Holyrood, Edinburgh
Area of Edinburgh, Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Holyrood (/ˈhɒliruːd/; Scots: Halyruid,[1] Scottish Gaelic: Taigh an Ròid[2]) is an area in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, lying east of the city centre, at the foot of the Royal Mile.
Holyrood
| |
|---|---|
Taken from Holyrood Park in 2004. From left to right: Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh Castle, Scottish Parliament Building, Palace of Holyroodhouse, Scott Monument, Balmoral Hotel clock tower and Nelson's Monument. | |
  Holyrood Location within the City of Edinburgh council area  Holyrood Location within Scotland | |
| OS grid reference | NT267737 |
| Council area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | EDINBURGH |
| Postcode district | EH8, EH99 |
| Dialling code | 0131 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
The area takes its name from Holyrood Abbey, which was the Church of the Holy Rude (Scots for 'Holy Cross').
Holyrood includes the following sites:
- The modern Scottish Parliament Building.[3] For this reason "Holyrood" is often used in contemporary media as a metonym for the Scottish Government.
- The Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the monarch in Scotland.
- The ruins of Holyrood Abbey
- Holyrood Park, an expansive royal park to the south and east of the palace.
- The Queen's Gallery, part of the Holyroodhouse complex formerly a church and now an art gallery.
- Dynamic Earth, visitor attraction and science centre which is Scotland's largest interactive museum.
- A number of residential, light commercial, and government properties.