EDINBURGH

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edinburgh is located at the east coast of southern scotland, near the ocean. it is the capital city of scotland, and its second-largest one, with 505.000 residents. only glasgow is bigger.

this map depicts edinburgh's central area.

brief list of main events:

// b.c. 1500: settlements in the area of edinburgh, centered on arthur's seat
// b.c. 900: first settlements on castle rock and surroundings
// 142 roman army takes hold of cramond (near edinburgh)
// 145 settlement, inside the roman "antonine wall"
// 211 renewed as roman settlement
// 600 (circa) eydin tribe, in area around castle rock
// 854 din eydin establishes "edwinesburth"
// 1000 this town growes in economic facets
// 1100 edinburgh fully established, parish church of st. giles
// 1124 david-1 becomes king of scottland
// 1127 he granted edinburgh the status of a king's, or royal, burgh
// 1329 king robert-1 makes e. a royal burgh (replacing Berwick)
// 1507 scotland's first printing press
// 1621 formal set-up of edinburgh university
// 1681 end of trouble with water supply
// 1707 england and scotland form "kingdom of great britain", england dominant
// 1835 start of edinburgh becoming scotland's industrial center
// 1960 edinburghers focus on scottish individuality and outlook
// 1999 scottish parliament in edinburgh re-established
// 2010 discussion about separatism, but not really intended

preface: when visiting edinburgh, long ago, in 1969, all my photography was done to create pictures for voyage albums. of those, many got scanned for digital pic's. but - unfortunately parts of them got lost because of a computer crash! thus the images presented in the following gallery are restricted to core issues.

here are two main views of edinburgh: the mighty castle above it, and the main boulevard in the city center. but beside big and modern, there are still many areas of modest and traditional character.

as in about every british city, the main buildings are either castles or palaces or churches.

this is edinburgh's cathedral, the st. giles cathedral. it was founded in 1124 by scotland's king david-1.

the entrance, built in (neo-)gotic style, is impressive.

however however - - there is a temptation, namely, to say that the essential buildings are: pubs! here are three, all impressive.

and what is the absolutely fundamental drink in scotland? you may realize what - of course scottish whiskey!

this immense - and certainly famous - crosses the firth of forth.

it is a cantilever railway bridge, built from 1882-1890, 2500 m long and 110 m high. in 2015 it was declared a unesco world heritage site.

to me, this bridge is not just an engineering feat - it is as much a true aesthetic wonder!

edinburgh has a cool, temperate, maritime climate which is mild. rain is common. plus, it is renowned as "the windy city".

at the end of this little essay about edinburgh, as usual the question comes up: is it worth a visit? in terms of its at times cold & windy weather: not sure. yet given its rich and well-presented culture as the scottish city: absolutely yes. certainly in summer - although it's less overrun in spring or autumn.

and to honour this rather unique place, its official "coat of arms" shall herewith end my story.

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