Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh
is a major and historic city on the east coast of Scotland on the
south shore of the Firth of Forth, and in the unitary local authority
of City of Edinburgh. It has been the capital of Scotland since 1492
and is the site of the Scottish Parliament, which was re-established
in 1999. The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in 1995. In the census of 2001 Edinburgh had a
total resident population of 448,624.

The
origin of the city's name is understood to come from the Brythonic
Din Eidyn (Fort of Eidyn) from the time when it was a Gododdin
hillfort, perhaps when it was the home of the mid-6th century King
Clinog Eitin whose epithet records the placename. After it was
besieged by the Bernician Angles the name changed to Edin-burh, which
some have argued derives from the Anglo-Saxon for Edwin's fort,
possibly derived from the 7th century Northumbrian king Edwin.
However, since the name apparently predates King Edwin, this is
highly unlikely. Edinburgh is well known for the Edinburgh Festival,
a collection of several arts festivals, and for the Hogmanay
celebrations which are becoming one of the largest in the world.