Lothian, Scotland, high up on the volcanic rock; Crown Room with the Scottish Royal crown and other regalia [large photo gallery with selected small and medium but beautiful pics]
Edinburgh Castle, stronghold that was once the residence of Scottish monarchs and now serves mostly as a museum. It stands 443 feet (135 metres) above sea level and overlooks the city of Edinburgh from a volcanic crag called Castle Rock.
Between 1296 and 1341, the castle was twice captured by English invaders and twice retaken by the Scots. David’s Tower, some 100 feet (30 metres) in height, was built to honour King David II, who died in the castle in 1371, but was substantially destroyed in a siege 200 years later. A giant cannon named Mons Meg was installed in 1457 and can still be seen. The Great Hall, which also survives, was completed by James IV in 1511. In an adjacent building called the Royal Palace is the room where James VI, the future King James I of England, was born in 1566. Following the destructive siege of 1571–73, the castle’s defenses were strengthened with the construction of the Half-Moon Battery (cannon emplacement) and the Portcullis Gate. The last monarch to stay overnight in Edinburgh Castle was Charles I, in 1633.
The last military action at the castle took place during the second Jacobite rising of 1745. The Jacobite army, under Charles Edward Stuart (“Bonnie Prince Charlie”), captured Edinburgh without a fight in September 1745, but the castle remained in the hands of its ageing Deputy Governor, General George Preston, who refused to surrender. After their victory over the government army at Prestonpans on 21 September, the Jacobites attempted to blockade the castle. Preston’s response was to bombard Jacobite positions within the town. After several buildings had been demolished and four people killed, Charles called off the blockade. The Jacobites themselves had no heavy guns with which to respond, and by November they had marched into England, leaving Edinburgh to the castle garrison.
Over the next century, the castle vaults were used to hold prisoners of war during several conflicts, including the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763), the American War of Independence (1775–1783) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815).[103] During this time, several new buildings were erected within the castle, including powder magazines, stores, the Governor’s House (1742),[104] and the New Barracks (1796–1799). The castle passed into the care of Historic Scotland when it was established in 1991, and was designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1993.
The castle, in the care of Historic Environment Scotland, is Scotland’s most (and the United Kingdom’s second most) visited paid tourist attraction, with over 2.2 million visitors in 2019 and over 70 percent of leisure visitors to Edinburgh visiting the castle. As the backdrop to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo during the annual Edinburgh Festival, the castle has become a notorious symbol of Edinburgh in particular and of Scotland as a whole.
For visitors:
From £11.40 per ticket
Child tickets for £1.
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