Page 26 - DK Eyewitness Travel Guides - The World's Must-See Places

24 EUROPE Edinburgh Castle

Standing on the basalt core of an extinct volcano, Edinburgh
Castle is a remarkable assemblage of buildings dating from the
12th to the 20th centuries, reflecting its changing role as fortress,
A TlAIVTIC O EDINBURGH royal palace, military garrison, and state prison. There is evidence
OCEAIV
CASTLE IVORTH
Sf A of Bronze Age occupation of the site, which takes its name from
GREAT
BRITAIN Dun Eidin, a Celtic fortress captured by King Oswald of North umbria
IRUANO
in the 7th century. The castle was a favorite royal residence until Beam support in
Birmingham •
the Great Hall
london • the Union of the Crowns in 1 603, after which the king resided in
England. After the Union of Parliaments in 1707, the Scottish regalia (Crown
Jewels) were walled up in the palace for more than 100 years. The castle is now
the zealous possessor of the so-called Stone of Destiny, a relic of ancient Scottish
STONE OF DESTINY
The origins of this famous stone are steeped in kings that was seized by the English and not returned until 1996.
myth and legend. It is said to have been Jacob's
pillow when he dreamed that the angels of
God were descending to Earth from heaven. ~ Scottish Crown
Scottish kings, from Kenneth I in 84 7, sat on Now on display in the Palace,
the crown was restyled by
the stone during coronation ceremonies.lt ~ Govenor's House
James V of Scotland in 1540.
was kept in Scone, Perthshire, which is why it Complete with Flemish-style
is sometimes called The Stone of Scone. The crow-stepped gables, this
mid-18th-century building
stone was seized on Edward l's invasion of
now serves as the officers' Military
Scotland in 1296 and taken to Westminster mess for the castle garrison. prison
Abbey, where it was kept for 700 years. The
1326 Treaty of Northampton promised the
return of the stone, but this was not honored
unti I 1996, when a handover ceremony took
place at the English-Scottish border and the
stone was transported to Edinburgh Castle,
where it remains today.

VOLCANIC GEOLOGY
Edinburgh Castle is set in the Midland valley
of Scot I and. The rocky volcanic outcrops of
Arthur's Seat (823 tt/251 m) and Salisbury
Crags (400ft/122m) dominate Edinburgh's
skyline. Salisbury Crags are igneous rocks
exposed by the tilting of local rock and erosion
by glaciers. Arthur's Seat is the remnant of a
Carboniferous volcano, partly eroded by glacial
activity. Edinburgh Castle sits on a rock that
plugs a vent of this volcano. The "crag" of
basalt on which it stands was resistant to glacial
erosion in the last Ice Age. This left a "tail" of
soft sedimentary rock lying behind it, which
forms Edinburgh's main street, the Royal Mile.

THE MILITARY TATTOO
Si nee 194 7, for three weeks over the summer,
Edinburgh has hosted one of the world's most
important arts festivals, with every available
venue overflowing with international artists and
performers (from theaters to street corners)
The festival is an exciting fusion of film, music, ~ STOLEN STONE
theater, dance, comedy, and literature. The
In 19 50, long before the Stone of
most popular event is the Edinburgh Military
Destiny was returned to Scotland, a
Tattoo, held every night on the Esplanade. The group of Scottish students stole the ~ Prison Vaults ~ Great Hall
finest military bands perform, with bagpipers stone from Westminster Abbey. A French prisoners were held here
and drummers from Scottish regiments in full search was mounted by the British, during the wars with France in the
regalia. The music and marching, set against but it was not found until a year 18th and 19th centuries. Their
graffiti can still be seen, along
the backdrop of the illuminated Edinburgh later in Scotland's Arbroath Abbey. with the objects they made.
Castle, make for a marvelous spectacle.