of elite universities after Oxbridge. (Full article...)
Selected sports article
The Edinburgh Capitals were a Scottish ice hockey club, playing in the UK-wide Elite Ice Hockey League. They were based in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. The team played at the Murrayfield Ice Rink, close to Murrayfield Rugby stadium.
The team were owned by Scott Neil – who saved ice hockey in Edinburgh after the collapse of the original Murrayfield Racers and Murrayfield Royals – and local businessmen, Matthew Tailford and George Ferdinando. (Full article...)
Selected religion article
The Church of Scotland (CoS; Scots: The Scots Kirk; Scottish Gaelic: Eaglais na h-Alba), also known by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is the national Christian church in Scotland. In the 2019 Scottish Household Survey, 20% of the Scottish population reported themselves as adherents of the Church of Scotland and, as of 2018, 6% of the Scottish population are members.
The Church of Scotland traces its roots back to the beginnings of Christianity in Scotland but its identity was principally shaped by John Knox in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Roman Catholic Church and established itself as a church in the reformed tradition. The church is Calvinist Presbyterian, having no head of faith or leadership group and believing that God invited the church's adherents to worship Jesus. The annual meeting of its general assembly is chaired by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The Church of Scotland celebrates two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, as well as five other rites, such as Confirmation and Matrimony. The church adheres to the Bible and the Westminster Confession of Faith, and is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. (Full article...)
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