Edinburgh Castle
850 BC       The Rock on which Edinburgh Castle stands was formed by volcanic activity more than 70 million years ago. Two thousand years ago, during the Iron Age, the rock was a hill-fort settlement.

AD 600         The first mention of the place which we call Edinburgh occurs in about 600 CE, when King Mynyddog encamped in what they called Din Eidvn, which was to become the fortress and the castle of Edinburgh. The King and his band were preparing to attack the Angles in Yorkshire. In the ensuing battle, most of the King's men perished. The Angles then took the fortress and gave it the English name which it has kept ever since - Edinburgh.

Castle of Edinburgh

Portcullis Gate

Holyrood Palace
Founded as a monastery in 1128, the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh is The Queen's official residence in Scotland. Situated at the end of the Royal Mile, the Palace of Holyroodhouse is closely associated with Scotland's turbulent past, including Mary, Queen of Scots, who lived here between 1561 and 1567. Successive kings and queens have made the Palace of Holyroodhouse the premier royal residence in Scotland. Today, the Palace is the setting for State ceremonies and official entertaining. According to legend, David I founded the Palace as an Augustinian monastery in 1128. It is said that the king had a vision in which a cross, or 'rood', belonging to his mother St Margaret appeared between the antlers of an attacking stag. Hence the Abbey's symbol - a stag's head, with its horns framing a cross.

Mary, Queen of Scots spent most of her turbulent life in the Palace - a dramatic and often tragic chapter in the history of the building. She married two of her husbands in the Abbey. Her private secretary David Rizzio was murdered in her personal rooms by a group led by her husband Lord Darnley, who believed she was having an affair with Rizzio.

The Bedroom of Mary, Queen of Scots within Holyrood Palace.

Under Mary's son James VI (1567-1625), later James I of England and Scotland (1602-25), the Palace fell into decline. However, it was renovated when James returned to Edinburgh in 1617.
Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Charles II (1660-85) was crowned in Scotland. Although he never returned there, he did initiate a programme of substantial rebuilding at Holyroodhouse. Charles also added a new Royal apartment to the east, had the Abbey Church made into the Chapel Royal and created accommodation on the second floor for the Court during the sovereign's residence, and for officers of state in his absence.

Interior of Holyrood Palace

Originally an Augustinian monastery founded by David I, son of St. Margaret of Scotland, in 1128. the name of the abbey was taken from a famous relic, a fragment of the True Cross brought to Scotland by St. Margaret.

King James II (1430 - 1460) was born in the abbey lodgings. He, together with King James III (1452 -1488), King James IV (1473 - 1513) and Queen Mary (1542 - 1587) were married in the abbey. King James V (1512 - 1542) and King Charles I (1600 - 1649) were crowned there and King David II (1324 - 1371), King James II, King James V and Lord Darnley (1545 - 1567) were buried there.

The Abbey was seriously damaged during the reformation, and although it was restored and given a new roof (1758), this was poorly designed and collapsed in 1768 when the Abbey was abandoned.

A view of the ruins at Holyrood

A former hunting ground of the Scottish Monarchs is now preserved as a little bit of wilderness within a stroll of the centre of Edinburgh.
In the 650 acres of park are well worn paths to crags, lochs and the highest point at 251m, Arthur's Seat. Arthur's Seat is an extinct volcano in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland's capital city. At the summit, the magnificent view from Arthur's Seat looks out over Edinburgh in all directions, north to Fife, south to Mid-Lothian and the Borders, east to North Berwick and the North Sea and west along the Firth of Forth to the Bridges.
There's access to the park from Holyrood by the palace. There is also a road (Queens Drive) which circumnavigates the park and goes half way up in terms of altitude to Arthur's Seat. For a panoramic view online click:

http://www.arthurs-seat.com/hmindex.htm

EMU students descending from Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Four images from the Ground Floor, Main Galleries:
Foreground: "A Queen or Saint", limewood, Johann Schnegg, 1721-1770.
Center: "Diana and Acteon", Titian, 1473-1576.
Right: "Deposition of Christ", Jacopo Tintoretto, 1518-1594.
Gilt Table, 1730-1740, in the manner of Wm. Kent.

Designed by William Playfair (1790-1857) and finished in 1853, originally the building was meant to accommodate both the National Gallery and The Royal Scottish Academy, but now given over entirely to the National Collection.

This must be one of the finest galleries in Britain, not only for its architectural style; severely classical with the plainness of the Doric order, but also from its very fine collection of pictures, furniture and sculpture. Here you will find important works by Tintoretto, Titian, Poussin, Claude Lorraine, Rembrandt, Reynolds, Gainsborough, Chardin, Antonio Canova and Turner, as well as French Impressionists, and Scottish artists.