Edinburgh

City of Edinburgh
Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Èideann
Scots: Edinburgh, Embra, Embro, Edinburrie
Auld Reekie, Athens of the North
Princes Street, Edinburgh.
City of Edinburgh shown within Scotland
Area[1]	100 sq mi (259 km²)
Population	468,070 (30 June 2007)
Metropolitan	1,250,000
OS grid reference	NT275735
- London	332 miles (535 km) SSE
Council area	City of Edinburgh
Lieutenancy area	Edinburgh
Constituent country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	EDINBURGH
Postcode district	EH1-EH13; EH14 (part); EH15-EH17
Dialling code	0131
Police
Fire
Ambulance	Scottish
European Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Edinburgh South
	Edinburgh West
	Edinburgh South West
	Edinburgh North and Leith Edinburgh East
Scottish Parliament	Edinburgh North and Leith
	Edinburgh Central
	Edinburgh East and Musselburgh Edinburgh Pentlands Edinburgh South Edinburgh West Lothians
List of places: UK • Scotland

Edinburgh ((listen), pronounced /ˈɛdɪnb(ə)rə/; Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Èideann) is the capital city of Scotland. It is the seventh largest city in the United Kingdom and the second largest Scottish city after Glasgow. Edinburgh is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas.

Located in the south-east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of the Central Belt, along the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea. Owing to its rugged setting and vast collection of Medieval and Georgian architecture, including numerous stone tenements, it is often considered one of the most picturesque cities in Europe.

It forms the City of Edinburgh council area; the city council area includes urban Edinburgh and a 30-square-mile (78 km²) rural area.

It has been capital of Scotland since 1437 (replacing Dunfermline^[2].) It is the seat of the Scottish Parliament. The city was one of the major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, earning it the nickname Athens of the North. The Old Town and New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. There are over 4,500 listed buildings within the city.^[3] In the census of 2001, Edinburgh had a total resident population of 448,625.

Edinburgh is well-known for the annual Edinburgh Festival, a collection of official and independent festivals held annually over about four weeks from early August. The number of visitors attracted to Edinburgh for the Festival is roughly equal to the settled population of the city. The most famous of these events are the Edinburgh Fringe (the largest performing arts festival in the world), the Edinburgh Comedy Festival (the largest comedy festival in the world), the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Other notable events include the Hogmanay street party (31 December), Burns Night (25 January), St. Andrew's Day (30 November), and the Beltane Fire Festival (30 April).

The city attracts 1 million visitors a year, making it the second most visited tourist destination in the United Kingdom, after London.^[4]

History

Further information: Timeline of Edinburgh history and Etymology of Edinburgh

During its prehistory in the Iron and Bronze Ages, man existed in the area around Holyrood, Craiglockhart Hill and the Pentlands, leaving traces of primitive stone settlements.^[5] At the time of its actual foundation, it was a part of the Kingdom of Northumbria, an Anglian kingdom on the east side of Great Britain, spanning from the River Humber to the Firth of Forth.^[6] The area surrounding Castle Rock, then known as "Lookout Hill" become the foundation point. ^[6] On the hill Edwin of Northumbria a powerful Christian king founded the fortress to secure the northern part of his territory against invasion.^[6] This fortress was known in the Brythonic language as Din Eidyn, which means "Edwin's fort" after the king.^{[6][7][8][9][10]} As the fortess grew, many houses were re-located towards the ridge of castlehill. A layout began to form, when householders would be given the option to be granted a "toft" or stretch of garden behind the ridge.^[11] The name eventually developed through the English language into first Edwinesburch and then into Edinburgh, the name it is known by today.^[6] After the murder of St. Oswald King of Northumbria, Edinburgh fell under the control of the Danelaw.

Hereford Mappa Mundi, featuring Edinburgh in 1300.

In the 10th century, with the collapse of the Danelaw the Scots captured the position. Then in the 12th century a small town flourished at the base of the castle known as Edinburgh, along side which another community rose up to the East around the Abbey of Holyrood, known as Holyrood. Together in the 13th century these became Royal Burghs. As a consequence of Edinburgh's earlier Anglo-Saxon rule, Edinburgh and the Border counties lay in a disputed zone between England and Scotland, England claiming all Anglo-Saxon Domains as English territory, and Scotland claiming all territory as far south as Hadrian's Wall. The result was a long series of border wars and clashes, which often left Edinburgh Castle under English control. It was not until the 15th century when Edinburgh remained for the most firmly under Scottish control, that King James IV of Scotland undertook to move the Royal Court from Stirling to Holyrood, making Edinburgh by proxy Scotland's capital.

As Edinburgh remained under Scottish Rule, with the nearby port and Royal Burgh of Leith, Edinburgh flourished both economically and culturally. In 1603, following King James VI's accession to the English and Irish Thrones, James VI instituted the first executive Parliament of Scotland which met in the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle, later finding a home in the Tolbooth, before moving to purpose-built Parliament House, Edinburgh, which is now home to the Supreme Courts of Scotland. In 1639 disputes over the planned merger, between the Presbyterian Church and the Anglican Church, and the demands by Charles I, to reunify the divided St. Giles' Cathedral, led to the Bishops Wars, which in turn led to the English Civil War, and the eventual the occupation of Edinburgh by Commonwealth forces of Oliver Cromwell. In the 1670s King Charles II commissioned the rebuilding of Holyrood Palace.

An 1802 illustration of Edinburgh from the West.

During the last Jacobite rebellion Edinburgh was occupied by Jacobite forces, after the retreat of Jacobite forces from Derby it was re-occupied by British forces under the command of the Prince William, Duke of Cumberland. Following the defeat of Jacobites there was a long period of reprisals and pacification. At this time, the Hanoverian Monarch wished to stamp his identity on Edinburgh and new developments to the North of the castle were named in honour of the King and his Family; George Street, Frederick Street, Hanover Street, Queen Street, Prince’s Street, Castle Street and with control of the ‘Rose’ of England and the ‘Thistle’ of Scotland these names were also allocated to Streets. The original plan for this build was to be constructed in the form of King James VI’s Union Flag and this shape can be detected when viewing the layout of the aforementioned streets from above.

Out of the mess left behind by the consequences of the Jacobite rebellion came a number of Scottish Intellectuals, many from Edinburgh, including Adam Smith, who felt it was time to put the history of the Clans of Scotland behind them and that this was a time for Scotland to modernise. They promoted the idea of Britishness, and led Great Britain and the British Empire into a golden age of economic and social reform and prosperity. It was during this period, that Edinburgh expanded beyond the limits of its city walls, with the creation of the New Town, following the draining of the Nor Loch, which has since become Princes Street Gardens. Edinburgh became a major cultural centre, earning it the nickname Athens of the North because of the Greco-Roman style of the New Towns' architecture, as well as the rise of the Scottish/British intellectual elite in the city, who were increasingly leading both British and European intellectual thought. Edinburgh is particularly noted for its fine architecture, especially from the Georgian period. In 17th-century Edinburgh, a defensive city wall defined the boundaries of the city. Due to the restricted land area available for development, the houses increased in height instead. Buildings of 11 stories were common, and there are records of buildings as high as 14 stories, and thus are thought to be the pioneers for the modern-day skyscraper. Many of the stone-built structures can still be seen today in the old town of Edinburgh.

In the 19th century Edinburgh like many cities industrialised, but most of this was undertaken in Leith, which meant that Edinburgh as a whole did not grow greatly in size. Glasgow soon replaced it as the largest and most prosperous city in Scotland, becoming the industrial, commercial and trade centre, while Edinburgh remained almost purely Scotland's intellectual and cultural centre, which it remains to this day as one of the greatest cultural centres of the UK.

Nicknames

The city is affectionately nicknamed Auld Reekie^[12] (Scots for Old Smoky), because when buildings were heated by coal and wood fires, chimneys would spew thick columns of smoke into the air. It has also been known as "Embra" or "Embro"^[13] as in Robert Garioch's Embro to the Ploy^[14]

Some have called Edinburgh the Athens of the North and Auld Greekie for its intellectual history, with the Old Town of Edinburgh performing a similar role to the Athenian Acropolis.^[15] Edinburgh is also known by several Latin names; Aneda or Edinensis, the latter can be seen inscribed on many educational buildings.^{[16][17][18][19][20]}

Edinburgh has also been known as Dunedin, deriving from the Scottish Gaelic, Dùn Èideann. Dunedin, New Zealand, was originally called "New Edinburgh" and is still nicknamed the "Edinburgh of the South". The Scots poets Robert Burns and Robert Fergusson sometimes used the city's Latin name, Edina. Ben Jonson described it as Britain's other eye,^[21] and Sir Walter Scott referred to the city as yon Empress of the North.^[22]

Panorama of the Old Town and Southside of Edinburgh from the Nelson monument. The term panorama was originally coined by the Irish painter Robert Barker to describe his panoramic paintings of Edinburgh.

Areas

Map of the city, showing New and Old Towns

Main article: Areas of Edinburgh

Areas of the centre

The historic centre of Edinburgh is divided into two by the broad green swath of Princes Street Gardens. To the south the view is dominated by Edinburgh Castle, perched atop the extinct volcanic crag, and the long sweep of the Old Town trailing after it along the ridge. To the north lies Princes Street and the New Town. The gardens were begun in 1816 on bogland which had once been the Nor Loch.

A 19th century view of Holyrood Palace from Calton Hill.

To the immediate west of the castle lies the financial district, housing insurance and banking buildings. Probably the most noticeable building here is the circular sandstone building that is the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

Old Town

Main article: Old Town, Edinburgh

Looking northeast across part of Princes Street Gardens

The Old Town has preserved its medieval plan and many Reformation-era buildings. One end is closed by the castle and the main artery, the Royal Mile, leads away from it; minor streets (called closes or wynds) lead downhill on either side of the main spine in a herringbone pattern. Large squares mark the location of markets or surround public buildings such as St Giles Cathedral and the Law Courts. Other notable places nearby include the Royal Museum of Scotland, Surgeons' Hall and McEwan Hall. The street layout is typical of the old quarters of many northern European cities, and where the castle perches on top of a rocky crag (the remnants of an extinct volcano) the Royal Mile runs down the crest of a ridge from it.

The Royal Mile in the Old Town during the Edinburgh Festival

Due to space restrictions imposed by the narrowness of the "tail", the Old Town became home to some of the earliest "high rise" residential buildings. Multi-storey dwellings known as lands were the norm from the 1500s onwards with ten and eleven stories being typical and one even reaching fourteen stories. Additionally, numerous vaults below street level were inhabited to accommodate the influx of (mainly Irish) immigrants during the Industrial Revolution. These continue to fuel legends of an underground city to this day. Today there are tours of Edinburgh which take you into the underground city, which is being excavated.^[23]

New Town

Main article: New Town, Edinburgh

View over Auld Reekie, with the Dugald Stewart Monument in the foreground

The New Town was an 18th century solution to the problem of an increasingly crowded Old Town. The city had remained incredibly compact, confined to the ridge running down from the castle. In 1766 a competition to design the New Town was won by James Craig, a 22-year-old architect. The plan that was built created a rigid, ordered grid, which fitted well with enlightenment ideas of rationality. The principal street was to be George Street, which follows the natural ridge to the north of the Old Town. Either side of it are the other main streets of Princes Street and Queen Street. Princes Street has since become the main shopping street in Edinburgh, and few Georgian buildings survive on it. Linking these streets were a series of perpendicular streets. At the east and west ends are St. Andrew Square and Charlotte Square respectively. The latter was designed by Robert Adam and is often considered one of the finest Georgian squares in the world. Bute House, the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland, is on the north side of Charlotte Square.

Sitting in the glen between the Old and New Towns was the Nor' Loch, which had been both the city's water supply and place for dumping sewage. By the 1820s it was drained. Some plans show that a canal was intended, but Princes Street Gardens were created instead. Excess soil from the construction of the buildings was dumped into the loch, creating what is now The Mound. In the mid-19th century the National Gallery of Scotland and Royal Scottish Academy Building were built on The Mound, and tunnels to Waverley Station driven through it.

The Mound, Edinburgh

The New Town was so successful that it was extended greatly. The grid pattern was not maintained, but rather a more picturesque layout was created. Today the New Town is considered by many to be one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture and planning in the world.

South side

A popular residential part of the city is its south side, comprising a number of areas including Saint Leonards, Marchmont, Haymarket, Polwarth, Newington, Sciennes, The Grange, Bruntsfield, Morningside, and Merchiston. "South side" is broadly analogous to the area covered by the Burgh Muir, and grew in popularity as a residential area following the opening of the South Bridge. These areas are particularly popular with families (many well-regarded state and private schools are located here), students (the central University of Edinburgh campus is based around George Square just north of Marchmont and the Meadows, and Napier University has major campuses around Merchiston & Morningside), and with festival-goers. These areas are also the subject of fictional work: Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus lives in Marchmont and worked in St Leonards; and Morningside is the home of Muriel Spark's Miss Jean Brodie. Today, the literary connection continues, with the area being home to the authors J. K. Rowling, Ian Rankin, and Alexander McCall Smith.

Forth Road Bridge

Leith

Main article: Leith

Leith is the port of Edinburgh. It still retains a separate identity from Edinburgh, and it was a matter of great resentment when, in 1920, the burgh of Leith was merged^[24] into the county of Edinburgh. Even today the parliamentary seat is known as 'Edinburgh North and Leith'. With the redevelopment of Leith, Edinburgh has gained the business of a number of cruise liner companies which now provide cruises to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. Leith also has the Royal Yacht Britannia, berthed behind the Ocean Terminal shopping centre, and Easter Road, the home ground of Hibernian.

Viewpoints

The Scott Monument

The Scott Monument seen from the first level.

The varied terrain of the city includes several summits which command sweeping views over Edinburgh.

To the southeast of central Edinburgh stands the eminence known as Arthur's Seat, overlooking Holyroodhouse and the Old Town beside it. The crag is a collection of side vents of the main volcano on which Edinburgh is built. The volcano slipped and tipped sideways, leaving these vents as the highest points for kilometres around. Arthur's Seat is now part of Holyrood Park, originally owned by the monarch and part of the grounds of the Palace of Holyroodhouse. It contains the United Kingdom's largest concentration of geological SSSIs. It was in Edinburgh that James Hutton produced his pioneering work on scientific geology.

To the northeast, overlooking the New Town, is Calton Hill. Recently shortlisted as one of the best views in Britain, it is topped by an assortment of buildings and monuments: two observatories, Nelson's Monument (a tower dedicated to Admiral Horatio Nelson), the old Royal High School (once almost the home of a devolved Scottish Assembly), and the unfinished National Monument, which is modelled on the Parthenon from the Athenian Acropolis and is nicknamed "Edinburgh's Disgrace". The nickname of the city, "Athens of the North", also hails partly from this monument. Calton Hill plays host to the Beltane Fire Festival on 30 April each year.

The Royal Observatory rests on Blackford Hill, the third and southernmost viewpoint of the city.

Geography

Climate

Like much of the rest of Scotland, Edinburgh has a temperate maritime climate, which is relatively mild despite its northerly latitude. Winters are especially mild, considering that Moscow, Labrador and Newfoundland lie on the same latitude, with daytime temperatures rarely falling below freezing. Summer temperatures are normally moderate, with daily upper maxima rarely exceeding 22 °C. The proximity of the city to the sea mitigates any large variations in temperature or extremes of climate. Given Edinburgh's position between the coast and hills, it is renowned as a windy city, with the prevailing wind direction coming from the south-west which is associated with warm, unstable air from the Gulf Stream that can give rise to rainfall - although considerably less than cities to the west, such as Glasgow. Indeed, Edinburgh receives a lower annual precipitation total than most UK cities outside the south-east of England. Winds from an easterly direction are usually drier but colder. Rainfall is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year. Vigorous Atlantic depressions - sometimes called European windstorms can affect the city between October and March.

Distances

Destinations from EDINBURGH
Forth Road Bridge	Firth of Forth	Leith
Livingston	N W E S	Haddington
Peebles	Galashiels	Jedburgh

Demographics

Portobello Beach

As of 2007, the General Register Office for Scotland estimated that the City of Edinburgh council area had a resident population of 468,070, split between 225,926 males and 242,144 females.^[25] The 2001 UK census reported the population to be 448,624, making the city the seventh largest in the United Kingdom.^[26] Population density is 1807 per square kilometre.

Edinburgh is, by Scottish standards, a cosmopolitan city. Over 22% of the population was born outside Scotland compared to 13% for Scotland as a whole.

Certain districts of the city have a very cosmopolitan atmosphere. Leith Walk, Leith, Tollcross and the Southside have many Polish, Chinese and South Asian immigrants. In these areas there are many food stores and both Leith and the Southside each have a mosque. Stockbridge has many wealthy English immigrants.

Though Edinburgh's population is ageing, a very large and transient population of young students studying at the city universities has helped to offset this demographic problem. There are estimated to be around 100,000 students studying at the various institutions of higher education in the city.^[27]

The population of the greater Edinburgh area (including parts of Fife and the Scottish Borders) is 1.25 million and is projected to grow to 1.33 million by 2020. City of Edinburgh Council hopes this will continue to grow to 1.5 million by 2040, which is in line with the current average population of the three leading city regions in northern Europe: Stockholm, Helsinki and Oslo.^[28]

Geology

Edinburgh Castle, as viewed from Princes Street

Some 350 and 400 million years ago, the cores of several volcanic vents in the area cooled and solidified to form tough basalt volcanic plugs. Later, during the last ice age, glaciers moving from west to east eroded the area to its current conformation. Louis Agassiz, who first proposed the scientific theory of ice ages, used evidence from Blackford Glen to support the theory.

Old Town

Castle Rock is one such plug, which during ice ages sheltered the softer rock to the east forming a mile-long tail of material to the east, creating a distinctive crag and tail formation. This structure, along with a ravine to the south and a swampy valley to the north, formed an ideal natural fortress and recent excavations found material dating back to the Late Bronze Age, around 850 BC.^[29]

Over the last few hundred years, the area occupied by this geological feature has come to be known as the Old Town. Edinburgh Castle stands on the crag, and the Royal Mile follows the narrow crest of the steep-sided tail, descending from the castle to meet general ground level at Holyrood Palace. The Grassmarket and Cowgate run east–west through the ravine to the south, while the swamp of the Nor Loch has now been drained to form Princes Street Gardens, and accommodates Edinburgh Waverley railway station.

Arthur's Seat

Main article: Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh

Like the castle rock on which Edinburgh Castle is built, Arthur's Seat was formed by an extinct volcano system of the Carboniferous period, which was eroded by a glacier moving from west to east during the Quaternary, exposing rocky crags to the west and leaving a tail of material swept to the east.^[30] This is how the Salisbury Crags formed and became teschenite cliffs between Arthur's Seat and the city centre.^[31]

Panoramic view of Edinburgh from the top of Arthur's Seat

Culture

Festivals

Culturally, Edinburgh is best known for the Edinburgh Festival, although this is in fact a series of separate events, which run from the end of July until early September each year. The longest established festival is the Edinburgh International Festival, which first ran in 1947. The International Festival centres on a programme of high-profile theatre productions and classical music performances, featuring international directors, conductors, theatre companies and orchestras.

The International Festival has since been taken over in both size and popularity by the Edinburgh Fringe. What began as a programme of marginal acts has become the largest arts festival in the world, with 1867 different shows being staged in 2006, in 261 venues. Comedy is now one of the mainstays of the Fringe, with numerous notable comedians getting their 'break' here, often through receipt of the Perrier Award.

In 2008 the largest comedy venues on the Edinburgh Fringe launched as a festival within a festival, labelled the Edinburgh Comedy Festival. Already at its inception it was the largest comedy festival in the world.^[32]

The Iron Duke in bronze by John Steell outside the Balmoral Hotel

Alongside these major festivals, there is also the Edinburgh Art Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival (moved to June from 2008), the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The Edge Festival (formerly known as T on the Fringe), a popular music offshoot of the Fringe, began in 2000, replacing the smaller Flux and Planet Pop series of shows. Tigerfest is an independent music festival which ran concurrently with the Fringe in 2004 and 2005 before moving to a May slot in 2006.

Running concurrently with the summer festivals, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo occupies the Castle Esplanade every night, with massed pipers and fireworks.

The Edinburgh International Science Festival is held annually in April and is one of the most popular science festivals in the world.

Celebrations

A Viking longship being burnt during Edinburgh's annual Hogmanay celebrations.

Equally famous is the annual Hogmanay celebration. Originally simply a street party held on Princes Street and the Royal Mile, the Hogmanay event has been officially organised since 1993. In 1996, over 300,000 people attended, leading to ticketing of the main street party in later years, with a limit of 100,000 tickets. Hogmanay now covers four days of processions, concerts and fireworks, with the actual street party commencing on New Years Eve. During the street party Princes Street is accessible by ticket only, allowing access into Princes Street where there are live bands playing, food and drink stalls, and a clear view of the castle and fireworks. Alternative tickets are available for entrance into the Princes Street Gardens concert and Ceilidh, where well known artists perform and ticket holders are invited to participate in traditional Scottish Ceilidh dancing. The event attracts thousands of people from all over the world. On the night of 30 April, the Beltane Fire Festival takes place on Edinburgh's Calton Hill. The festival involves a procession followed by the re-enactment of scenes inspired by pagan spring fertility celebrations.

Museums and libraries

Edinburgh is home to a large number of museums and libraries, many of which are national institutions. These include the Museum of Scotland, the Royal Museum, the National Library of Scotland, National War Museum of Scotland, the Museum of Edinburgh, Museum of Childhood and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Literature and philosophy

Edinburgh has a long literary tradition, going back to the Scottish Enlightenment. Edinburgh's Enlightenment produced philosopher David Hume and the pioneer of political economy, Adam Smith. Writers such as James Boswell, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Sir Walter Scott all lived and worked in Edinburgh. J K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter novels, is a resident of Edinburgh. Edinburgh has also become associated with the crime novels of Ian Rankin; and the work of Leith native Irvine Welsh, whose novels are mostly set in the city and are often written in colloquial Scots. Edinburgh is also home to Alexander McCall Smith and a number of his book series. Edinburgh has also been declared the first UNESCO City of Literature.

Music, theatre and film

The Royal Mile

Outside festival season, Edinburgh continues to support a number of theatres and production companies. The Royal Lyceum Theatre has its own company, while the King's Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, and Edinburgh Playhouse stage large touring shows. The Traverse Theatre presents a more contemporary programme of plays. Amateur theatre companies productions are staged at the Bedlam Theatre, Church Hill Theatre, and the King's Theatre amongst others. Youth Music Theatre: UK has a regional office in the city.

The Usher Hall is Edinburgh's premier venue for classical music, as well as the occasional prestige popular music gig. Other halls staging music and theatre include The Hub, the Assembly Rooms and the Queen's Hall. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is based in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh has two repertory cinemas, the Edinburgh Filmhouse, and the Cameo, and the independent Dominion Cinema, as well as the usual range of multiplexes.

Edinburgh has a healthy popular music scene. Occasional large gigs are staged at Murrayfield and Meadowbank, whilst venues such as the Corn Exchange and the Liquid Room cater for smaller events.

Edinburgh is also home to a flourishing group of contemporary composers such as Nigel Osborne, Peter Nelson, Lyell Cresswell, Haflidi Hallgrimsson, Edward Harper, Robert Crawford, Robert Dow, and John McLeod^[33] whose music is also heard regularly on BBC Radio 3 and throughout the UK.

Edinburgh's underground music scene is also vibrant with many creative bands and solo electronica artists experimenting with new sounds and rhythms such as digitalTRAFFIC (http://www.digitaltraffic.biz).

Visual arts

The National Gallery of Scotland

Edinburgh is home to Scotland's five National Galleries. The national collection is housed in the National Gallery of Scotland, located on the Mound, and now linked to the Royal Scottish Academy, which holds regular major exhibitions of painting. The contemporary collections are shown in the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, and the nearby Dean Gallery. The Scottish National Portrait Gallery focuses on portraits and photography.

The council-owned City Arts Centre shows regular art exhibitions. Across the road, The Fruitmarket Gallery offers world class exhibitions of contemporary art, featuring work by British and international artists with both emerging and established international reputations.

Nelson's Monument on top of Calton Hill

Edinburgh is also home to several of Scotland's galleries and organisations dedicated to contemporary visual art. Significant strands of this infrastructure include: The Scottish Arts Council, Inverleith House, Edinburgh College of Art, Talbot Rice Gallery (University of Edinburgh), The Travelling Gallery, Edinburgh Printmakers, WASPS, Artlink, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, Doggerfisher, Stills, Collective Gallery, Out of the Blue, The Embassy, Magnifitat, Sleeper, Total Kunst, OneZero, Standby, Portfolio Magazine, MAP magazine, Edinburgh's One O'Clock Gun Periodical and Product magazine and the Edinburgh Annuale.

Nightlife

A panorama of Edinburgh published by the Illustrated London News in 1868

Edinburgh has a large number of pubs, clubs and restaurants. The traditional areas were the Grassmarket, Lothian Road and surrounding streets, Rose Street and its surrounds and the Bridges. In recent years George Street in the New Town has grown in prominence, with a large number of new, upmarket public houses and nightclubs opening, along with a number on the parallel Queen Street. Stockbridge and the waterfront at Leith are also increasingly fashionable areas, with a number of pubs, clubs and restaurants.

Like many other cities in the UK, Edinburgh has numerous nightclubs that play popular and chart music. The underground nightclub scene playing music such as Techno, House, Electronica and Drum & Bass however has suffered in recent years with the closure of Wilkie House, The Venue, La Belle Angele (destroyed in the Cowgate fire) and The Honeycomb. Cabaret Voltaire, Luna, The Liquid Room and Studio 24 are some of the main nightclub venues in the city.

There are two dedicated gay clubs in Edinburgh, CC Blooms and GHQ; several other club venues have LGBT nights.

A fortnightly publication, The List, is dedicated to life in Edinburgh and around, and contains listings of all nightclubs, as well as music, theatrical and other events. The List also regularly produces specialist guides such as its Food and Drink guide and its guide to the Edinburgh Festivals. There are also many competing magazines that can be found for free such as Flash Edinburgh, Gig Guide and The Skinny.

Edinburgh Zoo

A female Jaguar

Edinburgh Zoo is a non-profit zoological park located in Corstorphine. The land lies on Corstorphine Hill and provides extensive views of the city. Built in 1913, and owned by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, it receives over 600,000 visitors a year, which makes it Scotland's second most popular paid-for tourist attraction, after Edinburgh Castle.^[34] As well as catering to tourists and locals, the Zoo is involved in many scientific pursuits, such as captive breeding of endangered animals, researching into animal behaviour, and active participation in various conservation programs around the world.^[35] The Zoo is the only zoo in Britain to house polar bears and koalas, as well as being the first zoo in the world to house and to breed penguins.

Shopping

Princes Street - still the main shopping area in Edinburgh

Edinburgh has a wide variety of shops, from upmarket department stores to a large number of charity shops. Princes Street is the main shopping area in the city centre, playing host to an extremely wide range of stores from souvenir shops, through chains such as Boots and New Look, through to an institution like Jenners. George Street, lying north of Princes Street, is home to a number of upmarket chains and independent stores. The St. James Centre, at the eastern end of George Street and Princes Street, hosts a substantial number of national chains including a large John Lewis. Multrees Walk, adjacent to the St. James Centre, is a recent addition to the city centre, hosting brands such as Louis Vuitton, Emporio Armani, Mulberry and Calvin Klein, with Harvey Nichols anchoring the development.

Edinburgh also has substantial retail developments outside the city centre. These include The Gyle and Hermiston Gait in the west of the city, Straiton Retail Park and Fort Kinnaird in the south and east, and Ocean Terminal to the north, on the Leith waterfront. The Royal Yacht Britannia lies in dock here next to the centre.

Sport

Football

Edinburgh has two professional football clubs: Hibernian and Heart of Midlothian. They are known locally as Hibs and Hearts and both teams currently play in the Scottish Premier League. Hibs play at Easter Road Stadium, which straddles the former boundary between Edinburgh and Leith, while Hearts play at Tynecastle Stadium in Gorgie.

Edinburgh was also home to senior sides St Bernard's, Ferranti Thistle and Leith Athletic. Most recently, Meadowbank Thistle played at Meadowbank Stadium until 1995, when the club moved to Livingston, shedding their old name and becoming Livingston F.C.. The Scottish national team has sometimes played at Easter Road and Tynecastle.

Non-league sides include Spartans and Edinburgh City, who play in the East of Scotland League along with Civil Service Strollers F.C., Lothian Thistle F.C., Edinburgh University A.F.C., Edinburgh Athletic F.C., Tynecastle F.C., Craigroyston F.C. and Heriot-Watt University F.C.. Edinburgh United F.C. plays in the Scottish Junior Football Association, East Region.

Other sports

The Scotland national rugby union team plays at Murrayfield Stadium, which is owned by the Scottish Rugby Union and is also used as a venue for other events, including music concerts. Edinburgh's professional rugby team, Edinburgh Rugby, play in the Celtic League at Murrayfield. It is the largest capacity stadium in Scotland. Raeburn Place is notable for holding the first rugby international game between Scotland and England.

Murrayfield Stadium, due to its size, the surrounding green space, and its reasonable proximity to the city centre, has been chosen as the host of the 2009 Super League Magic Weekend ahead of the previous host, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

The Scottish cricket team, who represent Scotland at cricket internationally and in the C&G Trophy, play their home matches at The Grange.

The Edinburgh Capitals are the latest of a succession of ice hockey clubs to represent the Scottish capital. Previously Edinburgh was represented by the Murrayfield Racers and the Edinburgh Racers. The club play their home games at the Murrayfield Ice Rink and are the sole Scottish representative in the Elite Ice Hockey League.

The Heart of Midlothian

The Edinburgh Diamond Devils is a baseball club claiming its first Scottish Championship in 1991 as the "Reivers." 1992 saw the team repeat as national champions, becoming the first team to do so in league history and saw the start of the club's first youth team, the Blue Jays. The name of the club was changed in 1999.

Edinburgh has also hosted various national and international sports events including the World Student Games, the 1970 British Commonwealth Games, the 1986 Commonwealth Games and the inaugural 2000 Commonwealth Youth Games. For the Games in 1970 the city built major Olympic standard venues and facilities including the Royal Commonwealth Pool and the Meadowbank Stadium.

In American football, the Scottish Claymores played WLAF/NFL Europe games at Murrayfield, including their World Bowl 96 victory. From 1995 to 1997 they played all their games there, from 1998 to 2000 they split their home matches between Murrayfield and Glasgow's Hampden Park, then moved to Glasgow full-time, with one final Murrayfield appearance in 2002. The city's most successful non-professional team are the Edinburgh Wolves who currently play at Meadowbank Stadium.

The Edinburgh Marathon has been held in the city since 1999 with more than 13,000 taking part annually.

Edinburgh has a speedway team, the Edinburgh Monarchs, which currently is based at the Lothian Arena in Armadale, West Lothian. They have operated there since 1997. Speedway was introduced to Edinburgh at the Marine Gardens Stadium in Seafield Road and it operated 1928–31 and 1938–39. The Edinburgh team of 1930 operated in the Northern League. In 1948 speedway returned to the city at Old Meadowbank. The Monarchs operated there 1948–54 as members of the National League Division Two. Training events were staged at Old Meadowbank occasionally from 1957–59. Two Students Charities events were staged one in 1959 and the other in 1960. Between 1960–67 the Monarchs were members of the Provincial League and from 1965 members of the British League. Following a 10-year gap the Monarchs returned to Powderhall Stadium and raced there 1977–95. A training track operated at the Gyle in the late 1960s. Between 1949 and 1951 Edinburgh was the home track of Australian rider Jack Young who won the World Championship in 1951.

The Honourable Society of Edinburgh Boaters, Scotland's only punting society, used to ply the waters of the Union Canal from a base at Hermiston House. The Society staged several regattas and engaged in the annual Scottish Boat Race against Cambridge University Dampers Club with mixed success.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Edinburgh

Edinburgh has the strongest economy of any city in the UK outside London. The strength of Edinburgh's economy is reflected by its GVA per capita, which was measured at £28,238 in 2005. ^[36]The economy of Edinburgh and its hinterland has recently been announced as one of the fastest growing city regions in Europe. Education and health, finance and business services, retailing and tourism are the largest employers.^[37] The economy of Edinburgh is largely based around the services sector — centred around banking, financial services, higher education, and tourism. Unemployment in Edinburgh is low at 1.9%, which has been consistently below the Scottish average.^[38]

The remains of Holyrood Abbey

Banking has been a part of the economic life of Edinburgh for over 300 years with the invention of capitalism in the city, with the establishment of the Bank of Scotland by an act of the original Parliament of Scotland in 1695. Their headquarters are on the Mound, overlooking Princes Street. Today, together with the burgeoning financial services industry, with particular strengths in insurance and investment underpinned by the presence of Edinburgh based firms such as Scottish Widows and Standard Life, Edinburgh has emerged as Europe's sixth largest financial centre.^[39] The Royal Bank of Scotland, which is the fifth largest in the world by market capitalisation, opened their new global headquarters at Gogarburn in the west of the city in October 2005; their registered office remains in St. Andrew Square.

Manufacturing has never had as strong a presence in Edinburgh compared with Glasgow; however brewing, publishing, and nowadays electronics have maintained a foothold in the city. While brewing has been in decline in recent years, with the closure of the McEwan's Brewery in 2005, Caledonian Brewery remains as the largest, with Scottish and Newcastle retaining their headquarters in the city.

Tourism is an important economic mainstay in the city. As a World Heritage Site, tourists come to visit such historical sites as Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Georgian New Town. This is augmented in August of each year with the presence of the Edinburgh Festivals, which bring in large numbers of visitors, generating in excess of £100m for the Edinburgh economy.^[40]

As the centre of Scotland's devolved government, as well as its legal system, the public sector plays a central role in the economy of Edinburgh with many departments of the Scottish Government located in the city. Other major employers include NHS Scotland and local government administration.

Government and politics

Main article: Politics of the City of Edinburgh council area

Coat of arms of Edinburgh

As capital of Scotland, Edinburgh is host to the national unicameral legislature, the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Parliament Building, in the Holyrood area of Edinburgh, opened in September 2004.

The devolved Scottish Government has offices at St Andrew's House on Calton Hill in the city centre, and Victoria Quay in Leith. Bute House on Charlotte Square is the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland.

The city has hosted a number of international events, such as Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and the Council of Europe.

Apart from elections to the Scottish Parliament, politics in Edinburgh are evident in elections to the City of Edinburgh Council and the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. For elections to the European Parliament, Edinburgh is within the Scotland constituency.

Local government

see also List of Lord Provosts of Edinburgh

Bute House in Charlotte Square, official residence of the First Minister of Scotland

Edinburgh constitutes one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and, as such, is represented by the City of Edinburgh Council, a local authority composed of 58 elected councillors, each representing a multi-member electoral ward in the city. The council is led by the Lord Provost.

The Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party jointly run the council in a coalition. The Lord Provost of Edinburgh, George Grubb (who replaced Lesley Hinds on 16 May 2007), and the Leader of the Council, Jenny Dawe, are both Liberal Democrat Party members.

Elections to the council are held on a four year cycle, the last on 3 May 2007. Councillors are elected from multi-member wards, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, to produce a form of proportional representation.

Boundaries date from 2007.

Scottish Parliament

The new Scottish Parliament Building opened in October 2004.

In elections to the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood), the city area is divided between six of the nine constituencies in the Lothians electoral region. Each constituency elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post system of election, and the region elects seven additional MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation.

Five of the six Edinburgh constituencies, Edinburgh North and Leith, Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh South and Edinburgh West, are entirely within the city area. Musselburgh, in East Lothian, is included in the sixth, Edinburgh East and Musselburgh.

Boundaries date from 1999, and the creation of the Scottish Parliament itself.

Parliament of the United Kingdom

In elections to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster), the city area is divided between five first past the post constituencies, all entirely within the city area, and each electing one Member of Parliament (MP): Edinburgh South, Edinburgh West, Edinburgh South West, Edinburgh North and Leith, and Edinburgh East.

Princes Street, one of the main thoroughfares in the City of Edinburgh.

Boundaries date from 2005.

Twin and Partner cities

Edinburgh is twinned^[41] with several cities across the world:

Twin cities

• Aalborg, Denmark (1991)
• Dunedin, New Zealand (1974)
• Florence, Italy (1964)
• Kiev, Ukraine (1989)
• Munich, Germany (1954)
• Nice, France (1958)
• Saint Petersburg, Russia (1995)^[42]
• San Diego, United States (1977)
• Vancouver, Canada (1977)
• Xi'an, China (1985)
• Ordu, Turkey

Partner cities

• Kraków, Poland (1995)

Friendship link

• Kyoto Prefecture, Japan (1994)

Transport

The Forth Bridge at night

Main article: Transport in Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a major transport hub in east central Scotland, with arterial road and rail routes that connect the city to the rest of Scotland and with England. It is connected to the north of Scotland by the famous feats of engineering, the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge.

Buses

Most public transport trips in Edinburgh are taken by bus, with Lothian Buses and First Bus operating an extensive system connecting most parts of the city, suburbs and surrounding city region.

Trams

Following a vote in the Scottish Parliament in June 2007,^[43] construction work has started on the Edinburgh Tram Network, a light rapid transit tram line to connect Edinburgh Airport and Granton via the city centre and Leith Walk. Another loop may connect the city centre and the northern waterfront areas of Leith and Granton – areas which are undergoing major regeneration and redevelopment. Despite the reservations of First Minister Alex Salmond and the SNP minority Government, the project was voted through by the other parties in the Parliament.

Rail

Waverley (viewed from the Scott Monument), is located in the ravine between the Old and New Town on the drained Nor Loch.

Edinburgh Waverley is the main railway station for the city. It is on the East Coast Main Line and is a through-station as well as a terminus for many services to and from London Kings Cross operated by National Express East Coast, to and from London Euston operated by Virgin Trains and First ScotRail, and for services within Scotland operated by First ScotRail. Haymarket Station is a smaller station located to the west of the city centre. The rail network in the city has expanded in recent years with the opening of Crossrail, from Newcraighall and Musselburgh in the east, to Curriehill, Edinburgh Park and Dalmeny in the west. The network is set to expand further with a new parkway station being constructed at Gogar for Edinburgh Airport and the electrification of the Haymarket - Edinburgh Park/Airport section in connection with the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link. Edinburgh and the East of Scotland's rail network are controlled from Edinburgh Signalling Centre, which with 240 route miles (470 track miles) has the largest control area in Europe. This will increase on completion of the Bathgate - Airdrie and Edinburgh - Galashiels rail lines which will also be controlled from Edinburgh.

Airport

Edinburgh Airport Control Tower

Edinburgh is served by Edinburgh Airport (EDI), located about 8 miles (13 km) to the west of the city, with scheduled connections to many cities in Europe and international long-haul route network, including regular flights to New York (JFK and Newark) and summer services to Toronto. For live arrivals and departures visit http://www.edinburghairport.com

Cycling

Attempts to make Edinburgh more "cycle friendly" have been made, particularly by Spokes, the Lothian Cycle Campaign. Some cyclists remain unconvinced that the promise of a "Model Cycle-Friendly City"^[44] has been achieved.

Park and Ride

Edinburgh is now served by six park and ride sites with the opening of the latest facility at Straiton in October 2008. There are also sites at Sheriffhall, Ingliston, Riccarton, Inverkeithing in Fife and Newcraighall.

Education

Universities and colleges

The University of Edinburgh's Robert Adam-designed Old College building, home of its Law School

The University of Edinburgh was founded by Royal Charter in 1583,^[45] and is the fourth oldest university in Scotland, after St Andrews, Glasgow and Aberdeen. The Old College on South Bridge opened in the 1820s. As the institution continued to expand, new buildings were constructed around George Square, where the heart of the university remains, and the King's Buildings campus in southern Edinburgh. A third campus at Little France was established in 2002. Development of the University's estate continues on all three campuses in the 21st century.

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh were established by Royal Charter, in 1506 and 1681 respectively. The Trustees Drawing Academy of Edinburgh was established in 1760,^[46] an institution that became the Edinburgh College of Art in 1907.

In the 1960s Heriot-Watt University and Napier Technical College were established. Heriot-Watt traces its origins to 1821, when a school for technical education of the working classes was opened. Heriot-Watt continues to have a strong reputation in engineering, and is based at Riccarton, in the west of the city.

Napier College, renamed Napier Polytechnic in 1986, gained university status in 1992. Napier University has several campuses in the south and west of the city, including the former Craiglockhart Hydropathic (of Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen fame) and Merchiston Tower (the family home of John Napier). The University contains several specialised research centres (including the Centre for Timber Engineering, the International Teledemocracy Centre and a large business school. In 2005 the University secured Skillset Screen Academy status for its film courses and now operates (in conjunction with Edinburgh College of Art) the Screen Academy Scotland, one of six accredited centres in the UK.^[47]

Queen Margaret University was founded in 1875 as a women's college, and today specialises in healthcare, theatre, media, hospitality and business. It was located at various sites in the city but moved to a purpose-built campus in Musselburgh in 2007.

Other colleges offering further education in Edinburgh include Telford College, opened in 1968, and Stevenson College, opened in 1970. Basil Paterson College offers courses in languages and teaching. The Scottish Agricultural College also has a campus in south Edinburgh.

Schools

See also: List of Edinburgh Schools

Edinburgh schools include the Royal Blind School, Scotland's national residential and day school for blind students, which serves Scotland and the north east of England. Donaldson's College, the national school for deaf students was also located in the city until January 2008, when it relocated to a new campus in Linlithgow. The Royal High School is considered to be the oldest school in Scotland.

Edinburgh also has several independent schools including: Stewart's Melville College, The Mary Erskine School, George Heriot's School, Merchiston Castle School, George Watson's College, St George's School For Girls, St Margaret's School, Edinburgh Academy, and Fettes College.

Hospitals

The Royal Botanic Gardens Palm House

See also: List of hospitals in Edinburgh

Hospitals in Edinburgh include the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, which includes Edinburgh University Medical School, and the Western General Hospital, which includes a large cancer treatment centre. There is one private hospital, Murrayfield Hospital, owned by Spire Healthcare. The Royal Infirmary is the main Accident & Emergency hospital not just for Edinburgh but also Midlothian and East Lothian, and is the headquarters of NHS Lothian, making it a centric focus for Edinburgh and its hinterland. The Royal Edinburgh Hospital specialises in mental health, it is situated in Morningside. The Royal Hospital for Sick Children is located in Sciennes Road; it is popularly known as the 'Sick Kids'.

Religious communities

The three spires of St Mary's Cathedral

Christianity

The Church of Scotland claims the largest membership of any religious denomination in Edinburgh. Its most important and historical church is St Giles' Cathedral; others include Greyfriars Kirk, Barclay Church, Canongate Kirk and St Andrew's and St George's Church. In the south east of the city is the 12th century Duddingston Kirk. The Church of Scotland Offices are located in Edinburgh, as is the Assembly Hall and New College on The Mound.

The Roman Catholic Church also has a sizeable presence in the city. Its notable structures include St Mary's Cathedral at the top of Leith Walk, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, St Patrick's, St. Columba's, St. Peter's and Star of the Sea. The Catholic community in Edinburgh is part of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, which is led by Keith Cardinal O'Brien, considered to be the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland.

The Free Church of Scotland (Reformed and Presbyterian) has congregations on the Royal Mile and Crosscauseway; its offices and training college are located on the Mound. The Scottish Episcopal Church is part of the Anglican Communion. Its centre is the resplendent St Mary's Cathedral, Palmerston Place in the west end.

St. Giles' Cathedral

In addition, there are a number of independent churches situated throughout the city; these churches tend to have a high percentage of student congregants and include Destiny Church, Charlotte Chapel, Carrubbers Christian Centre and Bellevue Chapel.

Other faiths

Edinburgh Central Mosque - Edinburgh's main mosque and Islamic Centre is located on Potterow on the city's southside, near Bristo Square. It was opened in the late 1990s and the construction was largely financed by a gift from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.^[48] The first recorded presence of a Jewish community in Edinburgh dates back to the late 17th century. Edinburgh's Orthodox synagogue is located in Salisbury Road, which was opened in 1932 and can accommodate a congregation of 2000. A Liberal congregation also meets in the city. There is also a Sikh Gurdwara and Hindu Mandir in the city which are both located in the Leith district.

Notable residents

Main article: List of Edinburgh people

Famous authors of the city include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Ian Rankin, author of the Inspector Rebus series of crime thrillers, J. K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, who wrote her first book in an Edinburgh coffee shop (Nicolson's Cafe^[49][50], the Elephant House and Black Medicine) and Adam Smith, economist, born in Kirkcaldy, and author of The Wealth of Nations.

Edinburgh has been home to the actor Sir Sean Connery, famed as the first cinematic James Bond;^[51] Ronnie Corbett, a comedian and actor, best known as one of The Two Ronnies;^[52] and Dylan Moran, the Irish comedian. Famous city artists include the portrait painters Sir Henry Raeburn, Sir David Wilkie and Allan Ramsay. Historians such as Douglas Johnson and Arthur Marwick had roots here.

The city has produced or been home to musicians that have been extremely successful in modern times, particularly Ian Anderson, frontman of the band Jethro Tull; Wattie Buchan, lead singer and founding member of punk band The Exploited; Shirley Manson, lead singer for the band Garbage; The Proclaimers, a musical ensemble of two brothers; the Bay City Rollers; Boards of Canada and Idlewild.

Edinburgh is the hometown of the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, who was born in the city and attended Fettes College;^[53] Robin Harper the co-convener of the Scottish Green Party; and John Witherspoon, the only clergyman to sign the United States Declaration of Independence, and later president of Princeton University.^[54]

On the more sinister side, famous criminals from Edinburgh's history include Deacon Brodie, pillar of society by day and burglar by night, who is said to have influenced Robert Louis Stevenson's story, the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde; the murderers Burke and Hare, who provided fresh corpses for anatomical dissection; and Major Weir a notorious warlock.

Scotland has a rich history of science and Edinburgh has its fair share of famous names. James Clerk Maxwell, the founder of the modern theory of electromagnetism, was born here and educated at the Edinburgh Academy, as was the telephone pioneer Alexander Graham Bell.^[55] Other names connected to the city include Max Born, physicist and Nobel laureate; Charles Darwin, the biologist who discovered natural selection; David Hume a philosopher, economist and historian; James Hutton, regarded as the "Father of Geology"; John Napier inventor of logarithms;^[56] and Ian Wilmut the geneticist involved in the cloning of Dolly the sheep just outside Edinburgh. The stuffed carcass of Dolly the sheep is now on display in the National Museum of Scotland.

See also

Sources

Notes

References

External links

• City of Edinburgh Council
• Edinburgh Tourist Information
• "Edinburgh by Numbers" - Facts and Figures Booklet
• Edinburgh travel guide from Wikitravel
• 1000s of local photos by Dave Henniker
• A popular alternative view of Edinburgh Politics
• The Spiritual History of Edinburgh From the first Celtic missionaries to the Reformation, Enlightenment & Covenanters.
• Map sources for Edinburgh

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