Coordinates	49°39′″N19°18′″N
Name	City of Edinburgh
Official name	City of Edinburgh
Other name	''Scots'': Edinburgh
Native name	''Scottish Gaelic'': Dùn Èideann
Nickname	"Auld Reekie", "Athens of the North"
Settlement type	Unitary Authority & City
Motto	"Nisi Dominus Frustra" ''"Except the Lord in vain"'' associated with Edinburgh since 1647, it is a normal heraldic contraction of a verse from the 127th Psalm, "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain"
Flag size	50
Image shield	Edinburgh-coa.png
Blank emblem type	Logo of the Council
Blank emblem link	The City of Edinburgh Council
Dot x	|dot_y
Pushpin map	Scotland
Pushpin label position
Pushpin map caption	Location in Scotland
Pushpin mapsize
Coordinates display	inline,title
Coordinates region	GB
Subdivision type	Sovereign state
Subdivision name	United Kingdom
Subdivision type1	Country
Subdivision name1	Scotland
Subdivision type2	Council area
Subdivision name2	City of Edinburgh
Subdivision type3	Lieutenancy area
Subdivision name3	Edinburgh
Subdivision type4	Admin HQ
Subdivision name4	Edinburgh City Centre
Government type	Unitary Authority, City
Leader title	Governing body
Leader name	The City of Edinburgh Council
Leader title1	Lord Provost
Leader name1	George Grubb
Leader title2	MSPs
Leader name2
Leader title3	MPs:
Leader name3
Established title	Founded
Established date	prior to the 7th century
Established title2	Burgh Charter
Established date2	1125
Established title3	City status
Established date3	1889
Unit pref
Area land km2
Area total sq mi	100.00
Area blank1 sq mi
Population as of	2010
Population total	486,120
Population density urban sq mi	4776
Population blank3
Timezone	Greenwich Mean Time
Utc offset	+0
Timezone dst	British Summer Time
Utc offset dst	+1
Elevation footnotes
Elevation ft
Postal code type	Postcode
Postal code	EH
Area code	0131
Blank name	ISO 3166-2
Blank info	GB-EDH
Blank1 name	ONS code
Blank1 info	00QP
Blank2 name	OS grid reference
Blank2 info
Blank3 name	NUTS 3
Blank3 info	UKM25
Website	www.edinburgh.gov.uk (Official Council site)www.edinburgh-inspiringcapital.com (Visitor-facing site)
Footnotes	}}

Edinburgh ( ; Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Èideann) is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a 30-square-mile (78 km²) rural area. 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.

Edinburgh 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. In May 2010, it had a total of 40 conservation areas covering 23% of the building stock and 23% of the population, the highest such ratios of any major city in the UK. In the 2010 mid-year population estimates, Edinburgh had a total resident population of 486,120.

The city 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 International Festival, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Other events include the Hogmanay street party, Burns Night and the Beltane Fire Festival. Edinburgh attracts 1 million overseas visitors a year, making it the most visited tourist destination in the United Kingdom, after London.

Etymology

The name "Edinburgh" appears to derive from the Celtic British place name ''Eidyn'', mentioned in a number of medieval Welsh sources. Kenneth H. Jackson argued strongly that "Eidyn" referred exclusively to the location of modern Edinburgh, but others, such as Ifor Williams and Nora K. Chadwick, suggest it applied to the wider area as well. The name "Eidyn" may survive today in other toponyms such as Dunedin and Carriden (from ''Caer Eidyn''), located fifteen miles to the west.

Present-day Edinburgh was the location of ''Din Eidyn'', a dun or hillfort associated with the kingdom of the Gododdin. The modern Scottish Gaelic name "Dùn Eideann" derives directly from the British ''Din Eidyn''; the English and Scots form are similar, adding the element -''burgh'', from the Old English ''burh'', also meaning fort. Some sources claim Edinburgh's name is derived from an Old English form such as ''Eadwinesburh'', in reference to the 7th century king Edwin of Northumbria. However, modern scholarship refutes this, as the form ''Eidyn'' predates Edwin.

The first evidence of the existence of the town as a separate entity from the fort lies in an early 12th century royal charter, generally thought to date from 1124, by King David I granting land to the Church of the Holy Rood of Edinburgh. This suggests that the town came into official existence between 1018 (when King Malcolm II secured the Lothians from the Northumbrians) and 1124. By the 1170s King William the Lion was using the name "''Edenesburch''" in a charter (in Latin) confirming the 1124 grant of David I.

History

Humans have settled the Edinburgh area from at least the Bronze Age, leaving traces of primitive stone settlements at Holyrood, Craiglockhart Hill and the Pentland Hills for example. Local culture was influenced through the Iron Age by Hallstatt and La Tene Celtic cultures from central Europe. By the time the Romans arrived in Lothian at the beginning of the 1st millennium AD, they discovered a Celtic Brythonic tribe whose name they recorded as Votadini, likely to be a Latin version of the name they called themselves.

The Angles of Northumbria had a significant influence over south east Scotland, notably from AD 638 when it appears the Gododdin stronghold was besieged. Though far from exclusive (''cf'' Picts and Scots), this influence continued over three centuries. It was not until c. AD 950 when, during the reign of Indulf, son of Constantine II, the city, referred to at this time in the Pictish Chronicle as 'oppidum Eden', fell to the Scots and finally remained under their jurisdiction. During this period of Germanic influence in south east Scotland, when the city's name gained its Germanic suffix, 'burgh', the seeds for the language we know today as Scots were sown.

By the 12th century Edinburgh was well established, founded upon the famous castle rock, the volcanic crag and tail geological feature shaped by 2 million years of glacial activity. Flourishing alongside it to the east, another community developed around the Abbey of Holyrood, known as Canongate. In the 13th century these both became Royal Burghs and through the late medieval period Edinburgh grew quickly. Edinburgh continued to flourish economically and culturally through the Renaissance period and was at the centre of the 16th century Scottish Reformation and the Wars of the Covenant a hundred years later.

In 1603, King James VI of Scotland succeeded to the English and Irish thrones, uniting the Kingdoms in a personal union known as the Union of the Crowns. Scotland remained an independent state with the Parliament of Scotland in Edinburgh. King James VI progressed to London, establishing there his court from which he reigned over his kingdoms. Despite promising to return every three years, he returned to Edinburgh only once, in 1617.

Disputes between the Presbyterian Covenanters and the Anglican Church in 1639 led to the Bishops' Wars, the initial conflict of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. During the Third English Civil War Edinburgh was taken by the Commonwealth forces of Oliver Cromwell prior to Charles II's eventual defeat at the Battle of Worcester.

In 17th century Edinburgh a defensive wall, built in the 16th century largely as protection against English invasion following James IV's defeat at the Battle of Flodden and hence named the Flodden Wall, still defined the boundaries of the city. Due to the restricted land area available for development, houses increased in height instead. Buildings of 11 storeys were common and there are records of buildings as high as 14 or even 15 storeys, an early version of the modern-day skyscraper. Many of the stone-built structures can still be seen today in the Old Town.

In 1706 and 1707 the Acts of Union were passed by the Parliaments of England and Scotland uniting the two Kingdoms into 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. The union was opposed by many Scots at the time and this led to riots within the city.

From early times, and certainly from the 14th century, Edinburgh (like other royal burghs of Scotland) used armorial devices in many ways, including on seals. In 1732, the 'achievement' or 'coat of arms' was formally granted by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. These arms were used by Edinburgh Town Council until the reorganisation of local government in Scotland in May 1975, when it was succeeded by the City of Edinburgh District Council and a new coat of arms, based on the earlier one, was granted. In 1996, further local government reorganisation resulted in the formation of the City of Edinburgh Council, and again the coat of arms was updated.

During the Jacobite rising of 1745, Edinburgh was briefly occupied by Jacobite forces before their march into England. Following their ultimate defeat at the Battle of Culloden, near Inverness, there was a period of reprisals and pacification, largely directed at the Catholic Highlanders. In Edinburgh the Hanoverian monarch attempted to gain favour by supporting new developments to the north of the castle, naming streets in honour of the King and his family; George Street, Frederick Street, Hanover Street and Princes Street, named in honour of George III's two sons.

The city was at the heart of the Scottish Enlightenment. Celebrities from across the continent would be seen in the city streets, among them famous Scots such as David Hume, Walter Scott, Robert Adam, David Wilkie, Robert Burns, James Hutton and Adam Smith. Edinburgh became a major cultural centre, earning it the nickname ''Athens of the North'' because of the Greco-Roman style of the New Town's architecture, as well as the rise of the Scottish intellectual elite who were increasingly leading both Scottish and European intellectual thought.

In the 19th century, Edinburgh, like many cities, industrialised, but did not grow as fast as Scotland's second city, Glasgow, which replaced it as the largest city in the country, benefiting greatly at the height of the British Empire.

The Scotland Act 1998 which came into force in 1999 established a devolved Scottish parliament and Scottish Executive, both based in Edinburgh responsible for governing Scotland, with reserved matters such as defence, taxation and foreign affairs remaining the responsibility of Westminster.

Geography

Bounded by the Firth of Forth to the north and the Pentland Hills, which skirt the periphery of the city to the south, Edinburgh lies in the eastern portion of the Central Lowlands of Scotland. The city sprawls over a landscape which is the product of early volcanic activity and later periods of intensive glaciation. Igneous activity between 350 and 400 million years ago, coupled with faulting led to the dispersion of tough basalt volcanic plugs, which predominate over much of the area. One such example is Castle Rock which forced the advancing icepack to divide, sheltering the softer rock and forming a mile-long tail of material to the east, creating a distinctive crag and tail formation. Glacial erosion on the northern side of the crag gouged a large valley resulting in the now drained Nor Loch. This structure, along with a ravine to the south, formed an ideal natural fortress which Edinburgh Castle was built upon. Similarly, Arthur's Seat is the remains of a volcano system dating from the Carboniferous period, which was eroded by a glacier moving from west to east during the ice age. Erosive action such as plucking and abrasion exposed the rocky crags to the west before leaving a tail of deposited glacial material swept to the east. This process formed the distinctive Salisbury Crags, which formed a series of teschenite cliffs located between Arthur's Seat and the city centre. The residential areas of Marchmont and Bruntsfield are built along a series of drumlin ridges located south of the city centre which were deposited as the glacier receded.

Other viewpoints in the city such as Calton Hill and Corstorphine Hill are similar products of glacial erosion. The Braid Hills and Blackford Hill are a series of small summits to the south west of the city commanding expansive views over the urban area of Edinburgh and northwards to the Forth.

Edinburgh is drained by the Water of Leith, which finds its source at the Colzium Springs in the Pentland Hills and runs for through the south and west of the city, emptying into the Firth of Forth at Leith. The nearest the river gets to the city centre is at Dean Village on the edge of the New Town, where a deep gorge is spanned by the ''Dean Bridge'', designed by Thomas Telford and built in 1832 for the road to Queensferry. The Water of Leith Walkway is a mixed use trail that follows the river for from Balerno to Leith.

Designated in 1957, Edinburgh is ringed by a green belt stretching from Dalmeny in the west to Prestongrange in the east. With an average width of the principal objective of the green belt was to contain the outward expansion of Edinburgh and to prevent the agglomeration of urban areas. Expansion within the green belt is strictly controlled but developments such as Edinburgh Airport and the Royal Highland Showground at Ingliston are located within the zone. Similarly, urban villages such as Juniper Green and Balerno sit on green belt land. One feature of the green belt in Edinburgh is the inclusion of parcels of land within the city which are designated as green belt even though they do not adjoin the main peripheral ring. Examples of these independent wedges of green belt include Holyrood Park and Corstorphine Hill.

Areas

whs	Old and New Towns of Edinburgh
country	Scotland
type	Cultural
criteria	ii, iv
id	728
region	Europe and North America
year	1995
session	19th
link	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/728 }}

Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is divided into areas that generally encompass a park (sometimes known as "links"), a main local street (i.e. street of local retail shops), a high street (the historic main street, not always the same as the main local street, such as in Corstorphine) and residential buildings. In Edinburgh many residences are tenements, although the more southern and western parts of the city have traditionally been more affluent and have a greater number of detached and semi-detached villas.

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.

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

thumb|left|upright|Looking down The Royal Mile 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.

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 16th century onwards with ten and eleven storeys being typical and one even reaching fourteen or fifteen storeys. Additionally, numerous vaults below street level were inhabited to accommodate the influx of 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 participants into the underground city, Edinburgh Vaults.

New Town

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, designed by Robert Adam, influenced Edinburgh street architecture into the early 19th century. Bute House, the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland, is on the north side of Charlotte Square. Sitting in the hollow 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. Craig's original plans included Princes Street Gardens and an ornamental canal in place of the Nor Loch. Excess soil from the construction of the buildings was dumped into the loch, creating what is now The Mound and the canal idea was abandoned. 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 New Town was so successful that it was extended greatly. The grid pattern was not maintained, but rather a more picturesque layout was created.

Southside

A popular residential part of the city is its south side, comprising a number of areas including St Leonards, Marchmont, Newington, Sciennes and The Grange. The Edinburgh "Southside" 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 now with families (many 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 (with major campuses around Merchiston & Morningside), as well as with visiting festival-goers. These areas are also the subject of several works of fiction: Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus lives in Marchmont and worked in St Leonards; and Churchhill, in Morningside, was the home of Muriel Spark's Miss Jean Brodie.

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 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 and Easter Road, the home ground of Hibernian F.C.

Urban area

The urban area of Edinburgh is almost entirely contained within the City of Edinburgh Council boundary, merging with Musselburgh in East Lothian. Nearby towns close to the city borders include Dunfermline, Bonnyrigg, Dalkeith, Danderhall, Newtongrange, Gorebridge, Livingston and Broxburn. The EU classifies this area as a Larger Urban Zone with a population of nearly 800,000 people.

Demography

Edinburgh 448,624 7.1% 95.9% 2.6% 16.3% 15.4% 54.8% 1.5%

Edinburgh compared
United Kingdom Census 2001	UK Census 2001	|	Lothian	Scotland
Total population	|	778,367	5,062,011
Population growth 1991–2001	|	7.2%	1.3%
White	|	97.2%	98.8%
Asian	|	1.6%	1.3%
Under 16 years old	|	18.6%	19.2%
Over 65 years old	|	14.8%	16.0%
Christian	|	58.1%	65.1%
Muslim	|	1.1%	0.8%

At the United Kingdom Census 2001, Edinburgh had a population of 448,624, a rise of 7.1% on 1991. Estimates in 2009 placed the total resident population at 477,660 split between 230,986 males and 246,674 females. This makes Edinburgh the second largest city in Scotland after Glasgow and the seventh largest in Britain. According to the European Statistical agency, Eurostat, Edinburgh sits at the heart of a Larger Urban Zone covering 665 square miles (1,724 km²) with a population of 778,000. Edinburgh has a higher proportion of those aged between 16 and 24 than the Scottish average, but has a lower proportion of those classified as elderly or pre-school. Over 95% of Edinburgh respondents classed their ethnicity as White in 2001, with those identifying as being Indian and Chinese at 1.6% and 0.8% of the population respectively. In 2001, 22% of the population were born outside Scotland with the largest group of people within this category being born in England at 12.1%. Since the 2004 enlargement of the European Union, a large number of migrants from the accession states such as Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have settled in the city, with many working in the service industry.

There is evidence of human habitation on Castle Rock from as early as 3,000 years ago. A census conducted by the Edinburgh presbytery in 1592 estimated a population of 8,000 scattered equally north and south of the High Street which runs down the spine of the ridge leading from the Castle. In the 18th and 19th Centuries, the population began to expand rapidly, rising from 49,000 in 1751 to 136,000 in 1831 primarily due to rural out-migration. As the population swelled, overcrowding problems in the Old Town, particularly in the cramped tenements that lined the present day Royal Mile and Cowgate, were exacerbated. Sanitary problems and disease were rife. The construction of James Craig's masterplanned New Town from 1766 onwards witnessed the migration of the professional classes from the Old Town to the lower density, higher quality surroundings taking shape on land to the north. Expansion southwards from the Royal Mile/Cowgate axis of the Old Town saw more tenements being built in the 19th century, giving rise to present day areas such as Marchmont, Newington and Bruntsfield.

Early 20th century population growth coincided with lower density suburban development in areas such as Gilmerton, Liberton and South Gyle. As the city expanded to the south and west, detached and semi detached villas with large gardens replaced tenements as the predominant building style. Nonetheless, the 2001 census revealed that over 55% of Edinburgh's population live in tenements or blocks of flats compared to the Scottish average of 33.5%.

Throughout the early to mid 20th century many new estates were built in areas such as Craigmillar, Niddrie, Pilton, Muirhouse, Piershill and Sighthill, linked to slum clearances in the Old Town.

There were estates built in North Edinburgh in the 1950s to cope with overcrowding in the inner city, Clermiston is one such estate.

Economy

Edinburgh is the most competitive large city in the UK according to the Centre for International Competitiveness. Edinburgh also has the highest Gross value added per employee of any city in the UK outside London, measuring £50,256 in 2007. A combination of these factors saw Edinburgh named the Best Small City of the future by fDi Magazine for 2010/11. Education and health, finance and business services, retailing and tourism are the largest employers. The economy of Edinburgh is largely based on the services sector – centred around banking, financial services, higher education, and tourism. As of March 2010 unemployment in Edinburgh is comparatively low at 3.6%, and remains consistently below the Scottish average of 4.5%. Banking has been a part of the economic life of Edinburgh for over 300 years, with the establishment of the Bank of Scotland – now part of the Lloyds Banking Group – by an act of the original Parliament of Scotland in 1695. Today, together with the 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 is the UK's second financial centre after London and Europe's fourth by equity assets. In world terms, it ranks ahead of Dubai, Amsterdam and Washington D.C. in the Global Financial Centres Index. The Royal Bank of Scotland opened its new global headquarters at Gogarburn in the west of the city in October 2005. Edinburgh has recently become home to the headquarters of Tesco Bank and Virgin Money.

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 over 4.4 million visitors, and generate in excess of £100m for the Edinburgh economy.

As the centre of Scotland's 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.

Culture

Festivals

Culturally, Edinburgh is best known for the Edinburgh Festival, which is a series of separate events running 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 overtaken 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 Edinburgh Comedy 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. 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.

Running concurrently with the summer festivals, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo occupies the Castle Esplanade every night, with massed pipers and fireworks. As well as the various summer festivals there is also the Edinburgh International Science Festival. Held annually in April it is one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

Celebrations

Equally famous is the annual Hogmanay celebration. Originally 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 street party commencing on Hogmanay. During the street party Princes Street is accessible by ticket only, with 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 Céilidh, where well known artists perform and ticket holders are invited to participate in traditional Scottish céilidh 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. At the beginning of October each year, the Dussehra Hindu Festival is also held on Calton Hill.

Museums and libraries

Edinburgh has 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 and in more recent years being declared the first UNESCO City of Literature in 2004. 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. Today, the city is the home of many publishing companies. 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 Irvine Welsh, whose novels are mostly set in the city and are often written in colloquial Scots. Edinburgh is also home to the international best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith.

Music, theatre and film

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, with mid-sized events at venues such as the Corn Exchange, HMV Picture House, the Liquid Rooms, and the Bongo Club. Smaller more intimate shows can be found at venues like Cabaret Voltaire, Sneaky Pete's, The Store, The Voodoo Rooms, Bannerman's, Henry's Cellar Bar and Forrest Cafe.

In 2010, PRS for Music listed Edinburgh amongst the UK's top ten 'most musical' cities.

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

Visual arts

Edinburgh contains Scotland's five National Galleries as well as numerous smaller 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. 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 Art 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.

There are private galleries, including Doggerfisher and Ingleby Gallery, the latter providing a varied programme including shows by Callum Innes, Peter Liversidge, Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Forster, and Sean Scully.

The city hosts several of Scotland's galleries and organisations dedicated to contemporary visual art. Significant strands of this infrastructure include: The Scottish Arts Council, Edinburgh College of Art, Talbot Rice Gallery (University of Edinburgh) and the Edinburgh Annuale.

Nightlife and shopping

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. On a side note on the nightlife, Edinburgh is the Top UK city for male single travelers, according to a recent Excite EU study.

Princes Street is the main shopping area in the city centre, with a wide range of stores from souvenir shops, from chains such as Boots and H&M; and institutions like Jenners. George Street, 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, Cameron Toll, 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.

Climate

Like much of the rest of Scotland, Edinburgh has a temperate, maritime climate which is relatively mild despite its northerly latitude. Winters are generally mild, with daytime temperatures rarely falling below freezing, and compare favourably with places such as Moscow, Labrador and Newfoundland which lie at similar latitudes. Summer temperatures are normally moderate, with daily upper maxima rarely exceeding 22 °C. The highest temperature ever recorded in the city was 31.4 °C on 4 August 1975. 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 North Atlantic Current that can give rise to rainfall – although considerably less than cities to the west, such as Glasgow. Rainfall is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year. Winds from an easterly direction are usually drier but colder, and are usually accompanied by Haar (fog), a persistent coastal fog. Vigorous Atlantic depressions, known as European windstorms, can affect the city between October and May.

Sport

Football

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

Edinburgh was also home to senior sides St Bernard's, and Leith Athletic. Most recently, Meadowbank Thistle played at Meadowbank Stadium until 1995, when the club moved to Livingston, becoming Livingston F.C.. Previously, Meadowbank Thistle had been named Ferranti Thisle. The Scottish national team has occasionally 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., Leith 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.

Rugby union

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 Magners League at Murrayfield. It is the largest capacity stadium in Scotland, with around 67,000 seats. Edinburgh is also home to RBS Premier One rugby teams Heriot's Rugby Club, Boroughmuir RFC, the Edinburgh Academicals and Currie RFC.

Ice hockey

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 compete in the ten team professional Elite Ice Hockey League along with two other Scottish teams which are the Braehead Clan and the Dundee Stars.

Other sports

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

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.

The Edinburgh Capitals is an ice hockey team playing in the Elite Ice Hockey League since the 2005/2006 season.

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. The Royal Commonwealth Pool, currently undergoing refurbishment and due to re-open for spring 2012, will host the Diving competition of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, held by Glasgow.

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 2003 with more than 13,000 taking part annually. The city also has a half-marathon, as well as a number of 10 km and 5 km races, including a 5 km race on the first of January each year.

Edinburgh has a speedway team, the Edinburgh Monarchs, which is currently based at the Lothian Arena in Armadale, West Lothian. Speedway was staged at four venues in the City. Marine Gardens operated 1928–1931 and 1938–1939. Old Meadowbank operated 1948–1954 and 1960–1967. Powderhall operated 1977–1995. A training track at the Gyle operated 1968. The Monarchs have won the Premier League 3 times 2003, 2008 and 2010.

Edinburgh Eagles are a rugby league team who play in the Rugby League Conference Scotland Division. Murrayfield Stadium has also hosted the Magic Weekend where all Super League matches are played (at Murrayfield) all on the one weekend.

Punting took place on the Union Canal between Hermiston and Ratho. This stretch was the course of the annual Scottish Boat Race between the Honourable Society of Edinburgh Boaters and the University of Cambridge Dampers Club.

Government

Following local government reorganisation in 1996, Edinburgh constitutes one of the 32 Unitary Authorities of Scotland. Today, the City of Edinburgh Council is the administrative body for the local authority and has its powers stipulated by the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994. Like all other unitary and island authorities in Scotland, the council has powers over most matters of local administration such as housing, planning, local transport, parks, economic development and regeneration. The council is composed of 58 elected councillors, returned from 17 multi-member electoral wards in the city. Each ward elects three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, to produce a form of proportional representation. Following the 2007 Scottish Local Elections the incumbent Labour Party lost majority control of the council, after 23 years, to a Liberal Democrat/SNP coalition. Since 2007, the council has operated a committee structure, headed by the Lord Provost, who chairs the full council and acts as a figurehead for the city. The Provost, currently George Grubb, also serves as ''ex officio'' the Lord Lieutenant of the city. A Leader and Policy & Strategy Committee, appointed by the full council, are responsible for the day-to-day running of the city administration. Jenny Dawe has been the Council Leader since May 2007. Councillors are also appointed to sit on the boards of public bodies such as Lothian and Borders Police and the Forth Estuary Transport Authority.

In terms of national governance, Edinburgh is represented in the Scottish Parliament. For electoral purposes, 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.

Edinburgh is also represented in the House of Commons by 5 Members of Parliament elected from single member constituencies by the plurality system. One of the local constituencies, Edinburgh South West, is represented by Alistair Darling, the former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Transport

Edinburgh Airport is Scotland's busiest airport and principal international gateway to the capital, handling just over 9 million passengers in 2009. In anticipation of rising passenger numbers, the airport operator BAA outlined a draft masterplan in 2006 to provide for the expansion of the airfield and terminal building. The possibility of building a second runway to cope with an increased number of aircraft movements has also been mooted.

As an important hub on the East Coast Main Line, is the primary railway station serving the city. With more than 14 million passengers per year, the station is the second busiest in Scotland behind . Waverley serves as the terminus for trains arriving from and is the departure point for many rail services within Scotland operated by First ScotRail.

To the west of the city centre lies Haymarket railway station which is an important commuter stop. Opened in 2003, Edinburgh Park station serves the adjacent business park located in the west of the city and the nearby Gogarburn headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland. The Edinburgh Crossrail connects Edinburgh Park with Haymarket, Waverley and the suburban stations of and in the east of the city. There are also commuter lines to South Gyle and Dalmeny, which serves South Queensferry by the Forth Bridges, and to the south west of the city out to Wester Hailes and Curriehill

Lothian Buses operate the majority of city bus services within the City and to surrounding suburbs, with the majority of routes running via Princes Street. Services further afield operate from the Edinburgh Bus Station off St. Andrew Square. Lothian, as the successor company to the City's Corporation Trams, also operates all of the City's branded public tour bus services, the night bus network and airport buses. Lothian's ''Mac Tours'' subsidiary has one of the largest remaining fleets of ex-London Routemaster buses in the UK, many converted to open top tour buses. In 2007, the average daily ridership of Lothian Buses was over 312,000 – a 6% rise on the previous year.

thumb|left|One of Lothian Buses fleet on Princes Street.In order to tackle traffic congestion, Edinburgh is now served by six park and ride sites on the periphery of the city at Sheriffhall, Ingliston, Riccarton, Inverkeithing (in Fife) and Newcraighall. A new facility at Straiton opened in October 2008. A referendum of Edinburgh residents in February 2005 rejected a proposal to introduce congestion charging in the city.

Edinburgh has been without a tram system since 16 November 1956. Following parliamentary approval in 2007, construction began on a new Edinburgh tram network in early 2008. The first stage of the project was expected to be operational by July 2011 but is unlikely to be working before the beginning of 2012. The first phase will see trams running from the airport in the west of the city, through the centre of Edinburgh and down Leith Walk to Ocean Terminal and Newhaven. The next phase of the project will see trams run from Haymarket through Ravelston and Craigleith to Granton on the waterfront. Future proposals include a line going west from the airport to Ratho and Newbridge, and a line running along the length of the waterfront.

Education

There are four universities in Edinburgh with over 100,000 students studying in the city. Established by Royal Charter in 1583, the University of Edinburgh is one of Scotland's ancient universities and is the fourth oldest in the country after St Andrews, Glasgow and Aberdeen. Originally centred around Old College the university expanded to premises on The Mound, the Royal Mile and George Square. Today, the King's Buildings in the south of the city contain most of the schools within the College of Science and Engineering. In 2002, the medical school moved to purpose built accommodation adjacent to the new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary at Little France. The University was voted 20th in the world in the 2009 THES World University Rankings.

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. Based in Riccarton to the west of the city, Heriot-Watt specialises in the disciplines of engineering, business and mathematics. Napier College was renamed Napier Polytechnic in 1986 and gained university status in 1992. Edinburgh Napier University has campuses in the south and west of the city, including the former Craiglockhart Hydropathic and Merchiston Tower. It is home to the Screen Academy Scotland.

Further education colleges in the city include Jewel and Esk College (incorporating Leith Nautical College founded in 1903), Telford College, opened in 1968, and Stevenson College, opened in 1970. The Scottish Agricultural College also has a campus in south Edinburgh. Awarded university status in January 2007, Queen Margaret University was founded in 1875, as ''The Edinburgh School of Cookery and Domestic Economy'', by Christian Guthrie Wright and Louisa Stevenson.

Other notable institutions include the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh which were established by Royal Charter, in 1506 and 1681 respectively. The Trustees Drawing Academy of Edinburgh was founded in 1760 – an institution that became the Edinburgh College of Art in 1907.

There are 18 nursery, 94 primary and 23 secondary schools in Edinburgh administered by the city council. In addition, the city is home to a large number of independent, fee-paying schools including George Heriot's School, Fettes College, Merchiston Castle School, George Watson's College, Edinburgh Academy and Stewart's Melville College. In 2009, the proportion of pupils in education at independent schools was 24.2%, far above the national average of just over 4% and higher than in any other region of Scotland.

Hospitals

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 and the nurse-led Minor Injuries Clinic. 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'. There are two private hospitals, Murrayfield Hospital in the west of the city and Shawfield Hospital in the south; both are owned by Spire Healthcare.

Religious communities

Christianity

The Church of Scotland claims the largest membership of any religious denomination in Edinburgh. As of 2010, there are 83 congregations in the Church of Scotland's Presbytery of Edinburgh. Its most notable church is St Giles' Cathedral, while St Cuthbert's, situated at the west end of Princes Street Gardens and in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, lays claim to being the oldest Christian site in city, although its magnificent and unique building designed by Hippolyte Blanc dates mainly from the late 19th century. Other Church of Scotland churches 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 Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh has a large number of churches across the city, the number of parishes totalling 28, under the aegis of St Giles' City of Edinburgh Deanery.There are also a further 6 churches and chapels belonging to religious orders where Sunday Mass if offered.. Its notable structures include St Mary's Cathedral (the mother church of Scots Catholicism), the Sacred Heart of Jesus, St Patrick's, St. Columba's, St. Peter's and Star of the Sea. The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter fulfil their ministry in St. Andrew’s Church (Ravelston) and in St Cuthbert’s House Chapel. St. Margaret's and St. Leonard's Church (Newington) is an apostolate of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X. The leader of Scotland's Catholics, Keith Patrick Cardinal O'Brien, has his official residence in the area of the city known locally as Holy Corner, and the diocesan offices are located in Marchmont.

The Scottish Episcopal Church, part of the Anglican Communion, has a number of churches across the city. Its centre is the late 19th century Gothic style St Mary's Cathedral in the West End's Palmerston Place. The historic former pro-cathedral of the city is Old Saint Paul's, located off the Royal Mile, which was established in 1689 when St Giles' Cathedral and the wider Church of Scotland converted from Episcopal to Presbyterian governance.

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, The Rock Elim Church, Kings Church Edinburgh, Charlotte Chapel, Carrubbers Christian Centre, Morningside Baptist Church and Bellevue Chapel.

Biblical unitarians are represented by a Christadelphian church, established in Edinburgh since 1853.

Saint Giles is the patron saint of Edinburgh.

Other faiths

Edinburgh Central Mosque – Edinburgh's main mosque and Islamic Centre – is located on Potterrow in the city's south side, 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. There are other mosques in Annandale Street Lane, off Leith Walk, and in Queensferry Road, Blackhall as well as a number of other Islamic centres across the city. The first recorded presence of a Jewish community in Edinburgh dates back to the late 17th century. Edinburgh's Orthodox synagogue, which was opened in 1932, is located in Salisbury Road and can accommodate a congregation of 2000. A Liberal Jewish congregation also meets in the city. There are a Sikh Gurdwara and a Hindu Mandir, both in Leith, and a Brahma Kumaris centre in the Polwarth area. Edinburgh Buddhist Centre, run by the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, is situated in Melville Terrace. A number of other Buddhist traditions are represented by groups which meet in the capital: the Community of Interbeing (followers of Thich Nhat Hanh), Rigpa, Samye Dzong, Theravadin, Pure Land and Shambala. There is a Soto Zen Priory in Portobello and a Theravadin Thai Buddhist Monastery in Slateford Road. Edinburgh is home to an active Baha'i Community, a Theosophical Society, in Great King Street, and the city has a number of practising Pagans. Edinburgh has an active Inter-Faith Association.

Notable residents

Scotland has a rich history in science and engineering, with Edinburgh contributing 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 and University of Edinburgh, as was the engineer and telephone pioneer Alexander Graham Bell. 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; chemist and one of the founders of thermodynamics Joseph Black; pioneering medical researchers Joseph Lister and James Young Simpson; chemist and discoverer of the element nitrogen, Daniel Rutherford; mathematician and developer of the maclaurin series, Colin Maclaurin 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.

Famous authors of the city include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of ''Sherlock Holmes'', Muriel Spark, author of ''The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'', James Hogg, author of ''The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner'', 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, Adam Smith, economist, born in Kirkcaldy, and author of ''The Wealth of Nations'', Sir Walter Scott, the author of famous titles such as ''Rob Roy'', ''Ivanhoe'' and ''Heart of Midlothian'', Robert Louis Stevenson, creator of ''Treasure Island'', ''Kidnapped'' and ''The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' and Irvine Welsh, author of ''Trainspotting''.

Edinburgh has been home to the actor Sir Sean Connery, famed as the first cinematic James Bond; Ronnie Corbett, a comedian and actor, best known as one of The Two Ronnies; 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; the Bay City Rollers; Boards of Canada and Idlewild.

Edinburgh is the home town of the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, who was born in the city and attended Fettes College; 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.

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 by the famous surgeon Robert Knox and Major Weir a notorious warlock.

Twinning arrangements

The City of Edinburgh has entered into 11 international twinning arrangements since 1954. Most of the arrangements are styled as 'Twin Cities', but the agreement with Kraków is designated as a 'Partner City'. The agreement with the Kyoto Prefecture, concluded in 1994, is officially styled as a 'Friendship Link', reflecting its status as the only region to be twinned with Edinburgh.

Munich, Germany (1954)

Nice, France (1958)

Florence, Italy (1964)

Dunedin, New Zealand (1974)

Vancouver, Canada (1977)

San Diego, United States (1977)

Xi'an, China (1985)

Kiev, Ukraine (1989)

Aalborg, Denmark (1991)

Kyoto Prefecture, Japan (1994)

Kraków, Poland (1995)

See also

Catacombs of Edinburgh

Cockburn Association (Edinburgh Civic Trust)

Dean Cemetery

Duke of Edinburgh

Edinburgh in popular culture

Edinburgh town walls

Fresh Air (Edinburgh)

Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service

National Archives of Scotland

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Sources

Notes

References

External links

Edinburgh – Inspiring Capital, the official introduction to Edinburgh City Region

The City of Edinburgh Council

Edinburgh – The official Tourist Board

City wiki of Edinburgh

Category:British capitals Category:Districts of Scotland Category:Edinburgh Category:Trading posts of the Hanseatic League Category:Capitals in Europe Category:Host cities of the Commonwealth Games Category:Port cities and towns in Scotland Category:Port cities and towns of the North Sea Category:Council areas of Scotland Category:Lieutenancy areas of Scotland

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Coordinates	49°39′″N19°18′″N
Name	Edinburgh Castle
Location	Edinburgh, Scotland GB grid reference
Map type	Scotland
Latitude	55.948611
Longitude	-3.200833
Map size	150
Map caption	Location of Edinburgh Castle within Scotland
Built	Site occupied since the late Bronze Age; buildings of present castle date from the 12th to 21st centuries
Used	Still in use today
Ownership	Ministry of Defence
Open to public	Yes
Garrison	52 Infantry Brigade
Current commander	Major General David Shaw
Commanders	List of Governors of Edinburgh Castle
Battles	Sieges and occupations during the Wars of Scottish Independence (1296–1357); Lang Siege (1571–1573); sieges in 1640, 1650, 1689, 1745
Caption2	}}

Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear. There has been a royal castle here since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. From the 15th century the castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century its principal role was as a military base with a large garrison. Its importance as a historic monument was recognised from the 19th century, and various restoration programmes have been carried out since. As one of the most important fortresses in the Kingdom of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle was involved in many historical conflicts, from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century, up to the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and has been besieged, both successfully and unsuccessfully, on several occasions.

Few of the present buildings pre-date the Lang Siege of the 16th century, when the medieval fortifications were largely destroyed by artillery bombardment. The notable exception is St Margaret's Chapel, the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh, which dates from the early 12th century. Among other significant buildings of the castle are the Royal Palace, and the early-16th-century Great Hall. The castle also houses the Scottish National War Memorial, and the National War Museum of Scotland.

Although formally owned by the Ministry of Defence, most of the castle is now in the care of Historic Scotland, and it is Scotland's most-visited paid tourist attraction. The garrison left in the 1920s, but there is still a military presence at the castle, largely ceremonial and administrative, and including a number of regimental museums. It is the backdrop to the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo and has become a recognisable symbol of Edinburgh and of Scotland.

History

Pre-history of the Castle Rock

Geology

The castle stands upon the plug of an extinct volcano, which is estimated to have risen some 350 million years ago during the lower Carboniferous period. The Castle Rock is the remains of a volcanic pipe, which cut through the surrounding sedimentary rock, before cooling to form very hard dolerite, a type of basalt. Subsequent glacial erosion was resisted by the dolerite, which protected the softer rock to the east, leaving a crag and tail formation.

The summit of the Castle Rock is above sea level, with rocky cliffs to the south, west and north, rearing up to from the surrounding landscape. This means that the only readily accessible route to the castle lies to the east, where the ridge slopes more gently. The defensive advantage of such a site is clear, but the geology of the rock also presents difficulties, since basalt is an extremely poor aquifer. Providing water to the Upper Ward of the castle was problematic, and despite the sinking of a deep well, the water supply often ran out during drought or siege, for example during the Lang Siege of 1573.

Earliest habitation

Documentary reference to occupation of the Castle Rock can be found as early as the mid-2nd century AD. Ptolemy (c. 83 – c. 168) refers to a settlement of the Votadini known to the Romans as "Alauna", meaning "rock place", which may be the earliest known name for the Castle Rock. The ''Orygynale Cronykil'' of Andrew of Wyntoun (c. 1350 – c. 1423), an early chronicler of Scottish history, alludes to "Ebrawce" (Ebraucus), a legendary King of the Britons, who "byggyd [built] Edynburgh". According to the earlier chronicler, Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1100 – c. 1155), Ebraucus had fifty children by his twenty wives, and was the founder of "Kaerebrauc" (York), "Alclud" (Dumbarton), and the "Maidens' Castle". John Stow (c. 1525 – 1605), credited Ebraucus with building "the Castell of Maidens called Edenbrough" in 989 BC.

The name "Maiden Castle", or ''Castellum Puellarum'' in Latin, was commonly used until at least the 16th century. It appears in charters of David I (ruled 1124–1153) and his successors, although its origins are obscure. William Camden's 1607 ''Britannia'' records that "the Britans called [it] Castle Myned Agned, the Scots, the Maidens Castle and the Virgins Castle, of certaine young maidens of the Picts roiall bloud who were kept there in old time". According to the 17th-century antiquarian Father Richard Hay, the "maidens" were a group of nuns, who were ejected from the castle and replaced by canons, considered "fitter to live among soldiers". However, this story has been considered "apocryphal" by Daniel Wilson and later historians. Possibly the name derives from a "Cult of the Nine Maidens" type of legend. Arthurian legends suggest that the site once held a shrine to Morgain la Fee, one of nine sisters. Later, St Monenna is said to have invested a church at Edinburgh, as well as at Dumbarton and other places, and is also said to have been one of nine companions. More simply, the term "Maiden Castle" may refer to a castle which has never been taken by force.

An archaeological survey of the castle in the late 1980s shows evidence of the site having been settled during the late Bronze Age or early Iron Age, potentially making the Castle Rock the longest continually occupied site in Scotland. However, the extent of the finds was not particularly significant and was insufficient to draw any certain conclusions about the precise nature or scale of this earliest known phase of occupation.

The archaeological evidence becomes more compelling in the Iron Age. Traditionally, it had been supposed that the tribes which inhabited this part of central Scotland had made little or no use of the Castle Rock. Excavations at nearby Traprain Law, Dunsapie Hill, Duddingston and Inveresk had revealed relatively large settlements and it was supposed that these sites had, for some reason, been chosen in preference to the Castle Rock. However, the excavations of the 1980s suggested that there was probably an enclosed hill fort on the rock, although only the fringes of the site were excavated. House fragments revealed were similar to Votadini houses previously found in Northumbria.

The dig revealed clear signs of habitation from the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, consistent with Ptolemy's reference to "Alauna". Signs of occupation included a good deal of Roman material, including pottery, bronzes and brooches, potentially reflecting a trading relationship between the Votadini and the Romans beginning with Agricola's foray north in AD 80, and continuing through to the establishment of the Antonine Wall around AD 140, when the Romans temporarily established themselves nearby at Cramond. The nature of the settlement at this time is inconclusive, but Driscoll and Yeoman suggest it may have been a broch, similar to the one at Edin's Hall in the Borders. There is no evidence that the Romans actually occupied the Castle Rock, as they did at nearby Traprain Law. From this point onwards there is strong evidence pointing towards continuous habitation of the site through to the present, albeit with fluctuations in population levels.

Early Middle Ages

The castle does not re-appear in contemporary historical records from the time of Ptolemy until around AD 600. Then, in the Brythonic epic ''Y Gododdin'', there is a reference to ''Din Eidyn'', "the stronghold of Eidyn". This has been viewed as an early reference to the Castle Rock. The poem tells of the Gododdin King Mynyddog Mwynfawr, and his band of warriors, who, after a year of feasting in their fortress, set out to do battle with the Angles in the area of contemporary Yorkshire. Despite performing glorious deeds of valour and bravery, the poem relates that the Gododdin were massacred.

The Irish annals record that in 638, after the events related in ''Y Gododdin'', "Etin" was besieged by the Angles under Oswald of Northumbria, and the Gododdin were defeated. The territory around Edinburgh then became part of the Kingdom of Northumbria, which was itself absorbed by England in the 10th century, when Athelstan of England, according to the Annals of Clonmacnoise, "spoiled the Kingdom of Edinburgh". The English withdrew, and Lothian became part of Scotland, during the reign of Indulf (ruled 954–962).

The archaeological evidence for the relevant period is entirely based on analysis of midden heaps, with no evidence of structures. Few conclusions can therefore be derived about the status of the settlement during this period, although the midden deposits show no clear break since Roman times.

High Middle Ages

The first documentary reference to a castle at Edinburgh is in John of Fordun's account of the death of King Malcolm III. Fordun places his widow, the future Saint Margaret, at the "Castle of Maidens", where she learns of his death in November 1093. Fordun's account goes on to relate how Margaret died of grief within days, and how Malcolm's brother Donald Bane laid siege to the castle. However, Fordun's chronicle was not written until the later 14th century, and the near-contemporary account of the life of St Margaret, by Bishop Turgot, makes no mention of a castle. During the reigns of Malcolm III and his sons, Edinburgh Castle became one of the most significant royal centres in Scotland. Malcolm's son King Edgar died here in 1107.

Malcolm's youngest son, King David I (ruled 1124–1153), developed Edinburgh as a site of royal power principally through his administrative reforms. Between 1139 and 1150, David held an assembly of nobles and churchmen, a precursor to the parliament of Scotland, at the castle. Any buildings or defences would probably have been of timber, although two 12th-century stone buildings are known. Of these, St. Margaret's Chapel remains at the summit of the rock. The second was a church, dedicated to St. Mary, which stood on the site of the Scottish National War Memorial. Given that the southern part of the Upper Ward (where Crown Square is now sited) was not suited to being built upon until the construction of the vaults in the 15th century, it seems probable that any earlier buildings would have been located towards the northern part of the rock; that is around the area where St. Margaret's Chapel stands. This has led to a suggestion that the chapel is the last remnant of a square, stone keep, which would have formed the bulk of the 12th-century fortification. The structure may have been similar to the keep of Carlisle Castle, which David I began after 1135.

David's successor King Malcolm IV (ruled 1153–1165) reportedly stayed at Edinburgh more than at any other location. But in 1174, King William "the Lion" (ruled 1165–1214) was captured by the English at the Battle of Alnwick. He was forced to sign the Treaty of Falaise to secure his release, in return for surrendering Edinburgh Castle, along with the castles of Berwick, Roxburgh and Stirling, to the English King, Henry II. The castle was occupied by the English for twelve years, until 1186, when it was returned to William as the dowry of his English bride, Ermengarde de Beaumont, who had been chosen for him by King Henry. By the end of the 12th century, Edinburgh Castle was established as the main depository of the national archives.

Wars of Scottish Independence

A century later, on the death of King Alexander III, the throne of Scotland became vacant. Edward I of England was appointed to adjudicate the competing claims for the Scottish crown, but attempted to use the opportunity to establish himself as the feudal overlord of Scotland. During the negotiations, Edward stayed briefly at Edinburgh Castle, and had much of the country's records and treasure removed from the castle to England.

In March 1296, Edward I launched an invasion of Scotland, sparking the First War of Scottish Independence. Edinburgh Castle soon came under English control, surrendering after three days of bombardment. A large garrison was installed, 325 strong in 1300, and Edward brought up his master craftsmen from the Welsh castles, including Thomas de Houghton and Master Walter of Hereford, both of whom travelled from Wales to Edinburgh in the first years of the century. After the death of Edward I in 1307, however, England's control over Scotland weakened. On 14 March 1314, a surprise night attack by Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, recaptured the castle. The daring plan involved a party of thirty hand-picked men, led by one William Francis, who had lived in the castle as a boy, making a difficult ascent up the north face of the Castle Rock, and taking the garrison by surprise. Robert the Bruce immediately ordered the destruction of the castle's defences to prevent re-occupation by the English. Shortly after, Bruce's army secured victory at the Battle of Bannockburn.

After Bruce's death in 1329, Edward III of England determined to carry on Edward I's project, and supported the claim of Edward Balliol, son of the former King John Balliol, over that of the young David II, son of the Bruce. Edward invaded in 1333, marking the start of the Second War of Scottish Independence, and the English forces reoccupied and refortified Edinburgh Castle in 1335, holding it until 1341. This time, the Scottish assault was led by William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas. Douglas's party disguised themselves as merchants bringing supplies to the garrison. Driving a cart into the castle, they halted it to prevent the gates closing. A larger force hidden nearby rushed to join them, and the castle was retaken. The English garrison, numbering 100, were all killed.

David's Tower and the 15th century

The Treaty of Berwick of 1357 brought the Wars of Independence to a close. David II resumed his rule, and set about rebuilding Edinburgh Castle, which became his principal seat of government. David's Tower was begun around 1367, and was incomplete when David died at the Castle in 1371, being completed by his successor, Robert II, in the 1370s. The tower stood on the site of the present Half Moon Battery, and was connected by a section of curtain wall to the smaller Constable's Tower, a round tower built between 1375 and 1379 where the Portcullis Gate now stands.

In the early 15th century, another English invasion, this time under Henry IV, reached Edinburgh Castle and began a siege, but due to a lack of supplies, the English withdrew. From 1437, Sir William Crichton was Keeper of Edinburgh Castle, and soon after became Chancellor of Scotland. In an attempt to gain the regency of Scotland, Crichton sought to overthrow the power of the Earls of Douglas, the principal noble family in the kingdom. The sixteen-year-old William Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas, and his younger brother David, were summoned to Edinburgh Castle in November 1440. The so-called "Black Dinner" which followed saw the two boys summarily beheaded on trumped-up charges, in the presence of the ten-year-old King James II (ruled 1437–1460). Douglas' supporters subsequently laid siege to the castle, causing some damage. Construction continued throughout this period, with the area now known as Crown Square being laid out over vaults in the 1430s. Royal apartments were built, forming the nucleus of the later palace block, and a Great Hall was in existence by 1458. In 1464, the access to the castle was improved, with the current approach road up the north-east side of the rock being laid out.

In 1479, Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany, was imprisoned in David's Tower for plotting against his brother, King James III (ruled 1460–1488). He escaped by getting his guards drunk, then lowering himself from a window on a rope. Albany fled to France, then England, where he allied himself with King Edward IV. In 1482, Albany marched into Scotland with Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III) and an English army. He occupied Edinburgh Castle and imprisoned the King for two months before the rebellion collapsed.

During the 15th century the castle was increasingly used as an arsenal and armaments factory. The first known purchase of a gun was in 1384, and the "great bombard" Mons Meg was delivered to Edinburgh in 1457. The first record of the manufacture of guns occurs in 1474, and by 1498 the master gunner Robert Borthwick was casting bronze guns at Edinburgh. By 1511 Edinburgh was the principal foundry in Scotland, supplanting Stirling Castle, with Scottish and European smiths working under Borthwick, who by 1512 was appointed "master melter of the king's guns". Their output included guns for the Scottish flagship, ''Great Michael'', and the "Seven Sisters", a set of cannon captured by the English at Flodden in 1513, which were described by a Venetian writer as powerful and beautiful weapons. From 1510 Dutch craftsmen were also producing hand culverins, an early firearm. After Flodden, Borthwick continued his work, producing an unknown number of guns, of which none survive. He was succeeded by French smiths, who began manufacturing hagbuts (another type of firearm) in the 1550s, and by 1541 the castle had a stock of 413 hagbuts.

Meanwhile, the royal family began to stay more frequently at the Abbey of Holyrood, at the opposite end of Edinburgh's "Royal Mile". Around the end of the fifteenth century, King James IV (ruled 1488–1513) built Holyroodhouse, by the abbey, for his principal Edinburgh residence, and the castle's role as a royal home subsequently declined. James IV did, however, construct the present Great Hall, which was completed in the early 16th century.

16th century and the Lang Siege

James IV was killed in battle at Flodden Field, on 9 September 1513. Expecting the English to press their advantage, the Scots hastily constructed a town wall around Edinburgh and augmented the castle's defences. Robert Borthwick and a Frenchman, Antoine d'Arces, were involved in designing new artillery defences and fortifications in 1514, although little work appears to have been carried out. Three years later, King James V (ruled 1513–1542), still only five years old, was brought to the castle for safety. Upon James' death 25 years later, the crown passed to his week-old daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots. English invasions followed, as King Henry VIII attempted to force a dynastic marriage on Scotland, although Edinburgh Castle remained largely unaffected. Following these campaigns, refortifications included an earthen angle-bastion, known as the Spur, of the type known as ''trace italienne'', one of the earliest examples in Britain. It may have been designed by Migiliorino Ubaldini, an Italian engineer from the court of Henry II of France, and was said to have the arms of France carved on it. James V's widow, Mary of Guise, acted as regent from 1554 until her death at the castle in 1560. The following year, her daughter Mary returned from France to begin her reign.

The reign of the Catholic Queen Mary was marred by crises and quarrels amongst the powerful Protestant Scottish nobility. In 1565, the Queen married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and the following year, in a small room of the Palace at Edinburgh Castle, she gave birth to James, who would later be King of both Scotland and England. Mary's own reign, however, was already drawing to a close. Three months after the murder of Darnley at Kirk o' Field in 1567, she married James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, one of the murder suspects. A large proportion of the nobility rebelled, resulting ultimately in the imprisonment and forced abdication of Mary at Loch Leven Castle. She escaped and fled to England, and some of the nobility remained faithful to her cause. Edinburgh Castle was initially handed by its Captain, James Balfour, to the Regent Moray, who had forced Mary's abdication, and now held power in the name of the infant King James VI. Moray appointed Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange as Keeper of the Castle.

Kirkcaldy of Grange was a trusted lieutenant of the Regent, but after Moray's murder in January 1570 his allegiance to the King's cause began to waver. Intermittent civil war continued between the supporters of the two monarchs, and in April 1571 Dumbarton Castle fell to the King's men. Under the influence of William Maitland of Lethington, Mary's secretary, Grange changed sides, occupying the town and castle of Edinburgh for Queen Mary, and against the new regent, the Earl of Lennox. The stand-off which followed was not resolved until two years later, and became known as the "Lang Siege", from the Scots word for "long". Hostilities began in May, with a month-long siege of the town, and a short second siege in October. Blockades and skirmishing continued meanwhile, and Grange continued to refortify the castle. The King's party appealed to Elizabeth I of England for assistance, as they lacked the artillery and money required to reduce the castle, and feared that Grange would receive aid from France. Elizabeth sent ambassadors to negotiate, and in July 1572 a truce was agreed and the blockade lifted. The town was effectively surrendered to the King's party, with Grange confined to the castle.

The truce ran out on 1 January 1573, and Grange began bombarding the town. His supplies of powder and shot, however, were running low, and despite having 40 cannon available, there were only seven gunners in the garrison. The King's forces, now with the Earl of Morton in charge as regent, were making headway with plans for a siege. Trenches were dug to surround the castle, and St Margaret's Well was poisoned. By February, all Queen Mary's other supporters had surrendered to the Regent, but Grange resolved to resist, despite water shortages within the castle. The garrison continued to bombard the town, killing a number of citizens. They also made sorties to set fires, burning 100 houses in the town, and then firing on anyone attempting to put out the flames.

In April, a force of around 1,000 English troops, led by Sir William Drury, arrived in Edinburgh. They were followed by 27 cannon from Berwick-upon-Tweed, On 26 May, the English attacked and captured the Spur, the outer fortification of the castle, which had been isolated by the collapse. The following day, Grange came out, calling a ceasefire while surrender could be negotiated. When it was made clear that he would not be allowed to go free, Grange resolved to continue the resistance, but the garrison threatened to mutiny. He therefore arranged for Drury and his men to come into the castle on 28 May, surrendering to the English rather than to the Regent Morton. Edinburgh Castle was handed over to George Douglas of Parkhead, the Regent's brother, and the garrison were allowed to go free. William Kirkcaldy of Grange, his brother James, and two jewellers who had been minting coins in Mary's name inside the castle, were hanged at the mercat cross on 3 August.

Nova Scotia and Civil War

Much of the castle was subsequently rebuilt by Regent Morton, including the Spur, the new Half Moon Battery, and the Portcullis Gate. Some of these works were supervised by William MacDowall, the master of work who fifteen years earlier had repaired David's Tower. The Half Moon Battery, while impressive in size, is considered by historians as an ineffective and dated artillery fortification. This may be due to a shortage of resources, although the battery's position: obscuring the ancient David's Tower; and enhancing the prominence of the palace, has been seen as a significant decision.

The battered palace block remained unused, particularly after James VI departed to become King of England in 1603. James had repairs carried out in 1584, and in 1615–1616 more extensive repairs were carried out in preparation for his return visit to Scotland. The mason William Wallace and master of works James Murray introduced an early Scottish example of the double-pile block. The principal external features were the three, three-storey oriel windows on the east façade, facing the town and emphasising that this was a palace rather than a place of defence. During his visit of 1617, James held court in the refurbished palace, but still preferred to sleep at Holyrood.

In 1621, King James granted Sir William Alexander the land in North America between New England and Newfoundland, as ''Nova Scotia'' ("New Scotland"). To promote the settlement and plantation of Nova Scotia, the Baronetage of Nova Scotia was created in 1624. Under Scots Law, baronets had to "take sasine" by symbolically receiving the earth and stone of the land of which they were baronet. To make this possible, since Nova Scotia was far distant, the King declared that sasine could be taken either in Nova Scotia or, alternatively, "at the castle of Edinburgh as the most eminent and principal place of Scotland."

James' successor, King Charles I, visited Edinburgh Castle only once, hosting a feast in the Great Hall, and staying the night before his coronation as King of Scots in 1633, the last occasion that a reigning monarch has resided in the castle. In 1639, in response to Charles' attempts to reform the Scottish Church, civil war broke out between the King's forces and the Presbyterian Covenanters. The Covenanters, led by Alexander Leslie, captured Edinburgh Castle after a short siege, although it was restored to Charles after the Peace of Berwick of June the same year. The peace was short lived, however, and the following year the Covenanters took the castle again, this time after a three-month siege, during which the garrison ran out of supplies. The Spur was badly damaged, and was demolished in the 1640s. The Royalist commander James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, was imprisoned here after his capture in 1650.

In May 1650, the Covenanters signed the Treaty of Breda, allying themselves with King Charles II against the English Parliamentarians, who had executed King Charles I the previous year. In response, Oliver Cromwell launched an invasion of Scotland, defeating the Covenanter army at Dunbar in September. Edinburgh Castle was taken after a three-month siege, which caused further damage. The Governor of the Castle, Colonel Walter Dundas, surrendered to Cromwell despite having enough supplies to hold out, allegedly because he wished to change sides.

Garrison fortress: Jacobites and prisoners

After his Restoration as King of England and Scotland in 1660, Charles II opted to maintain a full-time standing army based on Cromwell's New Model Army. From this time until 1923, a garrison was continuously maintained at the castle. The medieval royal castle was transformed into a garrison fortress, but continued to see military and political action. The Marquis of Argyll was imprisoned here in 1661, during the mopping up of the King's enemies after the Restoration. Twenty years later, his son, the Earl of Argyll, was also imprisoned in the castle for religious Nonconformism. He escaped by disguising himself as his sister's footman, but was brought back to the castle after his failed rebellion against King James VII in 1685.

James VII was deposed and exiled by the Glorious Revolution of 1688–89, which installed William of Orange as King of England. The Parliament of Scotland also accepted William as their new king, and required the Duke of Gordon, Governor of the Castle, to surrender the fortress. Gordon, who had been appointed by James VII as a fellow Catholic, refused. In March 1689, the castle was blockaded by 7,000 troops, against a garrison of 160 men, who were further weakened by religious disputes. On 18 March, Viscount Dundee climbed up the Castle Rock, and attempted to persuade Gordon to ride out with him in rebellion against the new King. Gordon chose to stay, and during the ensuing siege he refused to fire upon the town, while the besiegers inflicted little damage on the castle. Despite Dundee's initial successes in the north, Gordon eventually surrendered on 14 June, due to dwindling supplies, and having lost 70 men during the three-month siege. Under the terms of the Acts of Union, which joined England and Scotland in 1707, Edinburgh was one of the four Scottish castles to be maintained and permanently garrisoned by the new British Army, along with Stirling, Dumbarton and Blackness.

The castle was almost taken in the first Jacobite rising in support of James Stuart, the "Old Pretender", in 1715. On 8 September, just two days after the rising began, a party of around 100 Jacobite Highlanders, led by Lord Drummond, attempted to scale the walls with the assistance of members of the garrison. However, the rope ladder lowered by the castle sentries was too short, and the alarm was raised after a change in the watch. The Jacobites fled, while the deserters within the castle were hanged or flogged. General Wade reported in 1728 that the castle's defences were decayed and inadequate, and major refortifications were carried out throughout the 1720s and 1730s, when most of the artillery defences and bastions on the north and west sides of the castle were built. These were designed by military engineer Captain John Romer, and built by William Adam. They include the Argyle Battery, Mills Mount Battery, the Low Defences and the Western Defences.

The last military action at the castle was during the second Jacobite rising of 1745. The Jacobite army, under Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") captured Edinburgh without a fight in September 1745, but the castle remained in the hands of the ageing Deputy Governor, General George Preston, who refused to surrender. After their victory over the government army at Prestonpans on 21 September, the Jacobites attempted to blockade the castle. Preston's response was to bombard Jacobite positions within the town. After several buildings had been demolished, and four people killed, Charles called off the blockade. The Jacobites themselves had no heavy guns with which to respond, and by November they had marched on to England, leaving Edinburgh to the castle garrison.

Over the next century, the castle vaults were used to hold prisoners of war during several conflicts, including the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the American War of Independence (1775–1783) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815). During this time, several new buildings were erected within the castle, including powder magazines, stores, the Governor's House (1742), and the New Barracks (1796–1799).

19th century to the present

A mass prison break in 1811, in which 49 prisoners of war escaped via a hole in the south wall, persuaded the authorities that the castle vaults were no longer a suitable prison. This use ceased in 1814, and the castle began to take on a different role as a national monument. In 1818, Sir Walter Scott was given permission to search the castle for the Crown of Scotland, which had been stored away since the union of Scotland and England in 1707. Breaking open the Crown Room, he retrieved the Honours of Scotland, which were then put on public display, with an entry charge of one shilling. In 1822, King George IV made a visit to Edinburgh, becoming the first reigning monarch to visit to the castle since Charles II in 1651. In 1829, the cannon Mons Meg was returned from London, and the palace began to be opened up to visitors during the 1830s. St Margaret's Chapel was "rediscovered" in 1845, having been used as a store for many years. Works in the 1880s, funded by the publisher William Nelson and carried out by Hippolyte Blanc, saw the Argyle Tower built over the Portcullis Gate, and the Great Hall restored after years of use as a barracks. A new gatehouse was built in 1888. During the 19th century, several schemes were put forward for rebuilding the whole castle as a Scottish Baronial style ''château''. Work began in 1858, but was soon abandoned, and only the hospital building was eventually remodelled in 1897. Following the death of Prince Albert in 1861, the architect David Bryce put forward a proposal for a keep as a memorial, although Queen Victoria objected, and the scheme was not pursued.

In 1905, responsibility for the castle was transferred from the War Office to the Office of Works, although the garrison remained until 1923, when the troops moved to Redford Barracks in south-west Edinburgh. The castle again became a prison during the First World War, when "Red Clydesider" David Kirkwood was confined here, and during the Second World War, when it housed German Luftwaffe pilots. The position of Governor of Edinburgh Castle, which had been vacant since 1876, was revived in 1935 as an honorary title for the General Officer Commanding in Scotland, the first holder being Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Cameron of Lochiel. The castle passed into the care of Historic Scotland when it was established in 1991, and was designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1993. The buildings and structures of the castle are further protected by 24 separate listings, including 13 at category A, the highest level of protection for a historic building in Scotland. The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, a World Heritage Site inscribed by UNESCO in 1995, is described as "dominated by a medieval fortress".

Description

[[File:Edinburgh Castle paln colour.png|thumb|right|upright=1.60|Plan of Edinburgh Castle Key: 1. Esplanade: A=Ditch 2. Lower Ward: B=Gatehouse, C=Ticket office 3. Middle Ward: D=Argyle Tower, E=Argyle Battery, F=Mills Mount Battery & One o'Clock Gun, G=Cartsheds, H=Western Defences, I=Hospital, J=Butts Battery, K=Scottish National War Museum, L=Governors House, M=New Barracks, N=Military Prison, O=Royal Scots Museum 4. Upper Ward: P=Foog's Gate, Q=Reservoirs, R=Mons Meg, S=Pet Cemetery, T=St. Margaret's Chapel, U=Half Moon Battery 5. Crown Square: V=Royal Palace, W=Great Hall, X=Queen Anne Building, Y=Scottish National War Memorial]]

Edinburgh Castle is located at the top of the Royal Mile, at the west end of Edinburgh's Old Town. The volcanic Castle Rock offers a naturally defended position, with sheer cliffs to north and south, and a steep ascent from the west. The only easy approach is from the town to the east, and the castle's defences are situated accordingly. The castle is divided into three areas known as "wards", separated by gates, which step up to the summit area of the Castle Rock.

In front of the castle is a long sloping forecourt known as the Esplanade. Originally the Spur, a 16th-century hornwork, was located here. The present Esplanade was laid out as a parade ground in 1753, and extended in 1845. It is upon this Esplanade that the Edinburgh Military Tattoo takes place annually. From the Esplanade may be seen the Half Moon Battery, with the Royal Palace to its left, and the main gate below, which gives access to the Lower Ward.

Lower Ward

The gatehouse was built as an architecturally cosmetic addition to the castle in 1888. Statues of Robert the Bruce by Thomas Clapperton and William Wallace by Alexander Carrick were added in 1929, and the Latin motto ''Nemo me impune lacessit'' is inscribed above the gate. The dry ditch in front of the entrance was completed in its present form in 1742. Within the gatehouse are offices, and to the north is the most recent addition to the castle; the ticket office, completed in 2008 to a design by Gareth Hoskins Architects. The road, built by James III in 1464 for the transport of cannon, leads upward and around to the north of the Half Moon Battery and the Forewall Battery, to the Portcullis Gate, the entrance to the Middle Ward. In 1990, an alternative access was opened by digging a tunnel from the north of the esplanade to the north-west part of the castle, separating visitor and service traffic.

Middle Ward

The Portcullis Gate was built by the Regent Morton after the Lang Siege of 1571–73 to replace the round Constable's Tower, which was destroyed in the siege. The Portcullis Gate was rebuilt in 1584 by William Schaw, when the upper parts were added, and again in 1750. In 1886 it was embellished by the architect Hippolyte Blanc. Just inside the gate is the Argyle Battery overlooking Princes Street, with Mills Mount Battery, the location of the One O'Clock Gun, to the west. Below these is the Low Defence, while at the base of the rock is the ruined Wellhouse Tower, built in 1362 to guard St. Margaret's Well. This natural spring provided and important secondary source of water for the castle, the water being lifted up by a crane mounted on a platform known as the Crane Bastion.

Adjacent to Mills Mount are the 18th-century cart sheds, now the tea rooms. The Governor's House to the south was built in 1742 as accommodation for the Governor, Storekeeper, and Master Gunner, and was used until the post of Governor became vacant in the later 19th century; it was then used by nurses of the castle hospital. Today, it functions as an officers' mess, and as the office of the Governor, since the restoration of the post in 1936.

South of the Governor's House is the New Barrack Block, completed in 1799 to house 600 soldiers, and replacing the outdated accommodation in the Great Hall. It now houses the headquarters of the 52nd Infantry Brigade, the Regimental Headquarters of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and the Regimental Headquarters and Museum of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys). The latter was first opened in 1995 by the regiment's Colonel, Queen Elizabeth II. Also nearby, in the former Royal Scots drill hall, constructed in 1900, is the regimental museum of the Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment). The military prison was built in 1842 for the castle garrison and was extended in the 1880s. It was last used in 1923, when the garrison moved to Redford Barracks.

National War Museum of Scotland

West of the Governor's House, a store for munitions was built in 1747–48, and this was later extended to form a courtyard, in which the main gunpowder magazine also stood. In 1897 the area was remodelled as a military hospital, formerly housed in the Great Hall. The building to the south of this courtyard is now the National War Museum of Scotland, which forms part of the National Museums of Scotland. It was formerly known as the Scottish United Services Museum, and, prior to this, the Scottish Naval and Military Museum, when it was located in the Queen Anne Building. It covers Scottish military history over the past 400 years, and includes a wide range of military artefacts, such as uniforms, medals and weapons. The exhibitions also illustrate the history and causes behind the many wars in which Scottish soldiers have been involved. Beside the museum is Butts Battery, named for the archery butts (targets) formerly placed here. Below it are the Western Defences, where a postern gate gives access to the western slope of the rock.

Upper Ward

The Upper Ward occupies the highest part of the Castle Rock, and is entered from the Middle Ward via the late 17th-century Foog's Gate. The origin of this name is unknown, although it was formerly known as the Foggy Gate, which may relate to the dense sea-fog, known as haar, which commonly affects Edinburgh. Adjacent to the gates are the reservoirs, built to reduce the castle's dependency on well water, and a former fire station, now used as a shop. The summit of the rock is occupied by St Margaret's Chapel and the 15th-century siege gun Mons Meg. On a ledge below this area is a small 19th-century cemetery of soldiers' and regimental mascot dogs. Beside this, the Lang Stair leads down to the Middle Ward, past a section of a medieval bastion, and gives access to the Argyle Tower. The eastern end of the Upper Ward is occupied by the Forewall and Half Moon Batteries, with Crown Square to the south.

St. Margaret's Chapel

The oldest building in the castle, and in Edinburgh, is the small St. Margaret's Chapel. One of the few 12th-century structures surviving in any Scottish castle,

Mons Meg

The 15th-century siege cannon known as Mons Meg is on display outside St. Margaret's Chapel. Mons Meg was constructed in Flanders on the orders of Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1449, and was given by him to his niece's husband, King James II in 1457. Mons Meg has been defunct since her barrel burst on 30 October 1681 when firing a salute for the arrival of the Duke of Albany, the future King James VII and II.

Half Moon Battery and David's Tower

The Half Moon Battery, which remains a prominent feature on the east side of the castle, was built as part of the reconstruction works supervised by the Regent Morton, and was erected between 1573 and 1588. The Forewall to the north was built between 1689 and 1695 to link the Half Moon to the Portcullis Tower, although part of the original wall of 1540 was incorporated into it. The Half Moon Battery was built around and over the ruins of David's Tower, two storeys of which survive beneath, with windows facing out onto the interior wall of the battery. David's Tower was built on an L-plan, the main block being , with a wing measuring to the west. The entrance was via a pointed-arched doorway in the inner angle, although in the 16th century this was filled in to make the tower a solid rectangle. Prior to the Lang Siege, the tower was recorded as being high, and the remaining portions stand up to from the rock.

The tower was rediscovered in 1912, and excavations below the Half Moon Battery revealed the extent of the surviving buildings. Several rooms are accessible to the public, although the lower parts are generally closed. Outside the tower, but within the battery, is a three-storey room, where large portions of the exterior wall of the tower are still visible, showing shattered masonry caused by the bombardment of 1573. Beside the tower, a section of the former curtain wall was discovered, with a gun loop which overlooked the High Street: a recess was made in the outer battery wall to reveal this gun loop. Also in 1912–1913, the adjacent Fore Well was cleared and surveyed, and was found to be deep, and mostly hewn through the rock below the castle.

Crown Square

Crown Square, also known as Palace Yard, was laid out in the 15th century, during the reign of King James III, as the principal courtyard of the castle. The foundations were formed by the construction of a series of large stone vaults built onto the uneven Castle Rock in the 1430s. These vaults were used as a state prison until the 19th century, although more important prisoners were held in the main parts of the castle. The square is formed by the Royal Palace to the east, the Great Hall to the south, the Queen Anne Building to the west, and the National War Memorial to the north.

Royal Palace

The Royal Palace comprises the former royal apartments, which were the residence of the later Stewart monarchs. It was begun in the mid 15th century, during the reign of James IV, and it originally communicated with David's Tower. The building was extensively remodelled for the visit of James VI to the castle in 1617, when state apartments for the king and queen were built. On the ground floor is the Laich (low) Hall, now called the King's Dining Room, and a small room, known as the Birth Chamber or Mary Room, where James VI was born to Mary, Queen of Scots, in June 1566. The commemorative painted ceiling and other decoration was added in 1617. On the first floor is the vaulted Crown Room, built in 1615 to house the Honours of Scotland: the crown, the sceptre and the sword of state. The Stone of Scone, upon which the monarchs of Scotland were traditionally crowned, is also kept in the Crown Room since its return to Scotland in 1996. To the south of the palace is the Register House, built in the 1540s to house state archives.

Great Hall

The Great Hall measures , and was the chief place of state assembly in the castle, although there is no evidence that the Parliament of Scotland ever met here, as is sometimes reported. Historians have disagreed over its dating, although it is usually ascribed to the reign of King James IV, and is thought to have been completed in the early years of the 16th century. The decorative carved stone corbels supporting the roof have Renaissance detailing, which has been compared to works at Blois, France, of around 1515, indicating that the arts in Scotland were relatively advanced at this time. It is one of only two medieval halls in Scotland with an original hammerbeam roof.

Following Oliver Cromwell's seizure of the castle in 1650, the Great Hall was converted into a barracks for his troops, and was subdivided into three storeys in 1737, to house 312 soldiers. Following the construction of the New Barracks in the 1790s, it became a military hospital until 1897. It was then restored by Hippolyte Blanc in line with contemporary ideas of medieval architecture. The Great Hall is still sometimes used for ceremonial occasions, and is a venue on Hogmanay for BBC Scotland's ''Hogmanay Live'' programme. To the south of the hall is a section of 14th-century curtain wall, although with a later parapet.

Queen Anne Building

In the 16th century, this area housed the kitchens serving the adjacent Great Hall, and was later the site of the Royal Gunhouse. The present building was named for Queen Anne and was built during the attempted Jacobite invasion by the Old Pretender in 1708. It was designed by Captain Theodore Dury, military engineer for Scotland, who also designed the eponymous Dury's Battery on the south side of the castle in 1713. The Queen Anne Building provided accommodation for Staff Officers, but after the departure of the army it was remodelled in the 1920s as the Naval and Military Museum, to complement the newly-opened Scottish National War Memorial. The museum later moved to the Middle Ward, and the building now houses a function suite and an education centre.

Scottish National War Memorial

The Scottish National War Memorial occupies a converted barrack block on the north side of Crown Square. It stands on the site of the medieval St. Mary's Church which was rebuilt in 1366, and was converted into an armoury in 1540. It was demolished in 1755, and the masonry reused to build a new North Barrack Block on the site. Proposals for a Scottish National War Memorial were put forward in 1917, during the First World War, and the architect Sir Robert Lorimer was appointed in 1919. Construction began in 1923, and the memorial was formally opened on 14 July 1927 by the Prince of Wales. The exterior is decorated with gargoyles and sculpture, while the interior contains monuments to individual regiments. The stained-glass windows are by Douglas Strachan.

The memorial commemorates Scottish soldiers, and those serving with Scottish regiments, who died in the two world wars and in more recent conflicts. Upon the altar within the Shrine is a sealed casket containing Rolls of Honour which list over 147,000 names of those soldiers killed in the First World War.After the Second World War, another 50,000 names were inscribed on Rolls of Honour held within the Hall, and further names continue to be added there. The memorial is maintained by a charitable trust known as the Scottish National War Memorial.

Present use

Tourist attraction

The castle is now run and administered, for the most part, by Historic Scotland, an executive agency of the Scottish Government. It undertakes the dual, and sometimes mutually contradictory, tasks of operating the castle as a commercially viable tourist attraction, while simultaneously having responsibility for conservation of the site. Edinburgh Castle remains the most popular paid visitor attraction in Scotland, with nearly 1.2 million visitors in 2009. Historic Scotland maintains a number of facilities within the castle, including two cafés/restaurants, several shops, and numerous historical displays. An educational centre in the Queen Anne Building runs events for schools and educational groups, and employs re-enactors in costume and with period weaponry.

Military role

Direct administration of the castle by the War Office came to an end in 1905, and in 1923 the Army formally moved to the city's new Redford Barracks. Nevertheless, the castle continues to have a strong connection with the Army, and is one of the few ancient castles in Britain that still has a military garrison, albeit for largely ceremonial and administrative purposes. Public duties performed by the garrison include guarding the Honours of Scotland, and armed sentries stand watch at the castle gatehouse outside opening hours. The post of Governor of Edinburgh Castle is now a ceremonial post, held by the General Officer Commanding of the British Army's 2nd Division. The New Barrack Block is home to the Home Headquarters of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and 52 Infantry Brigade. The Army is also responsible for the Governor's House, which serves as the Officers' Mess.

Military Tattoo

A series of performances known as the Edinburgh Military Tattoo take place on the Esplanade each year during August. The basis of the performance is a parade of the pipes and drums of the Scottish regiments, and since the first performance in 1950 the Tattoo has developed a complex format which includes many invited performers from around the world, although still with a largely military focus. The climax of the evening is the lone piper on the castle battlements, playing a pibroch in memory of dead comrades in arms, followed by the massed pipe bands joining in a medley of traditional Scottish tunes. The Tattoo attracts an annual audience of around 217,000 people, and is broadcast around the world.

One O'Clock Gun

The One O'Clock Gun is a time signal, and is fired every day at precisely 13:00, excepting Sunday, Good Friday and Christmas Day. The gun was established in 1861 as a time signal for ships in the Firth of Forth, and complemented the time ball, which was installed on the Nelson Monument in 1852, but which was useless during foggy weather. The gun could easily be heard by ships in Leith Harbour, away. Because sound travels relatively slowly (approximately ), maps were produced in the 1860s to show the actual time when the sound of the gun was heard at various locations in Edinburgh.

The original gun was an 18-pound muzzle-loading cannon, which needed four men to load, and was fired from the Half Moon Battery. This was replaced in 1913 by a 32-pound breech-loader, and in May 1952 by a 25-pound Howitzer. The present One O'Clock Gun is an L118 Light Gun, brought into service on 30 November 2001.

The gun is now fired from Mill's Mount Battery, on the north face of the castle, by the District Gunner from 105th Regiment Royal Artillery (Volunteers). Although the gun is no longer required for its original purpose, the ceremony has become a popular tourist attraction. The longest-serving District Gunner, Staff Sergeant Thomas McKay MBE, nicknamed "Tam the Gun", fired the One O'Clock Gun from 1979 until his retirement in January 2005. McKay helped established the One O'Clock Gun Association, which opened a small exhibition at Mill's Mount, and published a book entitled ''What Time Does Edinburgh's One O'clock Gun Fire?''. In 2006, Sergeant Jamie Shannon, nicknamed "Shannon The Cannon", became the 27th District Gunner.

Symbol of Edinburgh

The castle has become a recognisable symbol of Edinburgh, and of Scotland. It appears, in stylised form, on the coats of arms of the City of Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh. Images of the Castle are used as a logo by organisations including Edinburgh Rugby, the ''Edinburgh Evening News'', Hibernian F.C. and the Edinburgh Marathon. It also appears on the "Castle series" of Royal Mail postage stamps, and has been represented on various issues of banknotes issued by Scottish clearing banks. In the 1960s the castle was illustrated on £5 notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland, and since 1987 it has featured on the reverse of £1 notes also issued by the Royal Bank. In 1997 the Clydesdale Bank issued a special commemorative £20 note which included an illustration of Edinburgh Castle. The castle is one of the focal points for the annual fireworks display which marks Edinburgh's annual Hogmanay (new year) celebrations.

See also

List of Governors of Edinburgh Castle

Castles in Great Britain and Ireland

List of castles in Scotland

Military of Scotland

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Edinburgh Castle website

Scottish National War Memorial website

Edinburgh Castle, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland ''CANMORE'' database

Images of Edinburgh Castle from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland

Undiscovered Scotland's page on Edinburgh Castle

Historical images of Edinburgh Castle at Scotlandsimages.com

Category:Castles in City of Edinburgh Category:Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Scotland Category:Category A listed buildings Category:Listed buildings in Edinburgh Category:Buildings and structures illustrated on sterling banknotes Category:Listed castles in Scotland Category:Reportedly haunted locations in Scotland Category:Museums in Edinburgh Category:Regimental museums in Scotland Category:Prison museums in the United Kingdom Category:Defunct prisons in Scotland Category:Historic house museums in Edinburgh

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Coordinates	49°39′″N19°18′″N
name	Mike Oldfield
landscape	yes
background	solo_singer
birth name	Michael Gordon Oldfield
birth date	May 15, 1953
birth place	Reading, Berkshire, England
instrument	Guitar, keyboards, Percussion, vocals, Bass guitar, drums, piano, organ, glockenspiel, mandolin, banjo, tubular bells, Chapman stick
genre	Ambient, Celtic fusion, classical, Synthpop, experimental, minimalist, Honky-Tonk, Neoclassical, new age, Neofolk, pop, progressive rock, rock and roll, world
occupation	Musician, Songwriter, Producer, Game designer
years active	1967–present
label	Virgin (1972–1991)Warner Bros. (1992–2003)Mercury (2005–present)
associated acts	Maggie Reilly, Kevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt, David Bedford, Anita Hegerland, Pekka Pohjola
website	www.mikeoldfieldofficial.com }}

Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953, Reading, Berkshire) is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature. He is best known for his hit 1973 album ''Tubular Bells'', which launched Virgin Records, and for his 1983 hit single "Moonlight Shadow". He is also well known for his hit rendition of the Christmas piece, "In Dulci Jubilo".

Biography

Oldfield's parents are Raymond Oldfield, a general practitioner, and his wife Maureen Liston, a nurse. His sister Sally and brother Terry are successful musicians in their own right and have appeared on several of his albums. Mike Oldfield was born in the Battle Hospital, Reading, Berkshire, and he attended St Joseph's Convent School, Highlands Junior School in Tilehurst, St Edward's Preparatory School, and Presentation College in Reading. When he was 13 he moved with his parents to Harold Wood in northeast London, where he attended Hornchurch Grammar School. He only stayed there long enough to take one GCE examination, in English, as he had already begun his music career.

Early career

Oldfield's career began fairly early, playing acoustic guitar in local folk clubs. At this time, he already had two fifteen-minute instrumental pieces in which he would "go through all sorts of moods", a precursor to his landmark 1970s compositions. In his early teens, Oldfield was involved in a 'beat group' playing Shadows-style music (he has often cited Hank Marvin as a major influence, and would later cover The Shadows' song "Wonderful Land"). In 1967 he and his sister Sally formed the folk duo The Sallyangie and were signed to Transatlantic Records after exposure in the local folk scene. An album, ''Children of the Sun'', was issued in 1968. After Sallyangie disbanded, he formed another duo with his brother Terry, called Barefoot, which took him back to rock music.

In 1970 he joined The Whole World - backing group to vocalist Kevin Ayers, formerly of the Soft Machine - playing bass guitar and occasionally lead guitar. The band also included keyboardist and composer David Bedford, who quickly befriended Oldfield, and encouraged him in his composition of an early version of ''Tubular Bells''. Bedford would later arrange and conduct an orchestral version of that album. Oldfield is featured on two Ayers albums, ''Whatevershebringswesing'' and ''Shooting at the Moon''.

Having recorded a demo version of ''Tubular Bells'', Oldfield attempted to persuade record labels to take the project on. In 1972 he met the young Richard Branson who was setting up his own record label, Virgin Records, and after playing the demo to engineers Tom Newman and Simon Heyworth, he began recording the 1973 version of the album.

Virgin years (1973–1991)

''Tubular Bells'' became Oldfield's most famous work. The instrumental composition was recorded in 1972 and launched on 25 May 1973 as the inaugural album of Richard Branson's Virgin Records label. The album was groundbreaking, as Oldfield played more than twenty different instruments in the multi-layered recording made in Branson's Manor studios, and its style moved through many diverse musical genres. Its 2,630,000 UK sales put it at No.34 on the list of the best selling albums in the UK. In the US, it received attention with the opening theme appearing in the soundtrack to ''The Exorcist''. The title track subsequently became a Top 10 hit single in the US as well and is today considered to be a forerunner of the New Age movement. In 1974, Oldfield played guitar on the critically acclaimed album ''Rock Bottom'' by Robert Wyatt. In the autumn of 1974, the follow-up LP, ''Hergest Ridge'', was No.1 in the UK for three weeks before being dethroned by ''Tubular Bells''. Although ''Hergest Ridge'' was released over a year after ''Tubular Bells'', it reached No.1 first. ''Tubular Bells'' spent 11 weeks (10 of them consecutive) at No.2 before its one week at the top. In 1979, Oldfield's music was used as the musical score for ''The Space Movie'', a Virgin movie that celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.

Like ''Tubular Bells'', ''Hergest Ridge'' is a two-movement instrumental piece, this time evoking scenes from Oldfield's Herefordshire country retreat. It was followed in 1975 by the pioneering world music piece ''Ommadawn'', and 1978's ''Incantations'' which introduced more diverse choral performances from Sally Oldfield, Maddy Prior, and the Queen's College Girls Choir. In 1975 Oldfield recorded a version of the Christmas piece "In Dulci Jubilo" which charted at number four in the UK. Oldfield's 1976 rendition of "Portsmouth" remains his highest charting single on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number three.

In 1976 Oldfield and his sister Sally joined his friend and band member Pekka Pohjola to play on his album ''Mathematician's Air Display'', which was released in 1977. The album was recorded and edited at Oldfield's Througham Slad Manor in Gloucestershire by Oldfield and Paul Lindsay.

Around the time of ''Incantations'', Oldfield underwent a controversial self-assertiveness therapy course known as Exegesis. Possibly as a result, the formerly reclusive musician staged a major European tour to promote the album, chronicled in his live album ''Exposed'', much of which was recorded at the National Exhibition Centre near Birmingham, the first-ever concert there.

In 1975, Oldfield received a Grammy award for Best Instrumental Composition in "Tubular Bells – Theme from ''The Exorcist''". In 1979, he recorded a version of the signature tune of the popular British Children's Television programme, ''Blue Peter'', which was used by the show for 10 years.

The early 1980s saw Oldfield make a transition to mainstream pop music, beginning with the inclusion of shorter instrumental tracks and contemporary cover versions on ''Platinum'' and ''QE2'' (the latter named after the ocean liner). Soon afterwards he turned to songwriting, with a string of collaborations featuring various lead vocalists alongside his characteristic searing guitar solos. The best known of these is "Moonlight Shadow", his 1983 hit with Maggie Reilly. The most successful Oldfield composition on the US pop charts during this period was actually a cover version — Hall & Oates's remake of Oldfield's "Family Man" for their 1982 album ''H₂O''. Released as the album's third single, it hit the Top 10 during the spring of 1983 and was a hugely popular MTV music video.

Oldfield later turned to film and video, writing the score for Roland Joffé's acclaimed film ''The Killing Fields'' and producing substantial video footage for his album ''Islands''. ''Islands'' continued what Oldfield had been doing on the past couple of albums, with an instrumental piece on one side and rock/pop singles on the other. Of these, "Islands", sung by Bonnie Tyler and "Magic Touch", with vocals by Max Bacon (in the U.S. version) and Glasgow vocalist Southside Jimmy (in other versions), were the major hits. In the U.S., the Virgin America airline promoted the song "Magic Touch" to a large extent, making it a success, reaching the top 10 on the Billboard album rock charts. During the 1980s, Oldfield's then-wife, Norwegian singer Anita Hegerland, contributed vocals to many songs including "Pictures in the Dark".

''Earth Moving'' was released in July 1989, and was a moderate success. The album was the first to exclusively feature rock/pop songs, several of which were released: "Innocent" and "Holy" in Europe, and "Hostage" in the USA for album rock stations. This was, however, a time of much friction with his record label. Virgin Records reportedly insisted that any future instrumental album should be billed as ''Tubular Bells 2''. Oldfield's rebellious response was ''Amarok'', an hour-long work featuring rapidly changing themes (supposedly devised to make cutting a single from the album impossible), unpredictable bursts of noise, and a very cleverly hidden Morse code insult directed at Richard Branson. Although regarded by many fans as his greatest work, it was not a commercial success. His parting shot from the Virgin label was ''Heaven's Open'', which continued the veiled attacks on Branson but was notable for being the first time Oldfield had contributed all the lead vocals himself. It was the only album he released under the name 'Michael Oldfield'.

Warner years (1992–2003)

The very first thing Oldfield did when arriving at his new label, Warner Bros., was to write and release ''Tubular Bells II'', the sequel to his first record on Virgin, as his final insult to his former label. It was premiered at a live concert at Edinburgh Castle. He then continued to embrace new musical styles, with ''The Songs of Distant Earth'' (based on Arthur C. Clarke's novel of the same name) exhibiting a softer "New Age" sound. In 1994 he also had an asteroid named after him, 5656 Oldfield.

In 1995 Oldfield further continued to embrace new musical styles by producing a Celtic-themed album, ''Voyager''. In 1992 Oldfield met Luar na Lubre, a Galician Celtic-folk band (from A Coruña, Spain). The band's popularity grew after Oldfield covered their song "O son do ar" ("The sound of the air") on his ''Voyager'' album.

In 1998 he produced the third ''Tubular Bells'' album (also premiered at a concert, this time in Horse Guards Parade, London), drawing from the dance music scene at his then new home on the island of Ibiza. This album was still inspired by themes from ''Tubular Bells'', but differed in lacking a clear two-part layout.

During 1999 Oldfield released two albums. The first, ''Guitars'', used guitars as the source for all the sounds on the album, including percussion. The second, ''The Millennium Bell'', consisted of pastiches of a number of styles of music that represented various historical periods over the past millennium. The work was performed live in Berlin for the city's millennium celebrations in 1999–2000.

He added to his repertoire the MusicVR project, combining his music with a virtual reality-based computer game. His first work on this project is ''Tr3s Lunas'' launched in 2002, a virtual game where the player can interact with a world full of new music. This project appeared as a double CD, one with the music, and the other with the game.

In 2003 he released ''Tubular Bells 2003'', a re-recording of the original ''Tubular Bells'', on CD, and DVD-Audio. This was done to "fix" many "imperfections" in the original due to the recording technologies of the early 1970s and limitations in time that he could spend in the recording studio. It celebrated the 30th anniversary of ''Tubular Bells'', Oldfield's 50th birthday and his marriage to Fanny in the same year. At around the same time Virgin released an SACD version containing both the original stereo album and the 1975 quadraphonic mix by Phil Newell. In the 2003 version, the original voice of the 'Master of Ceremonies' (Viv Stanshall) was replaced by the voice of John Cleese, Stanshall having died in the interim.

Mercury years (since 2004)

On 12 April 2004 Oldfield launched his next virtual reality project, ''Maestro'', which contains music from the ''Tubular Bells 2003'' album and also some new chillout melodies. The games have since been made available free of charge on Tubular.net. A double album, ''Light + Shade'', was released on Mercury Records in 2005, with whom Mike had recently signed a three-album deal. The two discs contain music of contrasting moods, one relaxed (''Light'') and the other more edgy and moody (''Shade''). Oldfield headlined the German Night of the Proms tour, consisting of 18 concerts in December 2006.

His autobiography ''Changeling'' was published in May 2007 by Virgin Books. In March 2008 Oldfield released his first classical album, ''Music of the Spheres''; Karl Jenkins assisted with the orchestration. In the first week of release the album topped the UK Classical chart and reached number 9 on the main UK Album Chart. A single, "Spheres", featuring a demo version of pieces from the album was released digitally. The album was nominated for a Classical Brit Award, the NS&I; Best Album of 2009.

In 2008 Oldfield contributed an exclusive song ("Song for Survival") to a charity album called ''Songs for Survival'', in support of the Survival International. Oldfield's daughter, Molly, played a large part in the project.

In 2008 when Oldfield's original 35-year deal with Virgin Records ended, the rights to ''Tubular Bells'' and his other Virgin releases were returned to him, and then they were transferred to Mercury Records. Mercury issued a press release on 15 April 2009, noting that Oldfield's Virgin albums would be re-released, starting 8 June 2009. These releases include special features from the archives. On 6 June 2009, an International Bell Ringing day took place, to promote the reissue of his first album, ''Tubular Bells''. The next two albums were reissued in June 2010 along with the launch of a new official web site. ''Incantations'' was reissued in July 2011.

In March 2010 ''Music Week'' reported that publishing company Stage Three Music (now a part of BMG) had acquired a 50% stake in the songs of Oldfield's entire recorded output in a seven-figure deal. In 2010 lyricist Don Black said in an interview with ''Music Week'' that he had been working with Oldfield. In early 2011 Mike Oldfield was in a studio with German producer Torsten Stenzel, collaborating on a chill-out track for a forthcoming album by Torsten Stenzel's York project.

Personal life

Oldfield and his siblings were raised Roman Catholic, the faith of their Irish mother. In the late 1970s, Oldfield briefly married Diana D'Aubigny (the sister of the Exegesis group leader), but this lasted just a few weeks.

Mike Oldfield has seven children. In the early 1980s, he had three children with Sally Cooper (Molly, Dougal and Luke). In the late 1980s, he had two children (Greta and Noah) with Norwegian singer Anita Hegerland. In the 2000s, he married Fanny Vandekerckhove (born 1977), whom he met during his time in Ibiza; they have two sons together (Jake and Eugene).

Oldfield is a motorcycle fan and has five bikes. These include a BMW R1200GS, a Suzuki GSX-R750, a Suzuki GSX-R1000, and a Yamaha R1. He also says that some of his inspiration for composing comes from riding them. Throughout his life Oldfield has also had a passion for aircraft and building model aircraft. Since 1980 he has also been a licensed pilot and has flown fixed wing aircraft, the first of which was a Beechcraft Sierra and helicopters including the Agusta Bell 47G which featured on the sleeve of his cover version of the ABBA song "Arrival" as a parody of their album artwork. He is also interested in cars and has owned a Ferrari and a Bentley which was a gift from Richard Branson as an incentive for him to give his first live performance of ''Tubular Bells''. He has endorsed the Mercedes-Benz S-Class in the Mercedes UK magazine. Oldfield also considers himself to be a Trekkie (fan of the popular science fiction television series ''Star Trek''). He also noted in an interview in 2008 that he had two boats.

In November 2006, musician Noel Gallagher won a Spanish court case against Oldfield. Gallagher had bought an Ibiza villa for £2.5 million from Oldfield in 1999, but quickly discovered that part of the cliff-top property was falling into the sea. According to ''The Sun'', the resulting court case awarded Gallagher a six-figure sum in compensation. Suspicion abounds in the music industry that the law-suit was initiated because of embarrassment that Gallagher brought on himself by not having a proper survey done on the property before buying it. This included making an immediate and noisy complaint about someone's yacht tied up at the villa's jetty before it was pointed out that the yacht came with the villa and was, in fact, his.

In 2007 Oldfield caused a minor stir in the British press by criticizing Britain for being too controlling and protective, specifically concentrating on the smoking ban which England and Wales had introduced that year. Oldfield then moved from his Gloucestershire home to Palma de Mallorca, Spain. He has lived outside the UK in the past, including living in Los Angeles and Ibiza in the 1990s, and Switzerland in the mid-1980s, for tax reasons. He also currently has a home in Monaco. In 2009 he decided to move to the Bahamas, and put his home in Mallorca up for sale; the asking price was around €3.5 million, but has since been lowered, and as of August 2011 is still listed as available for sale by a major international real estate agency.

Instruments

Oldfield is a multi-instrumentalist; however he considers himself to be predominantly a guitarist.

Guitars

Over the years Oldfield has used a various selection of guitars, some of the most noted being:

A 1963 (also quoted as 1961 and 1962) salmon pink (fiesta red) Fender Stratocaster serial no.L08044 – used by Oldfield from 1984 (''Discovery'' album) until 2006 (Night of the Proms, rehearsals in Antwerp) – Sold for £30,000 at Chandler Guitars.

A 1989 amber PRS Artist Custom 24 – used by Oldfield from the late 1980s to the present day.

A 1966 blonde Fender Telecaster serial no. 180728 – the only electric guitar used on ''Tubular Bells'' and also previously owned by Marc Bolan – went up for auction at Bonhams in June 2007, with the money going to the SANE charity.

Various Gibson Les Paul and SGs – used by Oldfield extensively in the 1970s and 80s.

Oldfield used a modified Roland GP8 effects processor in conjunction with his PRS Artist to get many of his heavily overdriven guitar sounds from the ''Earth Moving'' album onwards. Oldfield has also been using Guitar synthesizers since the mid-1980s, using a 1980s Roland GR-300/G-808 type system, then a 1990s Roland GK2 equipped red PRS Custom 24 (sold in 2006) with a Roland VG8, and most recently a Line 6 Variax.

Oldfield has an unusual playing style, using both fingers and fingernails and several ways of creating vibrato: a "very fast side-to-side vibrato" or "violinist's vibrato". Oldfield has also stated that his playing style originates from his musical roots playing folk music and the bass guitar.

Recording

Oldfield has self-recorded and produced many of his albums, and played the majority of the instruments that feature on them, largely at his home studios. In the 1990s and 2000s he has been mainly using DAWs such as Apple Logic, Avid Pro Tools and Steinberg Nuendo as recording suites. For composing classical music Oldfield has been quoted as using the software notation program, Sibelius, combined with Apple Macintoshes. He also used the FL Studio DAW on his 2005 double album ''Light + Shade''. Among the mixing consoles Oldfield has owned are an AMS Neve Capricorn 33238, a Harrison Series X, and a Euphonix System 5-MC.

Keyboards

Over the years Oldfield has owned and used a vast number of synthesizers and other keyboard instruments. In the 1980s he composed the score for the film ''The Killing Fields'' on a Fairlight CMI. Some examples of keyboard and synthesized instruments which Oldfield has made use of includes Sequential Circuits Prophets (notably on ''Platinum''), Roland JV-1080/JV-2080 units (in the 1990s), a Korg M1 (as seen in the "Innocent" video), a Clavia Nord Lead, and Steinway pianos among an almost endless list of others. In recent years Oldfield has also made use of software synthesis, such as Native Instruments products, notably on his ''Light + Shade'' album.

Discography

Oldfield has had more than 30 charting albums and 25 charting singles on the British charts, and many more around the world.

Main albums

{| style="width:100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" |- valign="top" |style="width:50%"|

''Tubular Bells'' (1973)

''Hergest Ridge'' (1974)

''The Orchestral Tubular Bells'' (1975)

''Ommadawn'' (1975)

''Incantations'' (1978)

''Exposed'' (1979)

''Platinum'' (1979)

''QE2'' (1980)

''Five Miles Out'' (1982)

''Crises'' (1983)

''Discovery'' (1984)

''The Killing Fields'' (1984)

''Islands'' (1987)

|style="width:50%"|

''Earth Moving'' (1989)

''Amarok'' (1990)

''Heaven's Open'' (1991)

''Tubular Bells II'' (1992)

''The Songs of Distant Earth'' (1994)

''Voyager'' (1996)

''Tubular Bells III'' (1998)

''Guitars'' (1999)

''The Millennium Bell'' (1999)

''Tr3s Lunas'' (2002)

''Tubular Bells 2003'' (2003)

''Light + Shade'' (2005)

''Music of the Spheres'' (2008)

|}

Quotation

''NME'' - April 1979

See also

Sally Oldfield

Terry Oldfield

Kevin Ayers

Maggie Reilly

Rick Fenn

Maddy Prior

Anita Hegerland

New Age music

Electronic music

Virgin Records

Bibliography

References

External links

; Official sites MikeOldfieldOfficial.com – The official Mike Oldfield website

* Mike Oldfield official Universal store

MikeOldfield.org – The official Mike Oldfield information service

; Fan-based sites

Tubular.net – The largest and most well-established Mike Oldfield website, for news and information.

; Other sites

Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:English songwriters Category:English guitarists Category:English multi-instrumentalists Category:English buskers Category:English New Age musicians Category:English composers Category:British people of Irish descent Category:People from Reading, Berkshire Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Virgin Records artists Category:Mercury Records artists Category:English Roman Catholics Category:Warner Bros. Records artists Category:FL Studio users Category:People educated at Presentation College, Reading Category:People educated at The Highlands School, Reading

af:Mike Oldfield ar:مايك أولدفيلد an:Mike Oldfield bg:Майк Олдфийлд ca:Mike Oldfield cs:Mike Oldfield da:Mike Oldfield de:Mike Oldfield es:Mike Oldfield eu:Mike Oldfield fa:مایک اولدفیلد fr:Mike Oldfield gl:Mike Oldfield id:Mike Oldfield it:Mike Oldfield he:מייק אולדפילד ka:მაიკ ოლდფილდი la:Michael Oldfield lv:Maiks Oldfīlds hu:Mike Oldfield mk:Мајк Олдфилд nl:Mike Oldfield ja:マイク・オールドフィールド no:Mike Oldfield nds:Mike Oldfield pl:Mike Oldfield pt:Mike Oldfield ro:Mike Oldfield ru:Олдфилд, Майк sk:Mike Oldfield sl:Mike Oldfield sr:Мајк Олдфилд fi:Mike Oldfield sv:Mike Oldfield th:ไมค์ โอลด์ฟิลด์ uk:Майк Олдфілд zh:麦克·欧菲尔德