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 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 three universities in the city. The financial centre of Scotland, Edinburgh was in 2020 ranked 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.

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

Central Library in Edinburgh, Scotland, opened in 1890, was the first public library building in the city. Edinburgh Central library comprises six libraries: Lending, Reference, Music, Art and Design, Edinburgh and Scottish, and the Children's Library. (Full article...)

Selected images

Image 1The Princes Street Gardens, the best known park in Edinburgh
Image 2St Giles' Cathedral, the principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh
Image 3The Governor's House
Image 4The Dean Gallery, part of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Image 5The Scottish Parliament Building
Image 6View looking west along George Street
Image 7Two Edinburgh Trams seen at the West End - Princes Street stop
Image 8Architecture in Edinburgh
Image 9View over Edinburgh
Image 10City Observatory, the Gothic Tower
Image 11David Hume, Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist born in Edinburgh in 1711
Image 12Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, 2010
Image 13Edinburgh (from Salisbury Crags) by William Crozier, a painter associated with The Edinburgh School
Image 14The Castle Rock
Image 15Jenners Department Store, the oldest department store in Scotland
Image 16The National Monument of Scotland (right) and Nelson Monument (left)
Image 17Arthur's Seat
Image 18Scottish baronial-style turrets on Victorian tenements in St. Mary's Street
Image 19The BT building in Edinburgh Park
Image 20The Royal Scottish Academy Building
Image 21The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland in Edinburgh Castle
Image 22Fettes College
Image 23Calton Hill
Image 24Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland
Image 25Ratho Park Golf Club
Image 26Queensferry Crossing road bridge
Image 27The High Street, part of the Royal Mile
Image 28The ruins of Holyrood Abbey
Image 29Sir Walter Scott
Image 30Charlotte Square, a garden square in the New Town
Image 31Fountain at Holyrood Palace

Selected transportation article

Entrance to Edinburgh Park railway station

Edinburgh Park railway station is a railway station in the west of Edinburgh, Scotland, serving the Edinburgh Park business park and the Hermiston Gait shopping centre. The new station building was designed by IDP Architects, and it opened on 4 December 2003. It is the first intermediate station between Haymarket and Linlithgow since 1951. Ticket barriers came into use on 25 March 2015.

There are two platforms, linked by a covered footbridge, which is accessible by either stairs or a lift. There is also a pedestrian underpass just outside the station, accessible from both platforms. Tickets are available from one of the two ticket machines. (Full article...)

Selected area article

Maybury is an area on the western edge of Edinburgh, Scotland, near South Gyle and Ingliston, named after the road, which is itself named after the civil engineer Sir Henry Maybury (1864–1943). In 2021, residents have been undertaking community clean ups to clear the foot paths along the road. The area is residential in the north east/east and commercial in the south and west and The Gyle Shopping Centre is nearby. In 2021, there was a consultation about creating a Primary School and Health Centre in Maybury. (Full article...)

Selected environment article

The Pentland Hills seen from Caerketton Hill

The Pentland Hills are a range of hills southwest of Edinburgh, Scotland. The range is around 20 miles (30 kilometres) in length, covers an area of 35 square miles (91 km²), and runs southwest from Edinburgh towards Biggar and the upper Clydesdale. The hills have been designated as a Scottish regional park. (Full article...)

Did you know?

... that, as the University of Edinburgh's chaplain, Harriet Harris appointed more than 40 honorary chaplains to serve traditions including Daoism, humanism, paganism and mindfulness?

Selected arts article

This is a list of public art and memorials in Edinburgh, including statues and other sculptures.

(Full article...)

Selected education article

Heriot-Watt University (Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by royal charter in 1966. It is the eighth-oldest higher education institution in the United Kingdom. The name Heriot-Watt was taken from Scottish inventor James Watt and Scottish philanthropist and goldsmith George Heriot.

The annual income of the institution for 2024–25 was £293.9 million of which £52.3 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £301.1 million. Known for its focus on science as well as engineering, it is one of the 23 colleges that were granted university status in the 1960s, and it is sometimes considered a plate glass university, like Lancaster and York. (Full article...)

Selected sports article

Ingliston Racing Circuit is 1.030 mi (1.658 km) motor racing circuit that was built at the Royal Highland Showground at Ingliston, Edinburgh. The circuit was created by widening and linking the network of access roads at the venue which had previously been used exclusively as an agricultural showground.

The first racing took place at Ingliston on 11 April 1965 and it fast became recognised as one of Scotland's top motorsport venues. The first race was almost 10 years before Knockhill in Fife opened in 1974 . Ingliston became infamous for its tight corners and plethora of obstacles such as trees and buildings close to the track and was therefore considered to be more hazardous than other similar facilities in the UK. There were extensive spectator facilities including a 5000-person grandstand which was built around the southern part of the track and thus named 'Arena'. (Full article...)

Selected religion article

The Church of Scotland offices are located in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland (in the New Town), at 121 George Street. These imposing buildings are popularly known in Church circles as "one-two-one". They were designed in a Scandinavian-influenced style by the architect Sydney Mitchell and built in 1909–1911 for the United Free Church of Scotland. Following the union of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church of Scotland in 1929 the church offices were henceforth used by the newly united church.

A matching extension, incorporating a ground floor bookshop, was built in the 1930s on the east side (119 George Street). A proposed matching extension on the west side (replacing the still-existing buildings at 123 George Street) was never built. 123 George Street is, however, owned by the Church of Scotland and has been incorporated into the offices. The church offices also incorporate a chapel near the main entrance and a staff canteen in the basement. (Full article...)