Edinburgh tourist guide

8/8/2019 Edinburgh tourist guide

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EdinburghTourist Guide

Table of ContentsIntroduction

1. The Scott Monument

2. Holyrood Palace

3. The Scottish Parliament

4. EdinburghCastle

5. St. Giles Cathedral

6. The Elephant House

7. Greyfriars Bobby

8. National Museum of Scotland

9. Arthurs Seat

10. The Rosslyn Chapel

11. The Royal Yacht Britannia

Sources


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Edinburgh (Scottish Gaelic: Dn ideann) 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 has been capital of Scotland since 1437 (replacing Dunfermline) and is the seat

of the Scottish Parliament. Edinburgh 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 were listed as aUNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. There are over 4,500 listed buildings

within the city. In the census of 2001, Edinburgh had a total resident population of

448,625.

The Scottish capital is well-known for the 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 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.


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therefore, dont hesitate to spend

your spare minutes exploring the

city centre, which harbours many a

memorable tourist attraction, all

with a character and history! If after

all you end up having absolutely no

time for a stroll around the city,

there is still hope as you could

browse though this guide on your

flight back home!


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1. The Scott Monument

The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Sir

Walter Scott (not to be confused with the National Monument). Sir Walter Scott,

1st Baronet (15 August 1771 21 September 1832) was a prolific Scottish

historical novelist and poet popular throughout Europe during his time. In some

ways Scott was the first English-language author to have a truly international

career in his lifetime, with many contemporary readers all over Europe, Australia,

and North America. His novels and poetry are still read, and many of his works

remain classics of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature.

Famous titles include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, The Lady of The Lake, Waverley, The

Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor. The tower erected in his

honour is 200 feet 6 inches (61.1 m) high, and has a series of viewing decks

reached by a series of narrow spiral staircases giving panoramic views of central

Edinburgh and its surroundings. The highest viewing deck is reached by a total of

287 steps. It is built from Binnie shale quarried in nearby Livingston; the oil which

continues to leech from its matrix has helped to glue the notoriously filthy

atmosphere of Victorian Edinburgh (then nicknamed "Auld Reekie" old

smokey) to the tower, leaving it an unintended sooty-black colour. Bill Bryson has

described it as looking like a "gothic rocket ship".

2. Holyrood Palace

The Palace of Holyroodhouse, or informally Holyrood Palace, founded as a

monastery by David I of Scotland in 1128, has served as the principal residence

of the Kings and Queens of Scotland since the fifteenth century. The Palace

stands in Edinburgh at the bottom of the Royal Mile. It is also the official

residence in Scotland of Queen Elizabeth II, who spends time at the Palace at

the beginning of the summer. Holyrood is an anglicisation of the Scots Haly Ruid

(Holy Cross).


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3. The Scottish Parliament

(Scottish Gaelic: Prlamaid na h-Alba) is the devolved national, unicameral

legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of Edinburgh. The

Parliament, informally referred to as Holyrood (cf. "Westminster"), is a

democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the

Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Members are elected for four-year terms under the

mixed member proportional representation system. As a result, 73 MSPs

represent individual geographical constituencies elected by the plurality ("first

past the post") system, with a further 56 returned from eight additional member

regions, each electing seven MSPs. A general election to the Parliament was

held on 3 May 2007.

The original Parliament of Scotland (or "Estates of Scotland") was the national

legislature of the independent Kingdom of Scotland, and existed from the early

13th century until the Kingdom of Scotland merged with the Kingdom of England

under the Acts of Union 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. As a

consequence, the Parliament of Scotland merged with the Parliament of England

to form the Parliament of Great Britain, which sat at Westminster in London.

Following a referendum in 1997 in which the Scottish people gave their consent,

the current Parliament was established by the Scotland Act 1998, which sets out

its powers as a devolved legislature. The Act delineates the legislative

competence of the Parliament the areas in which it can make laws by

explicitly specifying powers that are "reserved" to the Parliament of the United

Kingdom: all matters that are not explicitly reserved are automatically the

responsibility of the Scottish Parliament. The UK Parliament retains the ability to

amend the terms of reference of the Scottish Parliament, and can extend or

reduce the areas in which it can make laws. The first meeting of the new

Parliament took place on 12 May 1999.


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4. Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh History and Edinburgh Castle history begins on the rock on which

Edinburgh Castle stands.The rock was formed 70 million years ago. Recent

archaeological excavations in Edinburgh Castle have uncovered evidence that

Bronze-Age man was living on the rock as long ago as 850 BC. Two thousand

years ago, during the Iron Age, the rock had a hill-fort settlement on its summit.

In about AD 600, three hundred men gathered around their King. Mynyddog, in

his stronghold of Din Eidyn. This is the first mention of the name of the place,

which we call Edinburgh. The war-band was preparing to attack the Angles,

recent heathen invaders from Europe. The war-band pledged themselves to die

for their King and almost all did die, on a raid into the territories of the Angles, in

Yorkshire. Shortly after, in AD 638, Din Eidyn was besieged and taken by the

Angles and the place seems then to have received the English name which it has

kept ever since - Edinburgh.

In 1449, James II married Mary of Gueldres in Holyrood Abbey. That same year a

great siege gun, made for the Queen's uncle, the Duke of Burgundy, was tested

at Mons (now in Belgium). In 1457 Mons Meg (as she is now called) was shipped

to Scotland as a present to the King and Queen. Three years later the King was

dead, killed at the siege of Roxburgh Castle by one of his guns (not Mons Meg).

Mons Meg was kept with the rest of the royal guns in Edinburgh Castle. She was

used against the English and against rebellious Scottish noblemen. Her

enormous bulk (she weighs over 6 tons) soon made her obsolete as a siege gun,

but she was put to good use firing ceremonial salutes. In 1681, during a birthday

salute for the Duke of Albany (later James VII and II, the last Stewart King) her

barrel burst open and she was unceremoniously dumped beside Foog's Gate in

Edinburgh Castle. The restored Mons Meg can proudly be viewed now on the

upper levels of the Castle.

In 1093 Queen Margaret wife of Malcolm III was seriously ill in Edinburgh Castle.

She was brought the news that her husband had been killed at Alnwick in

Northumberland. Broken-hearted, she too died. Husband and wife were buried

side by side in the church at Dunfermline. Queen Margaret was made a saint by

Pope Innocent IV in 1250. A tiny chapel, built on the summit of the


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castle rock in the early twelfth century, is dedicated to her memory and is the

oldest building in Edinburgh Castle.

On 19 March 1707 the Act uniting Scotland and England was passed in the

Scottish Parliament. When it rose, the Crown, Sword and Sceptre were brought

back to Edinburgh Castle and locked away. In time people wondered whether the

honours of Scotland, as they were known really survived at all. In February 1818

Sir Walter Scott, with permission from the Prince Regent, broke into the room

where the Honours had supposedly been locked away. He found them lying at

the bottom of a chest covered with linen cloths "exactly as they had been left".

They were immediately put on display in the room where they were discovered,

so beginning Edinburgh Castle's new role as Scotland's premier visitor attraction.

5. St. Giles Cathedral

A prominent feature of the Edinburgh skyline, St. Giles' Cathedral or the High Kirk

of Edinburgh is a place of worship decorating the midpoint of the Royal Mile with

its highly distinctive hollow-crown tower. The church, named after St. Giles the

patron saint of cripples and lepers, has been one of Edinburgh's religious focal

points for approximately 900 years. Today it is sometimes regarded as the

mother church of Presbyterianism. St. Giles was only a cathedral in its formal

sense (ie. the seat of a bishop) for two periods during the 17th century (1635-38

and 1661-1689), when episcopalianism, backed by the Crown, briefly gained

ascendancy within the Kirk.

The Thistle Chapel in the Cathedral was designed by Robert Lorimer and finished

in 1911. It contains stalls for the 16 knights, the Sovereign's stall and two Royal

stalls. The chapel contains a wealth of detail, both religious and heraldic, and

much of it peculiarly Scottish, including angels playing bagpipes! The Order of the

Thistle is Scotland's great order of chivalry and membership is considered to be

one of the country's highest honours. The Order is traditionally given to Scots or

people of Scots ancestry, who have given distinguished service. Appointments

are entirely in the personal gift of the Sovereign.


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6. The Elephant House

Opened in 1995, The Elephant House has established itself as one of the best

tea and coffee houses in Edinburgh. Made famous as the place of inspiration to

writers such as J.K. Rowling, who sat writing much of her early novels in the back

room overlooking Edinburgh Castle.

Ian Rankin, author of the bestselling Rebus novels, and Alexander McCall-Smith,

author of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency and other series of novels, have

also frequented The Elephant House, as well as many others throughout the

years.

7. Greyfriars Bobby

This was a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh. Bobby

belonged to John Gray, who worked for the Edinburgh City Police as a night

watchman, and the two were inseparable for approximately two years. On 15

February 1858, Gray died of tuberculosis. He was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard,

the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in the Old Town of Edinburgh. Bobby,

who outlived Gray by fourteen years, is said to have spent the rest of his life

sitting on his master's grave. A more realistic account says that he spent a great

deal of time at Gray's grave, but that he left regularly for meals at a restaurant

beside the graveyard, and may have spent colder winters in nearby houses.

Bobby died in 1872 and could not be buried within the cemetery itself, since it

was consecrated ground; instead, he was buried just inside the gate of Greyfriars

Kirkyard, not far from John Gray's grave. Today, a small statue of Greyfriars

Bobby stands in front of the Greyfriars Bobby pub, which is located near

Greyfriars Kirkyard. The statue originally faced the graveyard and pub, but has

been turned around, allegedly by a previous landlord of the pub, so that it would

appear in the background of the many photographs that are taken each year!

8. National Museum of Scotland

The Museum of Scotland is a building which, together with the adjacent Royal

Museum, comprises the National Museum of Scotland. It is dedicated to the

history, people and culture of Scotland. The museum is on Chambers Street, in

central Edinburgh. It is part of the National Museums of Scotland. Admission is

free!


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Opened in 1998, incorporating collections from the National Museum of

Antiquities of Scotland and Scottish items from the Royal Museum, the museum

possesses a distinctive look.

9. Arthurs seat

This is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, a

remarkably wild piece of highland landscape in the centre of the city of

Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. The hill rises above the

city to a height of 251 m (823 feet), provides excellent panoramic views of the

city, is quite easy to climb, and is a popular walk.

Many claim that its name is a derivation of a myriad of legends pertaining to King

Arthur, such as the reference in Y Gododdin. However it has also been claimedthat the name is a corruption of the phrase "Archer's Seat" on the supposition that

the rock was a significant point of city defence in the Middle Ages. Like the castle

rock on which Edinburgh Castle is built, it was formed by an extinct volcano

system of Carboniferous age (approximately 350 million years old). From some

angles Arthur's Seat is said to resemble a sleeping lion. Two of the several

extinct vents make up the 'lions head' and the 'lions haunch'.


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10. The Rosslyn Chapel (not on map)

The Rosslyn Chapel, properly named the Collegiate Church of St Matthew, was

founded on a small hill above Roslin Glen as a Roman Catholic collegiate church

in the mid-15th century. The Rosslyn Chapel and the nearby Roslin Castle

(partially ruined) are located at the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland. The

chapel was founded by William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness (also spelled

"Sainteclaire / Saintclair / Sinclair / St. Clair") of the Sinclair family, a noble family

descended from Norman knights, using the standard designs the medieval

architects made available to him. The Rosslyn Chapel is the third Sinclair place of

worship at Roslin - the first being in the Roslin Castle and the second (whose

crumbling buttresses can still be seen today) - in what is now the Roslin

Cemetery.

The purpose of the college was to celebrate the Divine Office throughout the day

and night and also to celebrate Holy Mass for all the faithful departed, including

the deceased members of the Sinclair family. During this period the rich heritage

of plainsong (a single melodic line) or polyphony (vocal harmony) would be used

to enrich the singing of the liturgy. An endowment was made that would pay for

the upkeep of the priests and choristers in perpetuity and they also had parochial

responsibilities. After the Scottish Reformation (1560) Roman Catholic worship in

the Chapel was brought to an end, although the Sinclair family continued to be

Roman Catholics until the early 18th century. From that time the Chapel was

closed to public worship until 1861 when it was opened again as a place of

worship according to the rites of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

Alternative histories involving Rosslyn Chapel and the Sinclairs have recently

been published by Andrew Sinclair and Timothy Wallace-Murphy arguing links

with the Knights Templar and the supposed descendants of Jesus Christ. The

books in particular by Timothy Wallace-Murphy Rex Deus: The True Mystery ofRennes-le-Chteau And The Dynasty of Jesus (2000) and Custodians Of Truth:

The Continuance Of Rex Deus (2005) have focused on the hypothetical Jesus

bloodline with the Sinclairs and the Rosslyn Chapel. On the ABC documentary

Jesus, Mary and Da Vinciaired on 3 November 2003 Niven Sinclair hinted that

the descendants of Jesus Christ existed within the Sinclair families. These

alternative histories are relatively modern -


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not dating back before the early 1990s. The precursor to these Rosslyn theories

is the 1982 book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grailby Michael Baigent, Richard

Leigh and Henry Lincoln that introduced the theory of the Jesus Christ bloodline

in relation to the Priory of Sion - the main protagonist of which was Pierre

Plantard, who for a time adopted the name Pierre Plantard de Saint-Clair.

The Chapel is a major feature in the last part of Dan Brown's 2003 novel The Da

Vinci Code, though many incorrect assertions were made about the structure. For

example, Brown's book states that the Chapel was built by the Knights Templar,

and contains a six-pointed Star of David worn into the stone floor although no

such star is present. Many sources say that Brown never visited the Chapel until

after the publication of his book, and most of his material came from previously

published material.

Another claim from The Da Vinci Code is that the name "Rosslyn" is a form of the

term Rose Line, and that a line starting in France also runs through the Chapel,

however scholars point out that the name "Rosslyn" is most likely derived from

two Celtic words: "ros", meaning promontory or point, and "lyn", meaning

waterfall.

11. The Royal Yacht Britannia


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Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia is the former Royal Yacht of the British royal family,

the 83rd such vessel since the restoration of King Charles II in 1660. She is the

second Royal yacht to bear the name, the first being the famous racing cutter

built for The Prince of Wales in 1893. She is now permanently moored as an

exhibition ship at Ocean Terminal, Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Sources:

Wikipedia

http://www.freewiccaschool.com/blog/

http://pro.corbis.com/search/Enlargement.aspx?CID=isg&mediauid=

%7B75F6E1C5-F7DA-4DF2-9372-538F3224A4A0%7D

http://www.edinburghguide.com/venue/nationalmuseumofscotland

http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/scottishparliament/index.htm

http://www.jandmclark.com/2007/10/22/scottish-parliament/

http://castles.niceworld.info/england/slides/Edinburgh-Castle-

Edinburgh-Scotland.jpg

http://www.elephanthouse.biz/

http://www.edinburghcastle.biz/history.html

Nabidul Alam Omey

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Edinburgh tourist guide