History of The Capital of Scotland in Brief

Craggy Edinburgh, the beautiful capital of Scotland with sweeping views from Arthur’s Seat and the Crags, an extinct volcano in Holyrood Park.

Let’s step back for a brief history of Edinburgh to circa AD79 when Agricola Roman Governor of Britain advanced to the North and came across the Votadinii a Celtic tribe. They based themselves where the castle now stands where they could control the Forth Valley and its river. The Romans mixed with the local and traded with the Votadinii and defeated numerous other tribes but could never dominate Caledonia and retreated to the south behind Hadrian wall circa 232.

It is not until the ninth century that we saw the first united Scotland where the four main tribes coexisted and fought many invasions from the Vikings. By 1093 after the death of Malcolm III saw the birth the medieval Old Town with the Abbey at Holyrood, a mile to the East along "The Royal Mile". Castle and Abbey became the anchor points of Edinburgh. The town expanded up alongside the highway between them, connected to Leith, Edinburgh's port and trade link to the world.
Robert the Bruce awarded Edinburgh a Royal Charter in 1329 after the Wars of Independence

Edinburgh grew in stature but not in size until the end of the 1500's and established itself as the Capital of Scotland, and increasing in population the inhabitants chose to build highrise houses close to the protection of the Castle:

By 1603 Edinburgh lost its status royal court but maintain its parliament under King James VI and by 1707 the Act of Union changed everything for Edinburgh the Parliament ceased to exist, but the city prospers and saw the birth of the elegant Georgian New Town, with greens and neoclassical buildings. The period is recorded as an active time and also called the "Enlightenment", which lasted well into the 1800's, has given the city one of the most architecturally attractive in the world

During the Victorian era, the city expanded, but the Old Town tenements around the Royal Mile declined into slums where ordinary people lived in cramped and unhygienic environments. Industry flourished in Glasgow, the Clyde River but Edinburgh continued to the reserve of professionals, which it has tended to remain to this day with a lot of companies in the financial and insurance industries but also digital firms.

In the 1960's in response to the shortage of housing after the war, the city was being ripped apart and rebuilt at an alarming rate to make way to the concrete jungle. A committee was formed in the 70’s to put a stop to this destruction and preserve the beautiful architecture and buildings have been restored using sensitive traditional practices, and now the city looks as if it will remain as one of Europe's most beautiful and historically interesting living monuments.

The city now boasts an array of restaurants and bars and some of the best festivals in the world with the Fringe and the Edinburgh Festival at the beginning of August.

!