Portal:Edinburgh
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Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. It is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh had a population of 506,520 in 2020, making it the second-most-populous city in Scotland (behind Glasgow) and the seventh-most-populous in the United Kingdom. The wider metropolitan area had a population of 912,490 in the same year.
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 was founded in 1582 and is now one of four universities in the city. The financial centre of Scotland, Edinburgh was ranked as the second-largest financial centre in the United Kingdom, the fourth-largest in Europe, and the thirteenth-largest in the world in the Global Financial Centres Index in 2020.
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, St Giles' Cathedral, Greyfriars Kirk, Canongate Kirk and the extensive Georgian New Town built in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Old Town and the New Town are together listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and the site has been managed by Edinburgh World Heritage since 1999. The city's historical and cultural attractions have made it Britain's second-most-visited tourist destination, attracting 5.3 million visits, including 2.4 million from overseas, in 2023. (Full article...)
Selected location article
The Scottish Storytelling Centre, the world's first purpose-built modern centre for live storytelling, is located on the High Street in Edinburgh's Royal Mile, Scotland. It was formally opened on 1 June 2006 by Patricia Ferguson MSP, Minister for Culture in the Scottish Executive. Donald Smith is Director of the Scottish Storytelling Centre, and himself a storyteller, playwright, novelist and performance poet.
The new building, designed by Malcolm Fraser Architects, replaced the former Netherbow Arts Centre, which itself replaced the Moray-Knox Church, demolished in the 1960s. It incorporates John Knox House. (Full article...)
Selected images
Jenners Department Store, the oldest department store in Scotland
The Castle Rock
The Governor's House
View over Edinburgh
The Princes Street Gardens, the best known park in Edinburgh
Queensferry Crossing road bridge
The BT building in Edinburgh Park
Scottish baronial-style turrets on Victorian tenements in St. Mary's Street
Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland
The ruins of Holyrood Abbey
The High Street, part of the Royal Mile
St Giles' Cathedral, the principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh
Architecture in Edinburgh
Two Edinburgh Trams seen at the West End - Princes Street stop
Sir Walter Scott
City Observatory, the Gothic Tower
Edinburgh (from Salisbury Crags) by William Crozier, a painter associated with The Edinburgh School
Charlotte Square, a garden square in the New Town
The National Monument of Scotland (right) and Nelson Monument (left)
The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland in Edinburgh Castle
The Dean Gallery, part of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
David Hume, Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist born in Edinburgh in 1711
View looking west along George Street
Ratho Park Golf Club
Fountain at Holyrood Palace
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Selected transportation article
Edinburgh Trams is a tramway in Edinburgh, Scotland, operated by Edinburgh Trams Ltd. It is an 18.5-kilometre (11.5 mi) line between Newhaven and Edinburgh Airport, with 23 stops.
A modern tram network for Edinburgh was proposed by Edinburgh Council in 1999. Construction of the first phase, linking Edinburgh Airport with Newhaven, began in June 2008, but encountered substantial delays and cost overruns, before eventually opening on 31 May 2014. These delays were later subject to a public enquiry that concluded in 2023. At the time of opening, the route only went between the airport and York Place. It was later extended in 2016 and 2023. (Full article...)
Selected area article
Baberton, also known as Baberton Mains, is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, located south-west of the Edinburgh City Bypass and Wester Hailes and south of the Shotts Line railway line. The village of Juniper Green is situated to the south of Baberton and Baberton Golf Course is to the west.
Most of Baberton Mains comprises a housing estate built in the early 1970s by George Wimpey. All streets take the "Baberton Mains" name but some streets in Juniper Green take the name Baberton and not Baberton Mains. (Full article...)
Selected environment article
Like most of Scotland, Edinburgh has a cool temperate maritime climate (Cfb) which, despite its northerly latitude, is milder than places which lie at similar latitudes such as Moscow and Labrador. The city's proximity to the sea mitigates any large variations in temperature or extremes of climate. Winter daytime temperatures rarely fall below freezing while summer temperatures are moderate, rarely exceeding 22 °C (72 °F). The highest temperature recorded in the city was 31.6 °C (88.9 °F) on 25 July 2019 at Gogarbank, beating the previous record of 31 °C (88 °F) on 4 August 1975 at Edinburgh Airport. The lowest temperature recorded in recent years was −14.6 °C (5.7 °F) during December 2010 at Gogarbank.
Given Edinburgh's position between the coast and hills, it is renowned as "the windy city", with the prevailing wind direction coming from the south-west, which is often associated with warm, unstable air from the North Atlantic Current that can give rise to rainfall – although considerably less than cities to the west, such as Glasgow. Rainfall is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year. Winds from an easterly direction are usually drier but considerably colder, and may be accompanied by haar, a persistent coastal fog. Vigorous Atlantic depressions, known as European windstorms, can affect the city between October and April. (Full article...)
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Selected arts article
The Edinburgh Filmhouse is a cinema located in Edinburgh, Scotland, which opened in 1979. It is home to the world's oldest continually running film festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival. The cinema closed in October 2022 when its parent body went into administration. In September 2023, a campaign organised by former staff to reopen the cinema got underway. The building re-opened in June 2025. (Full article...)
Selected education article
List of schools in Edinburgh is a list of schools in the City of Edinburgh council area of Scotland. It lists schools both within Edinburgh itself, and in outlying villages within the local government boundary. (Full article...)
Selected sports article
The Edinburgh Diamond Devils are a baseball club that was formed in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club has 3 senior teams, the Diamond Devils, Cannons, and Giants. All 3 teams train together and play their home games at Warriston Playing Fields near the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. The club refers to the field as Bobby Thomson Field in honour of the former major leaguer who was born in Scotland.
The club also has a little league baseball programme which shares the same field. All teams are open to players of all abilities. (Full article...)
Selected religion article
The Archdiocese of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh (Latin: Archidioecesis Sancti Andreae et Edimburgensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Scotland. It is the metropolitan see of the province of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, consisting of the additional suffragan sees of Aberdeen, Argyll and the Isles, Dunkeld, and Galloway. The archdiocese is led by Archbishop Leo Cushley, and its cathedral is St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh. (Full article...)
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