Edinburgh Castle

Hello from Edinburgh! We start visiting this amazing city with its most famous landmark – Edinburgh Castle

It has been estimated that there were once about three thousand castles in Scotland.

Edinburgh Castle is Scotland’s most famous castle. Over its 1000-year history it has been known as the most besieged castle in the land. It has been the scene of legendary betrayals, as well as some of the most epic battles ever witnessed between England’s and Scotland’s kings and queens. Edinburgh Castle is the most fought-over castle in Britain. It’s been attacked 23 times. It has survived them all and today it still dominates the surrounding landscape, one of the greatest fortresses ever built. Edinburgh Castle still has a working military garrison. This is a military fortress and a very impressive one, too.

The very granite it stands on is a natural wonder. It sits on top of Castle Rock, a vast outcrop of volcanic crop. The volcano has long been extinct but the rock remains the focal point of the city. It is also the perfect defensive spot for a military settlement.

People have lived on Castle Rock since the Bronze Age, that’s nearly 3000 years ago.

The oldest part of Edinburgh Castle is St. Margaret’s Chapel, dating from the twelfth century.

St. Margaret is Scotland’s only royal saint. Queen Margaret was an English princess who came to Scotland to marry the powerful long-ruling Scottish king, Malcolm III. Tragically, she died three days after learning that her husband King Malcolm and her eldest son had been killed in battle by the English.

Three of Margaret’s surviving sons went on to become kings of Scotland, each one of them consolidating Edinburgh place as the seat of Scottish royal power.

The most interesting museum is called: the Honours of Scotland; the Scottish Crown Jewels.

There, you can learn a lot about Scottish history and see the famous Stone of Destiny.

The Stone of Destiny

It looks very simple: a rectangular block of sandstone that measures 66 cm long and weighs 152 kg. Carved on its top surface is a Latin cross. For centuries, this unusual stone sat in an abbey in the town of Scone, near Perth. A medieval legend said that Jacob rested his head on the stone when he dreamed of angels ascending to heaven. Every Scot who was about to become king went to Scone to sit on the rock for the coronation ceremony that officially made him ruler of the land. The rock was called the Stone of Destiny, also known as the Stone of Scone. In 1296, King Edward I of England, the Hammer of the Scots, raided the abbey and took the sacred rock. He moved it to Westminster Abbey in London, where it remained for seven hundred years. In 1996, the stone was returned to Scotland by the British government. Now it rests in an honoured spot in Edinburgh Castle.

From the Castle, we begin our walk along the famous Royal Mile.

The Royal Mile runs through the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town, connecting the magnificent Edinburgh Castle, perched high on a base of volcanic rock, with the splendorous Palace of Holyroodhouse, resting in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat. (Wikipedia)