30 Curiosities of Edinburgh with a lot of history | With Images

Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is a wonderful city full of history and culture. Wrapped in a medieval atmosphere, its castles and gardens transport you to other times in which it seems possible that there are fantastic beings that populate Scottish mythology such as selkies or The blue men of the Minch . Join us to know 30 Curiosities of Edinburgh with a lot of history.

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, but not its most populous city, which is Glasgow. It has about 500,000 inhabitants and its districts "The Old Town" and "The New Town" were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995. It is the second most visited city in the United Kingdom after London and receives about 13 millions of tourists.

30 Curiosities of Edinburgh

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1. The origin of the name of the city seems to go back to the British language (of the British or Briton peoples) and derive from "Din Eidyn" which means "Fort of Eidyn", although there is much controversy among historians on this subject.

2. One of the curiosities of Edinburgh is his nickname: Auld Reekie (in English Old Smoky) that would mean "old smoky" or "old chimney" and is due to smoke pollution that was in the city for centuries due to the burning of coal and wood to heat up in the houses.

30 Curiosities of Edinburgh with a lot of history

3. In Scottish Gaelic the city is known as "Dunedin" (Dùn Èideann). In New Zealand the city of Dunedin was originally called "New Edinburgh" or "South Edinburgh".

4. The city ​​of Edinburgh it was not always the capital of the legendary Scotland . In the fifteenth century replaced Scone.

5. Edinburgh is the city in the world that has the most cataloged buildings. There are about 16,000 historic buildings.

6. The Edinburgh Castle , in Castle Rock, it is the most important and well-known monument in the city. It is built on an extinct volcano and since the last time it erupted more than 350 million years have passed. So there is no danger!

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Edinburgh Castle

7. One of the curiosities of Edinburgh It is inside the Castle. It is the oldest building in the city and it is the chapel of Santa Margarita. It was erected in memory of Queen Margaret who tells the legend that she died of love after the death of her husband.

8. The "Stone of Destiny" is kept in Edinburgh Castle. It is a stone that is traditionally present at the coronation of Scottish and English royalty. Although there is a legend that says that the current Stone of Destiny is not the original, but was changed by a fake at some point in history. .

9. One last piece about Edinburgh Castle: in the main room there is a window over the fireplace. It is known as " laird's lug "Or" the ear of the gentleman "since through it all the conversations that took place in the Great Hall could be heard in a hidden way.

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Laird'slug of the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle

10. The "Edinburgh Madness" or the "Edinburgh Shame" is the National Monument that is on Calton Hill. It was inspired by the Athens Parthenon, but the money ran out and was never completed. It is half since 1820, but despite this it is one of the most popular destinations for tourists.

11. The Hill of Calton Hill is in the center of the city and besides the National Monument it lodges buildings and important monuments like the Scottish Parliament or the seat of the Scottish government in St. Andrew's House, among others.

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Calton Hill with the National Monument

12. One of the best known are the gardens of Princess Street, divide the city into two parts.

13. There are several cities in the world that have 7 hills. The best known is Rome, but also Edinburgh, like Moscow, are within that exclusive club.

14. Another of the curiosities of Edinburgh is the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It is the largest artistic festival in the world. In principle it was a compendium of marginal acts of the International Festival of Edinburgh that took place during the month of August. You can see nearly 3,000 shows in 300 stages and more than 50,000 performances. People from all over the world come.

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Edimburgh Fringe Festival

15. The most famous street in Edinburgh is the Royal Mile, which actually measures just over a mile.

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16. The University of Edinburgh was ranked as the 22nd best university in the world and the sixth best in Europe in the ranking of 2018. The institution occupies several historic buildings in the old medieval center of the city.

17. In the Greyfriars Cemetery that surrounds the Greyfriars Kirk chapel is where the story of Greyfriars Bobby took place, the faithful dog that guarded the tomb of his master. In addition to his tombs JK Rowling extracted some of the names he used for the characters in his books.

18. One of the mournful events related to Edinburgh was the story of the assassins Burke and Hare, of which we speak in Supercurioso in the post: The murders of Burke and Hare, a business that got out of hand . These men sold corpses to dissect medical students, but the "business" demanded more and more. They were executed and the skeleton of Burke is still preserved in the Anatomical Museum of Edinburgh.

19. In all of Edinburgh there is only one statue dedicated to a female, it is that of Queen Victoria that is in the neighborhood of Leith, next to the Port of Edinburgh. The others are dedicated to men or animals.

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20. In Rose Street you will find many pubs and shops, but in the 18th century there were more than 100 brothels in it.

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Rose Street

21. Edinburgh was the first city in the world to be named by the UNESCO "City of Literature". This happened because of his heritage and literary prestige as authors such as Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, Muriel Spark, Irvine Welsh or Sir Walter Scott were born in it. Not to mention that JK Rowling wrote the first book in the Harry Potter saga at a coffee shop in the city.

22. Another of the curiosities of Edinburgh It is the watch of the Hotel Balmoral. This luxurious establishment, originally called the North British Station Hotel, has a clock on the upper part of the façade that, since 1902, sets the time with 3 minutes in advance. He does this to give a margin and make sure no one loses the train. It only works correctly on December 31st for the New Year bells, then it goes back 3 minutes.

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Hotel Balmoral

23. In 2007 JK Rowling finished "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in room 522 of this hotel. He left a note confirming that fact and the room has been named "JK Rowling Suite". It has become a place of pilgrimage for Harry Potter fans although it costs more than 1,000 pounds to spend the night in it.

24. The second most visited place by tourists in Edinburgh is the zoo. It has the distinction of being the only one in the United Kingdom that houses koalas and pandas.

25. The Palace of Holyrood At the bottom of the Royal Mile and at the opposite end of Edinburgh Castle is the official residence of the British monarchs in Scotland and was from the sixteenth century the main residence of the Scottish Kings and Queens.

26 Arthur's Seat which can be translated as "Arturo's seat" is a peak of 251 m. that is part of Holyrood Park. Its landscape is similar to the Highlands and is only 1.5 km away. of the Edinburgh Castle. From there you have a magnificent panoramic view of the city.

27 The Cathedral of St Giles o Edinburgh Cathedral has as its main characteristic its belfry in the form of a royal crown. It is located on the Royal Mile and the current church dates back to the 14th century, although it was renovated during the 19th century.

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St. Giles Cathedral

28. Another of the curiosities of Edinburgh is that it is one of the greenest cities in the United Kingdom. It has a total of 112 parks in its municipal area.

29. Every year, on the night of April 30, in Calton Hill, the Beltane Fire Festival is celebrated. There is a parade and representations inspired by the ancient fertility rites that were made at the beginning of spring.

30. The last of these curiosities of Edinburgh , we will dedicate it to the fans of shopping. The area of ​​Princess Street and its surroundings is the best place to go shopping in the city.

Other Curiosities of Cities

And if you love to travel and know the secrets of the different countries and their urban centers, you can discover with us curiosities of Europe , from the most surprising data from other wonderful cities that you will surely be interested in such as:

  • Curiosities of Barcelona
  • Curiosities of Seville
  • Curiosities of Madrid
  • Curiosities of Bilbao
  • Curiosities of London
  • Curiosities of Paris
  • Curiosities of Prague
  • Curiosities of Venice
  • Curiosities of Florence
  • Curiosities of Amsterdam
  • Curiosities of Berlin
  • Curiosities of Brussels
  • Curiosities of Vienna

As you see, the capital of Scotland, hides many interesting places to discover. What do you think about our selection of curiosities of Edinburgh ? Do you know any that we have not taken into account? Tell us and we can expand this list of curiosities.

Images: supergolden , Edinburgh Castle , Saffron Blaze , Morgan Johnston


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