Edinburgh

Edinburgh (pronounced ED-in-burra (SAMPA: ["Ed@n%b@r@])), Dun Eideann in Scots Gaelic, is a major and historic city on the east coast of Scotland on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, and in the unitary council region of City of Edinburgh. It has been the capital of Scotland since 1492 and is the site of the Scottish Parliament, which was re-established in 1999. In the census of 2002 Edinburgh had a total resident population of 448,624.

The origin of the city's name is obscure; it may be derived from the 7th century Northumbrian king Edwin: "Edwin's fort". Edinburgh is well known for the Edinburgh Festival, a collection of several arts festivals, and for the Hogmanay celebrations which are becoming one of the largest in the world. The city is affectionately nicknamed "Auld Reekie" (Old Smokey). Some have called it "the Athens of the north" in reference to its architecture and 19th-century intellectual life (as well, perhaps, as the National Monument; see below).

The Centre

The historic center of Edinburgh is divided into two by the broad green swath of the Princes Street Gardens. To the south the view is dominated by Edinburgh Castle, perched atop an extinct volcanic crag, and the long sweep of 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 marsh land which had once been a lake, the Nor'Loch.

Old Town

The Old Town has preserved its medieval plan and many reformation-era buildings. One end is closed by the castle and the main street (the Royal Mile) leads away from it; minor streets (called closes or wynds) bud off the main spine in a herringbone pattern. Large squares mark the location of markets, or surround major public buildings such as St Giles Cathedral. This layout, typical of the old quarters of many northern European cities, is made especially picturesque in Edinburgh, where the castle perches on top of a small mountain and the main street runs down the crest of a ridge from it.

The old city is also home to some of the earliest "high rise" residential buildings. The population were for a long time reluctant to build outside the defensive wall, so as the need for housing grew the buildings became higher and higher. However many of these buildings were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1824. They were then rebuilt on the original foundations. This led to changes in the ground level and the creation of many passages and vaults under Old Town.

On December 7 2002, another major fire in the Old Town engulfed part of the Cowgate. It destroyed the famous comedy club The Gilded Balloon and much of the Informatics department of the University of Edinburgh, including the comprehensive AI library.

New Town

The New Town north of the gardens and Princes Street, was begun in the latter 18th century; it has grown greatly since then, but to this day it remains a very fine example of Georgian town-planning and architecture.

Viewpoints

View of Edinburgh from Scott Monument, looking toward Arthur's Seat

The varied topology 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 Holyrood House 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 the highest points for miles 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 Britain's largest concentration of geological SSSIs, as well as providing the people of Edinburgh with spectacular views of and from Arthur's Seat and somewhere to relax after a long day in the city.

To the northeast, overlooking the New Town, is Calton Hill. It is topped by an assortment of buildings and monuments: two observatories, a tower dedicated to Admiral Nelson, the old Royal High School (once almost the home of a devolved Parliament), and an unfinished national monument modeled on the Parthenon from the Athenian Acropolis.

The Harbour

With the redevelopment of Leith – Edinburgh's docks, once a town in its own right – Edinburgh has gained the business of a number of cruise liner companies who now provide cruises to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands from Leith. Leith also boasts the Royal Yacht Britannia, berthed behind the new Leith Ocean Terminal.

Football

Edinburgh has two football clubs; Hibernian F.C. and Heart of Midlothian. Both play in the Scottish Premier division.

Dialect

Edinburgh Dialect

Famous Residents

Alexander Graham Bell, telephone pioneer, was born in Edinburgh
Tony Blair, UK Prime Minister, was born in the city and attended its exclusive Fettes College high school
William Burke and William Hare, noted grave-robbers, plundered the city's graveyards
James Clerk Maxwell, Scottish physicist
Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was born in the city's New Town
Sean Connery, actor
Douglas Haig, World War One field marshal, was born in Edinburgh
John Porteous, captain of the city guard, lynched during the Porteous Riots of 1736
David Roberts, 19th century painter and lithographer
J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter author, wrote her first book in an Edinburgh coffee-shop
Robert Louis Stevenson, novelist, wrote fondly of the city before moving to Samoa
James Young Simpson, an obstetrician who conducted the first experimental use of chloroform for anaesthesia
Irvine Welsh, novelist, author of e.g. Trainspotting, is from Edinburgh

The name Edinburgh has also been given to places elsewhere in the world, mainly by Scottish settlers:

The Gaelic name Dun Eideann has also been given to other cities, including: