Edinburgh City - The Essentials

Edinburgh is an old yet sprawling city in Scotland. Historically, the first settlers came here as early as 8,500 years B.C.

Today, the city is home to about half a million people.

As the capital of Scotland, this is where you will find the seat of government bodies such as the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament. Edinburgh is also the place where you can find the offices of the Supreme Court and the official home of the monarch of the country, the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

A Brief History

By the end of the First Century AD, Romans occupied Edinburgh and found a Celtic tribe that resided in it.

It was called the Votadini tribe, which later on transitioned into becoming the Gododdin Kingdom, in the early Middle Ages. It is during this period that the site of Castle Rock became the kingdom’s major centre.

Castle Rock is a fort which was easy to defend, but the English succeeded in capturing the city and named it Eiden’s Burgh.

The word burgh meant fort. In the 10th Century, the Scotts reclaimed this area, and it was in the 11th Century that a king named King Malcolm III built a castle on Castle Rock, which is what we now know as a historic landmark in the world.

Here are some cool things to know about the city.

•    Twice the Population in August
Every August, the city experiences a surge in population because of the Edinburgh International Festival. It was first established in 1947 and has since flourished into an event that caters to a million people.

Every year, foreign actors and musicians come here to perform, alongside comedians like Louis C.K and others.

•    Castle Rock is an Old Volcano
Castle Rock is a dormant volcano that has been inactive for more than 2340 million years! It stands 130 meters above sea level, and the castle itself was used as a monarch’s home back in the 12th century.

It was also used as a military weapons arsenal during the Napoleonic War, and then it was used as an area to secure prisoners of World War I.

•    Edinburgh is a Source of Great Whiskey
The whiskey here is so delectable that the city has to ship 40 bottles of it every second! In fact, the whiskey industry is a £3 billion industry in the country. Edinburgh is the country’s whiskey supplier, and you will find no shortage of establishments here that serve the finest liquors in the world.

Now you know why there is such a thing in the drinking community as “Scotch”.