Portal:Edinburgh
The Edinburgh Portal
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View across Calton Hill monuments to Firth of Forth and Fife beyond. -
Old town Skyline. -
Edinburgh panorama from Calton Hill, early evening . -
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Edinburgh castle and Balmoral Hotel clock tower at night. -
Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags, part of Holyrood Park. -
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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 Georgian House is an 18th-century townhouse situated at No. 7 Charlotte Square in the heart of the historic New Town of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has been restored and furnished by the National Trust for Scotland, and is operated as a popular tourist attraction, with over 40,000 visitors annually. (Full article...)
Selected images
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The Governor's House -
Two Edinburgh Trams seen at the West End - Princes Street stop -
The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland in Edinburgh Castle -
Jenners Department Store, the oldest department store in Scotland -
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The High Street, part of the Royal Mile -
Charlotte Square, a garden square in the New Town -
Scottish baronial-style turrets on Victorian tenements in St. Mary's Street -
The Princes Street Gardens, the best known park in Edinburgh -
David Hume, Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist born in Edinburgh in 1711 -
Architecture in Edinburgh -
Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland -
Fountain at Holyrood Palace -
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Ratho Park Golf Club -
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Queensferry Crossing road bridge -
The ruins of Holyrood Abbey -
The Castle Rock -
View over Edinburgh -
The Dean Gallery, part of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art -
The BT building in Edinburgh Park -
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City Observatory, the Gothic Tower -
Sir Walter Scott -
View looking west along George Street -
St Giles' Cathedral, the principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh -
The National Monument of Scotland (right) and Nelson Monument (left) -
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Edinburgh (from Salisbury Crags) by William Crozier, a painter associated with The Edinburgh School
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Selected transportation article
Edinburgh Waverley (also known simply as Edinburgh; 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
South Gyle (pronounced /ɡaɪl/) is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying on the western edge of the city and to the south and west of an area of former marshland once known as the Gogarloch, on the edge of Corstorphine. Most of the buildings in the area are of recent origin, dating from the later 1980s, 1990s, and early 21st century, with the exception of some farm workers' cottages and an early 1970s council estate abutting South Gyle railway station.
South Gyle can be neatly divided into two main zones – a residential one, incorporating Gogarloch and the neighbouring area centred on South Gyle Mains; and a commercial/business one which incorporates the Gyle Shopping Centre, Edinburgh Park, Gyle Park (an actual park, but with some shopping centres near it), and South Gyle Crescent. The Royal Bank of Scotland and sportscotland are all based in this district. The Lochside development also features a number of busts of Scottish poets. (Full article...)
Selected environment article
The Braid Burn is a burn or stream 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) in length that flows through south and east Edinburgh. (Full article...)
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Selected arts article
STV2 was a British local television network in Scotland, operating five city-based TV licences serving Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and Ayr. It was owned and operated by STV Group plc.
Initially broadcast as two separate stations – STV Glasgow and STV Edinburgh – the launch of three local licences in Aberdeen, Dundee and Ayr led to the launch of a single networked service on 24 April 2017. In May 2018, it was announced that STV2 would shut down at the end of June 2018 as part of a strategic review. It closed on 30 June 2018. (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 from 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 a crucial role in Edinburgh becoming a leading 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) place the University of 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 2025, the university had a total income of £1.437 billion, with £375.4 million 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
The Grange Club is a cricket and sports club in the Stockbridge district of Edinburgh, Scotland. The cricket ground, commonly known as The Grange, is the regular home of the Scotland national cricket team, and is situated adjacent to the Edinburgh Academy sports ground, which is in Raeburn Place. (Full article...)
Selected religion article
The Edinburgh Central Mosque (officially known as the King Fahd Mosque and Islamic Centre of Edinburgh) is located on Potterrow near the University of Edinburgh central area and the National Museum of Scotland. The mosque and Islamic centre was designed by Dr. Basil Al Bayati, and took more than six years to complete at a cost of £3.5M. The main hall can hold over one thousand worshippers, with women praying on a balcony overlooking the hall. The mosque holds chandeliers and a vast carpet, with very little furniture.
The architecture combines traditional Islamic features with a Modernist Scots baronial style. Geza Fehervari, Professor of Islamic Art & Archaeology at London University, said "The architectural elements and decorative details, while basically relying on Islamic, mainly Turkish traditions, successfully interact with the architectural and decorative age-old customs of Scotland." (Full article...)
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