Edinburgh
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Edinburgh (Scots Gaelic: Dùn Èideann) (whiles cried Embra, Embro or Edinburrie an aw) is the caipital ceity o Scotland, an is the kintra's seicond lairgest ceity efter Glesca, that's 45 mile (72 km) tae the wast. It is the seivent lairgest ceity in the Unitit Kinrick. Edinburgh is ane o Scotland's 32 local govrenment council areas (see: Ceety o Edinburgh) - this council area includes urban Edinburgh an a 30 sq mile (78 sq km) landward area. In the census o 2001, there wis 448, 625 indwallers.
Locate in the south-eist o Scotland, Edinburgh liggs on the eist coast o Scotland's Central Belt, alang the Firth o Forth, nearhaun the North Sea. Awin tae its rugged settin muckle gaitherin o Medieval an Georgian airchitectur, includin monie stane tenenments, it is aften thocht o as ane o the bonniest ceities in Europe.
It haes been the caipital ceity syne 1437 (replacin Scone an is the hame o the Scots Pairlament. The ceity wis ane o the heidmaist centres o the Enlichtenment, led by the Varsity o Edinburgh, gieit it the byname The Athens o the North. The Auld Toun an New Toun airts o Edinburgh wis listit as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. There's mair nor 4,500 listit biggins inbye the ceity.
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[edit] Etymology
The oreigin o ceity's name in Scots is unnerstuid tae come frae the Brythonic Din Eidyn (Fort o Eidyn) frae the time whan it wis a Gododdin braefort. In the first century the Romans recordit the Vatadini as a Brythonic clan in the area, an about AD 600 the poem Y Gododin, uisin the Brythonic mak o thon name, descreives werriours feastin "in Eidin's great haw."
It cam tae be kent tae the Bernician Angles as Edin-burgh, that sum fowk aince jaloused wis taen frae the Anglo-Saxon for "Edwin's Fort", wi a reference tae the 7t century king Edwin o Northumbria. Houane'er, syne the name appeiringly predates King Edwin, this isna gey likely ava. The burgh pairt means "fortress" or "wawed curn o biggins" - i.e. a toun or ceity, an is sib tae the German burg an the Laitin parcus. Burgh is jist an owersettin o the Brythonic Din; Edin is untranslatit.
[edit] Ithir Names
The ceity haes the byname Auld Reekie acause whan the biggins wis heatit by coal an widd ingles, lums wad boak out muckle colums o thick black reek intae the air.
Sum haes cried Edinburgh the Athens o the North an Auld Greekie efter its intellectual history, an for its topography, wi the Auld Toun o Edinburgh performin a seimilar role tae the Athenian Acropolis. Edinburgh is also kent by twa-thrie Laitin names; Aneda, Edina (that crops up in leiteratur, sic as that o Burns or Fergusson) or Edinensis (that can be seem on monie eddicational biggins.
Edinburgh haes also been kent as Dunedin, taen frae the Gaelic Dùn Èideann. Dunedin in New Zealand wis oreiginally cried "New Edinburgh" an is still gied the byname the "Edinburgh o the South". Ben Jonson descreivit it as Britain's ithir ee, an Walter Scott cried it yon Empress o the North.
[edit] Pairts o Edinburgh
[edit] The Auld Toun
Main airticle: Auld Toun o Edinburgh
The Auld Toun haes preservit its medieval lay-out an monie Reformation-era biggins. Ane end is closed by the Edinburgh Castle an the main gate, the Royal Mile, leads awa frae it (wee closes an wynds gang aff the Royal Mile dounhill on either side o the main spine in a "herrinbane" patren). Lairge squares merk whaur merkets wis aince locate an surround public biggins sic as Saunt Giles Cathedral an the Law Courts. Ithit notable places nearhaun include the Royal Museum o Scotland, Surgeons' Haw an the McEwan Haw. The street lay-out is teipical o the aulder pairts o monie northren European ceities, an whuar the castle sits on the tap o a rocky crag (the remains o a deid volcano) the Royal Mile rins doun the crest o a rig frae it.
Due tae space restrictions gied by the narraness o the "tail" (aidit by the biggin o the Flodden Waw efter 1513), the Auld Toun becam hame tae sum o the eirliest "heich rise" residential biggins. Monie-flaired dwallins kent as lands wis ordinar frae the 1500s onwawrds wi ten an eleiven flairs bein teipical an ane e'en raxed tae fowerteen flairs. Eikit tae this, monie vaults ablo gate level wis bydit in by the muckle influx o immigrants durin the Industrial Revolution. Thir still gie tift tae auld-threips o an unnergrun ceity.
[edit] The New Toun
Main airticle: New Toun o Edinburgh
The New Toun wis an 18t century solution tae the fyke o the mair an mair croudit Auld Toun. The ceity haed remainit gey compack, confinit tae the rig rinnin doun frae the castle. In 1766, a competition tae design the New Toun wis won by James Craig, a 22 year auld airchitect. The plan that wis bigged creatit a rigid, reddit grid, that fittit weil wi enlichtenment norries o rationality. The heidmaist gate wis tae be George Street, that folloaes the naitural rig tae the north o the Auld Toun. Either side o it is the ithir main gates o Princes Street an Queen Street. Princes Street haes synesen becam the heidmaist shoppin street in Edinburgh, an no monie Georgian biggins survive on it. Jynin thir gates thegithir is a series o perpendicular gates. At the eist an wast ends is St Andrew Sqaure an Charlotte Square respecteivly. The hinmaist wis designed by Robert Adam an aften thocht o as ane o the brawest Georgian squares in the wurld. Bute Hous, the offeical dwallin o the First Minister o Scotland, is on the north side o Charlotte Square.
Sittin in the glen atween the Auld an New Touns wis the Nor Loch, that haed aince been the ceity's watter supply an place for horsin awa keich an ithir rubbish. By the 1820s it wis drained. Sum plans shaw that a canal wis ettled, but Princes Street Gairdens wis creatit instead. Left ower eirth frae the makkin o the biggins wis horsed in the loch, makkin whit's nou The Mound. In the mid 19t century the National Gallery o Scotland an the Royal Scottish Academy Building wis bigged on The Mound, an weems tae Waverly Station driven throu it.
The New Toun wis sae successfou that it wis extendit greaty. The grid patren wisna haudit tae, but raither a mair picturesque lay-out wis creatit. The day the New Toun is thocht o by monie tae be ane the best ensamples o Georgian airchitecture an plannin in the wurld.
[edit] Sooth Side
A popular residential pairt o the ceity is its sooth side, made up o a nummer o airts includin St Leonards, Marchmont, Haymerket, Polwarth, Newington, Sciennes, The Grange, Bruntsfield, Morningside an Merchiston. "Sooth side" is braidly the samen as the area kivvered by the Burgh Muir, an becam mair popular efter the apenin o the Sooth Brig. Thir areas is specially popular wi faimilies (monie weil-regairdit state an private schuills is locate there), students (the Central Varsity o Edinburgh campus is based aroun George Square jist north o Marchmont an the Meadows, an Napier Varsity haes muckle campuses aroun Merchiston an Morningside), an wi festival-gaers.
[edit] Leith
Leith is the sea-port o Edinburgh. It still hauds a seperate identity frae Edinburgh, an it wisna weil thocht o there whan, in 1920, the burgh o Leith wis jyned wi Edinburgh. E'en the day the pairlamentary seat at Westminster is kent as "Edinburgh North an Leith." Wi the redevelopin o Leith, Edinburgh haes won the business o a nummer o cruise liner companies that nou gie cruises tae Norrowey, Swaden, Denmark, Germany an the Netherlands. Leith also haes the Royal Yacht Britannia, berthit ahint the Ocean Terminal as weil as bein hame tae Hibernian Fitbaw Club.
[edit] Cultur
Edinburgh is weil-kent for the annual Edinburgh Festival, a gaitherin o offeicial an unthirled festivals haulden ilka year ower about fower week in early August. The nummer o vaigers attractit tae Edinburgh for the Festival is about the samen as the settled population o the ceity. The maist kenspeckle o thir events is the Edinburgh Frings (the lairgest performin airts festival in the wurld), the Edinburgh Comedy Festival (the lairgest comedy festival in the wurld), the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Edinburgh International Film Festival an the Edinburgh International Beuk Festival.
Ithir notable events include the Hogmanay street pairty an Burns Nicht an St. Andra's Day also hae events merkin thaim. The ceity is ane Europe's heidmaist tourist destinations, breingin in 13 million veisitor ilka year, an efter Lunnon is the seicond maist veisatit tourist destination in the Unitit Kinrick.
