City

Edinburgh – the Capital of Scotland

Edinburgh is a place of history and a place of new beginnings. It is famous for its festivals, the Tattoo, and like the rest of Scotland, kilts, haggis and battered Mars Bars. But underneath Edinburgh is a vibrant city with people of varying socio-economic situations as well as varying cultural backgrounds.

No other European city is so dominated, as Edinburgh, by its Castle. Never out of sight, this lofty 15th- century edifice perches high on one of the several extinct volcanoes that imparted to the city its undulating cityscape. The ancient road that rambles down from the Castle's entrance marks the beginning of Edinburgh's famed Royal Mile. Site of the original city, the Royal Mile is richly laden with historical attractions such as St. Giles Church, John Knox's House and Parliament House. Numerous pubs and taverns are tucked into alleyways and "closes." Royal Mile ends at Holyrood Palace and Park - a royal residence from Charles II to the present Queen of England. Separated from the Old Town, by several centuries, is the Georgian elegance of Edinburgh's New Town: beginning at Princes Street and its beautifully maintained Gardens. New Town's straight streets, serene Georgian facades and gracefully designed parks reflect the prosperous era of the 18th century Scottish Enlightenment. In today's lively Edinburgh, a museum, concert hall, curiosity shop or interesting night spot are seldom far. Nor is the corner pub, a refreshing pint and excellent company.

Local Spirituality

There are many churches of all different types in Edinburgh, from the historically established Church of Scotland, Catholic, Baptist, and more to the young and international churches like Vineyard, Destiny, G12, and the list goes on and on. Some churches are experiencing vigourous growth; many more are in decline. An event called CLAN gathers all denominations together each year from all over Scotland. It's a good place for Christians with differing beliefs to celebrate the things they have in common.

Also there is a huge movement of Christian community growing outside the walls of the more structured forms of church. More and more people within Edinburgh are forming organic expressions of Christian community that heavily rely on relational networks rather than specific meetings and structured events.

There is also a growing movement of other religions in Edinburgh, including Sikh temples, an Islamic Mosque, Buddhist centres, Pagan religions, witches, and much much more.

An incredibly brief history of Edinburgh...

Celts and Romans

When the Roman "Governor of Britain" Agricola advanced North in AD79 and reached the mouth of the River Esk at what is now Inveresk, he encountered the Celtic tribe of Votadinii. The Votadinii controlled the Forth River valley and based themselves at Dunedin, which is probably the location of Edinburgh Castle. There is plenty of archaelogical evidence that the Roman army mixed on a day to day basis with the locals. After all, most of the Roman army was made up of Celts (Gauls) from mainland Europe. Although they fought and defeated the Pictish leader Calgacus at Mons Graupius in AD84, the Romans could never master Caledonia and by 211 had retreated behind Hadrian's wall, about a hundred miles to the south. By 410 they had left Britain for good.

The first United Scotland

By the sixth century four Kingdoms had developed in what is now Scotland: To the North, the Picts; to the far West, the Scots; to the West, the Britons; and to the South-East, the Angles. For the next two hundred years these four kingdoms struggled, beset by Viking raiding parties , until in the 9th century the King of Dalraida, Kenneth MacAlpin, fought his way to win a basically united Scotland. His Grandson, Duncan I, became the first King of Scotland in 1035.

Medieval and Renaissance Edinburgh

Although at this time Scottish rulers tended to base themselves further north across the Forth, King Malcolm III Canmore (died 1093) built his castle on Edinburgh towering hill, and his wife Queen (Saint) Margaret built a chapel within its walls - now the oldest building in the city. Her son, David I built the Abbey at Holyrood, a mile to the East. Castle and Abbey became the anchor points of Edinburgh. A thriving town grew up alongside the road between them, connected to Leith, Edinburgh's port and trade-link to the world.

During the Wars of Independence Edinburgh Castle was captured by the English until Robert the Bruce's nephew, Thomas Randolph, daringly recapture it by climbing its steep and craggy sides in the dead of night. Robert the Bruce granted Edinburgh a Royal Charter in 1329. If Edinburgh did not grow outwards at this time, it did grow upwards. By the end of the 1500's the growing city was established as the Capital of Scotland. The inhabitants chose to build high houses close to the protection of the Castle: high tenement buildings, most of which can be seen to this day. When the Scottish King James VI inherited the throne of England in 1603, Edinburgh ceased to be the principal site of the royal court, although it did continue to have its own Parliament.

Georgian Edinburgh

Everything changed after the Act of Union in 1707. Parliament ceased in Edinburgh, but the city still prospered. The loch below the North side of the castle was filled in. New streets and thousands of houses were planned and built in the Classical fashion. This period of energetic building during the "Enlightenment" age, which lasted into the 1800's, has left the city one of the most architecturally beautiful in the world.

To the present day

During the Victorian era expansion continued to grow, but the Old Town tenements around the Royal Mile declined into slums where poor people lived in cramped and insanitary conditions. Industry flourished in Glasgow, but Edinburgh remained the preserve of professionals, which it has tended to remain. Since the last war its prestige has risen not least because of the establishment of the Edinburgh Festival. In the 1960's the city was being torn down and rebuilt at an alarming rate, but fortunately the New Town Conservation Committee (formed in the 1970's) put a stop to that. Buildings have been restored using traditional and sympathetic methods, and now the city looks as though it will remain as one of Europe's most beautiful and historically interesting living monuments.