Edinburgh [eh'din bu ru] is the capital and second largest city of Scotland. It stands on the hills south of the Firth of Forth, and was named for Edwin of Northumbria, an Anglican king who built a fort here in the 600's. It has been the capital of Scotland since 1437.

The city was one of the major centers of the Scottish Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, and as such has been given the nickname Athens of the North.

Name in Gaelic Dunedin

Population (2001 census) 448,624

Local Government 58-seat City of Edinburgh Council
UK Parliament 5 seats
Scottish Parliament 7 seats

Police Lothian and Borders
Fire Lothian and Borders
Ambulance Scottish

Postcode Districts EH1-EH13; EH14 (part); EH15-EH17
Dial Code 0131
Vehicle Code SK-SO

Principal Industries education, health, finance and business services, retailing, tourism, cruise ship port
Manufacturing brewing, publishing, electronics

Private Schools Donaldson's College (for deaf students), Edinburgh Academy, Fettes College, George Heriot's School, George Watson's College, Mary Erskine School, Merchiston Castle School, Royal High School, St. George's School for Girls, St. Margaret's School for Girls, Stewart's Melville College
Institutions of Higher Learning University of Edinburgh; Basil Paterson College, Edinburgh College of Art, Heriot-Watt University, Napier University, Queen Margaret University, Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Surgeons, Scottish Agricultural College, Stevenson College, Telford College

Major Sites and Attractions City Arts Centre, Dean Gallery, Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Playhouse, Holyrood Park, Museum of Childhood, Museum of Edinburgh, Museum of Scotland, National Gallery of Scotland, National Library of Scotland, National War Museum of Scotland, Nelson's Monument, Princes Street Gardens, Royal Observatory, Royal Scottish Academy, Royal Scottish Museum, Royal Society of Edinburgh, St. Giles Cathedral, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Surgeons' Hall, Traverse Theatre, Usher Hall

Professional Sports Capitals (ice hockey), Claymores (American football), Diamond Devils (baseball), Heart of Midlothian (football), Hibernian (football), Rugby (rugby)

Major Annual Festivals Beltane Fire Festival (April 30); Edinburgh Art Festival; Edinburgh International Festival; Edinburgh International Film Festival; Edinburgh International Science Festival (April); Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival; Edinburgh Military Tattoo; Hogmanay (December 31)

Notable Residents Ian Anderson (rock musician), Alexander Graham Bell (inventor), Tony Blair (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom), Max Born (physicist), James Boswell (author), Robert Burns (poet), Sir Sean Connery (actor), Ronnie Corbet (actor/comedian), Charles Darwin (naturalist), Thomas De Quincey (author), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (author), David Hume (philosopher), James Hutton (geologist), Douglas Johnson (historian), John Knox (leader of the Protestant Reformation), Arthur Marwick (historian), Alexander McCall Smith (author), Dylan Moran (comedian), John Napier (mathematician), Sir Henry Raeburn (painter), Allan Ramsay (painter), Ian Rankin (author), J.K. Rowling (author), Sir Walter Scott (author), Adam Smith (economist), Robert Louis Stevenson (author), Sir David Wilkie (painter), Ian Wilmut (geneticist), John Witherspoon (signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and president of Princeton University)

Questions or comments about this page?

City of Edinburgh Council. www.edinburgh.gov.uk
Edinburgh and Lothians Tourist Board. www.edinburgh.org

Edinburgh Castle
John Napier

SKC Films Library
General and Old World History.--Great Britain.--Scotland.--Edinburgh.

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