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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 Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre is a category B listed performing arts and lecture theatre located in the historic George Square in Edinburgh. Primarily operated as a lecture theatre for the University of Edinburgh, it is also used for general theatre performances, as well as being a designated Edinburgh Fringe Festival venue.

In 2018 the University changed the name of the theatre - previously known as George Square Theatre - in memory of Gordon Aikman, a graduate of the University's Business School who raised more than £500,000 for research funding into motor neurone disease. (Full article...)

Selected images

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

Selected transportation article

View of Edinburgh Waverley from the east

Edinburgh Waverley railway station (also known simply as Waverley; Scottish Gaelic: Waverley Dhùn Èideann) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. The station serves as the northern terminus of the East Coast Main Line, 393 miles 13 chains (393.16 miles; 632.7 kilometres) from London King's Cross, although some trains operated by London North Eastern Railway continue to other Scottish destinations beyond Edinburgh. (Full article...)

Selected area article

Newbridge from the air

Newbridge is a village in the civil parish of Kirkliston, west of Edinburgh in Scotland. It formerly lay on the western fringe of Midlothian, but it has belonged to the City of Edinburgh since 1975. The original village consists of a small crossroads settlement to the east of the eponymous New Bridge, which spans the River Almond. Around it is a confusion of roads and industrial estates converging on the Newbridge Roundabout, the meeting point of the M8 and M9 motorways.

Newbridge (including Ratho Station) had a total population of 1,074 at the 2011 Census based on the 2010 definition of the locality. (Full article...)

Selected environment article

Cramond Island from the air

Cramond Island (Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Chair Amain) is one of several islands in the Firth of Forth in eastern Scotland, near Edinburgh. It lies off the foreshore at Cramond. It is 1⁄3 mile (0.54 km) long and covers 19.03 acres (7.70 ha). The island is part of the Dalmeny Estate, owned by the Rosebery Estates Partnership. (Full article...)

Did you know?

... that Prince Philip was the first member of the British royal family to fly in a helicopter?
... 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?

Selected arts article

Edinburgh's Hogmanay is the celebrations and observance of Hogmanay—the Scottish celebration of the New Year—held in the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh. The fireworks display at Edinburgh Castle are broadcast on television in Scotland, such as BBC Scotland's Hogmanay, as well as Hogmanay celebration broadcasts by STV. (Full article...)

Selected education article

The University of Edinburgh (Scots: University o Edinburgh, Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as Edin. in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter of King James VI in 1582 and officially opened in 1583, it is one of Scotland's four ancient universities and the sixth-oldest university in continuous operation in the English-speaking world. The university played an important role in Edinburgh becoming a chief intellectual centre during the Scottish Enlightenment and contributed to the city being nicknamed the "Athens of the North".

The three main global university rankings (ARWU, THE, and QS) all place Edinburgh within their respective top 40. It is a member of several associations of research-intensive universities, including the Coimbra Group, League of European Research Universities, Russell Group, Una Europa, and Universitas 21. In the fiscal year ending 31 July 2023, it had a total income of £1.341 billion, of which £339.5 million was from research grants and contracts. It has the third-largest endowment in the UK, behind only Cambridge and Oxford. The university occupies five main campuses in the city of Edinburgh, which include many buildings of historical and architectural significance such as those in the Old Town. (Full article...)

Selected sports article

Redeveloped Meadowbank's pitch, track and small stand in front of indoor sport facility (2023)

Meadowbank Stadium (officially the Meadowbank Sports Centre) is a multi-purpose sports facility located in the Meadowbank area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Built on the site of the earlier New Meadowbank and Old Meadowbank sports venues, it was originally built to host the 1970 Commonwealth Games. It also hosted the Games in 1986, becoming the first venue to host the Games twice. It is the current home of Scottish League Two side Edinburgh City.

The stadium has also regularly hosted football. It was the home ground of Scottish Football League team Meadowbank Thistle between 1974 and 1995, becoming the first all-seated football ground in the UK in the process, and subsequently hosted senior non-league football as the home ground of Edinburgh City. League football returned to Meadowbank in 2016 following City's promotion to the Scottish Professional Football League. The Meadowbank complex also hosts Leith Athletic, who first played on the Meadowbank 3G artificial pitch adjacent to the main stadium between 2013 and 2017. (Full article...)

Selected religion article

West façade of the church building

St Giles' Cathedral (Scottish Gaelic: Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; significant alterations were undertaken in the 19th and 20th centuries, including the addition of the Thistle Chapel. St Giles' is closely associated with many events and figures in Scottish history, including John Knox, who served as the church's minister after the Scottish Reformation.

Likely founded in the 12th century and dedicated to Saint Giles, the church was elevated to collegiate status by Pope Paul II in 1467. In 1559, the church became Protestant with John Knox, the foremost figure of the Scottish Reformation, as its minister. After the Reformation, St Giles' was internally partitioned to serve multiple congregations as well as secular purposes, such as a prison and as a meeting place for the Parliament of Scotland. In 1633, Charles I made St Giles' the cathedral of the newly created Diocese of Edinburgh. Charles' attempt to impose doctrinal changes on the presbyterian Scottish Kirk, including a Prayer Book causing a riot in St Giles' on 23 July 1637, which precipitated the formation of the Covenanters and the beginnings of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. St Giles' role in the Scottish Reformation and the Covenanters' Rebellion has led to its being called "the Mother Church of World Presbyterianism". (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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