Portal:Edinburgh

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The Edinburgh Portal
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Edinburgh (/ˈɛdɪnbərə/ ^ⓘ Scots: [ˈɛdɪnbʌrə]; Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Èideann [ˌt̪un ˈeːtʲən̪ˠ]) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. The city is located in south-east Scotland, and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth estuary and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh had a population of 506,520 in mid-2020, making it the second-most populous city in Scotland and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The wider metropolitan area has a population of 912,490.

Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament, the highest courts in Scotland, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. It is also the annual venue of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The city has long been a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scottish law, literature, philosophy, the sciences and engineering. The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1582 and now one of three in the city, is considered one of the best research institutions in the world. It is the second-largest financial centre in the United Kingdom, the fourth largest in Europe, and the thirteenth largest internationally.

The city is a cultural centre, and is the home of institutions including the National Museum of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery. The city is also known for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe, the latter being the world's largest annual international arts festival. Historic sites in Edinburgh include Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the churches of St. Giles, Greyfriars and the Canongate, and the extensive Georgian New Town built in the 18th/19th centuries. Edinburgh's Old Town and New Town together are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has been managed by Edinburgh World Heritage since 1999. The city's historical and cultural attractions have made it the UK's second-most visited tourist destination, attracting 4.9 million visits, including 2.4 million from overseas in 2018. (Full article...)

Selected location article

The Fruitmarket Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Since its opening in 1974, the gallery has become part of the Scottish contemporary art scene. After a period of closure to undergo a significant renovation, the gallery reopened in 2021 with expanded exhibition space and facilities. (Full article...)

Selected images

Image 1The Royal Scottish Academy Building
Image 2Scottish baronial-style turrets on Victorian tenements in St. Mary's Street
Image 3Sir Walter Scott
Image 4The Dean Gallery, part of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Image 5Queensferry Crossing road bridge
Image 6City Observatory, the Gothic Tower
Image 7Architecture in Edinburgh
Image 8Fountain at Holyrood Palace
Image 9Two Edinburgh Trams seen at the West End - Princes Street stop
Image 10The Castle Rock
Image 11Arthur's Seat
Image 12St Giles' Cathedral, the principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh
Image 13The National Monument of Scotland (right) and Nelson Monument (left)
Image 14The Scottish Parliament Building
Image 15View over Edinburgh
Image 16Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, 2010
Image 17View looking west along George Street
Image 18The High Street, part of the Royal Mile
Image 19David Hume, Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist born in Edinburgh in 1711
Image 20The BT building in Edinburgh Park
Image 21The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland in Edinburgh Castle
Image 22Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland
Image 23The Princes Street Gardens, the best known park in Edinburgh
Image 24Edinburgh (from Salisbury Crags) by William Crozier, a painter associated with The Edinburgh School
Image 25The Governor's House
Image 26Fettes College
Image 27Ratho Park Golf Club
Image 28The ruins of Holyrood Abbey
Image 29Jenners Department Store, the oldest department store in Scotland
Image 30Charlotte Square, a garden square in the New Town
Image 31Calton Hill

Selected transportation article

Station bays in April 2012

Edinburgh bus station is a central bus station in the city centre of Edinburgh.

The bus station is situated on Elder Street, where the buses enter & exit, with pedestrian access from there and St Andrew Square. (Full article...)

Selected area article

Curriehill (Scots: Curriehull, Scottish Gaelic: Cnoc a' Churraich) is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is north-west of Currie.

Curriehill railway station is the western terminus of the Edinburgh Crossrail. These trains continue to Glasgow Central via West Lothian and North Lanarkshire. (Full article...)

Selected environment article

Blackford Hill 164 metres (538 ft) is a hill in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. It is in the area of Blackford, between Morningside, and the Braid Hills. Together with the Hermitage of Braid, it comprises the 60.3 hectares (149 acres) Hermitage of Braid and Blackford Hill Local Nature Reserve, within which lies Hermitage House. (Full article...)

Did you know?

... that George Parks was president of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and his son Rowan Parks became president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh?
... that Prince Philip was the first member of the British royal family to fly in a helicopter?

Selected arts article

Sir Alexander Campbell Mackenzie KCVO (22 August 1847 – 28 April 1935) was a Scottish composer, conductor and teacher best known for his oratorios, violin and piano pieces, Scottish folk music and works for the stage.

Mackenzie was a member of a musical family and was sent for his musical education to Germany. He had many successes as a composer, producing over 90 compositions, but from 1888 to 1924, he devoted a great part of his energies to running the Royal Academy of Music. Together with Hubert Parry and Charles Villiers Stanford, he was regarded as one of the fathers of the British musical renaissance in the late nineteenth century. (Full article...)

Selected education article

Heriot-Watt University (Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted university status by royal charter in 1966. It is the eighth-oldest higher education institution in the United Kingdom. The name Heriot-Watt was taken from Scottish inventor James Watt and Scottish philanthropist and goldsmith George Heriot.

The annual income of the institution for 2022–23 was £259.5 million of which £33 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £266.7 million. Known for its focus on science as well as engineering, it is one of the 23 colleges being granted university status in the 1960s and sometimes considered a plate glass university similar to the likes of Lancaster and Warwick. (Full article...)

Selected sports article

Location in Edinburgh

Ainslie Park is a football stadium located in Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish League Two club Spartans and the club's women's team in the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL). In addition, Edinburgh City shared the ground between 2017 and 2022 during the redevelopment of Meadowbank Stadium, and Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale also played there during the 2021–22 season. Another SWPL team, Hibernian, also previously played there from 2016 to 2021. (Full article...)

Selected religion article

The Church of Scotland (Scots: The Kirk o Scotland; Scottish Gaelic: Eaglais na h-Alba) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 259,200 members in 2023. While active membership in the church has declined significantly in recent decades (in 1982 it had nearly 920,000 members), the government Scottish Household Survey found that 20% of the Scottish population, or over one million people, identified the Church of Scotland as their religious identity in 2019. The Church of Scotland's governing system is presbyterian in its approach, therefore, no one individual or group within the church has more or less influence over church matters. There is no one person who acts as the head of faith, as the church believes that role is the "Lord God's". As a proper noun, the Kirk is an informal name for the Church of Scotland used in the media and by the church itself.

The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church and established itself as a church in the Reformed tradition. The church belongs to the Presbyterian tradition of Reformed Christianity (Calvinism), having no head of faith or leadership group and believing that God invited the church's adherents to worship Jesus. (Full article...)

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v t e Edinburgh
History	Etymology Burning of Edinburgh Mary, Queen of Scots Greyfriars Kirk Burke and Hare Kingdom of Scotland Act of Union 1707 Parliament of Scotland David Hume Edinburgh Review Holyrood Abbey Treaty of Edinburgh Edinburgh town walls Old Town New Town Robert Adam James Craig Church of Scotland Disruption of 1843 Thomas Aikenhead Deacon Brodie North British Railway Visit of King George IV Sir Walter Scott Edwin of Northumbria Devolution Burgh Lothian Edinburgh Stock Exchange Porteous Riots Silvermills Tron riot Greyfriars Bobby Great Fire of Edinburgh
Governance	City of Edinburgh Council Lord Provost of Edinburgh Scottish Parliament
Buildings and landmarks	Arthur's Seat Balmoral Hotel Brass Founders' Pillar Bute House Calton Hill Craiglockhart Castle Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh International Conference Centre Forth Rail Bridge Forth Road Bridge Governor's House Holyrood Palace National Monument New College Old College Parliament House Princes Street Gardens Ross Fountain Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Scott Monument Scottish Parliament Building St Andrew's House St Giles' Cathedral Victoria Quay
Museums and galleries	Fruitmarket Gallery The Georgian House Museum of Edinburgh National Museum of Scotland National War Museum Dynamic Earth Public art Royal Scottish Academy Scottish National Gallery Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Theatres and concert halls	Bedlam Theatre Edinburgh Arena (proposed) Edinburgh Playhouse Festival Theatre King's Theatre Queen's Hall Reid Concert Hall Royal Lyceum Theatre St Cecilia's Hall Traverse Theatre Usher Hall
Economy	Bank of Scotland Caledonian Brewery Edinburgh Park Edinburgh BioQuarter Fort Kinnaird Ocean Terminal Royal Bank of Scotland Scottish Widows Standard Life
Transport	A1 road Airport Edinburgh Airport Rail Link Edinburgh City Bypass Edinburgh Crossrail Edinburgh Waverley railway station Haymarket railway station Lothian Buses Trams
Health and education	Edinburgh College Edinburgh College of Art Heriot-Watt University Hospitals Moray House School of Education Napier University Queen Margaret University Schools Scotland's Rural College University of Edinburgh
Festivals	Edinburgh Festival Fringe Edinburgh International Book Festival Edinburgh International Film Festival Edinburgh International Festival Edinburgh International Television Festival Hogmanay Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Other topics	Geography of Edinburgh Beer in Edinburgh Graveyards and cemeteries in Edinburgh
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