Contents. Introduction. History. Culture. Architecture. Areas. Food. Entertainment. Nightlife. Nature. Survival Guide

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2 Contents Introduction History Culture Architecture Areas Food Entertainment Nightlife Nature Survival Guide Team

3 Introduction In Lothian on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, around a majestic castle, we find the capital of Scotland. A city that uniquely embodies the history and culture of its country. Auld Reekie ( Old Smokey ) is the nickname which was given to Edinburgh because of the constantly smouldering chimneys of the factories of former times. Like Rome it was built on seven hills. With an overwhelming number of ways to be explored, Edinburgh s visitors should have a notion on what to do and what to expect when entering the area. Also, they have to prepare for some of the rather dreich days (Scottish saying for cold and damp weather). Not only does Edinburgh offer traditional Scottish tourist experiences like haggis, pubs and kilts. It has become a venue of different generations and cultures that benefit from each other. From high up Arthur s Seat down to Portobello beach, through the Old and New Town there is much to find, whether for people preferring urban life or admirers of nature. If you are willing to get in touch with Edinburgh s facets and know where to look, you will be able to find new things and perspectives. It is perfect to enrich your life regarding the own preferences as well as unfamiliar, yet exciting experiences and encounters. This guide will lead you through the contorted streets where you can discover something new behind every corner. After trying all the possibilities this city has to offer in every sector, you will realize that Edinburgh Castle is surrounded by as much greatness as it has on its own. Artur Sommer, Veronique Maaß The sheer amount of places filled with history and myths still plays an important part in today s vibrant youth culture. The addition of influences and flavours from all around the world are a part of the special charm of the city. This should break the last bits of any misconceptions left about a raw, completely conservative Edinburgh.

4 Auld Reekie and the Seven Hills O nce upon a time there was a mountain created from the depths of the earth. Picts came in the 5th century to create a safe and happy life in a place which was easy to defend. There were Anglo-Saxons and Northumbrians fighting for more than 600 years over the control of the mighty position. The great King of Scotland, Malcom III., raised the first houses and his armed fortress out of the volcanic rocks. The early Edinburgh was born in the 11th century. Under the protection of the Castle and Holyrood Abbey the young and magnificent city grew and flourished. The Royal Mile began its victory march of being the main street of Edinburgh and connected the two main buildings. The hostile Scots and the English were struggling about the reign of the castle. In 1437, Edinburgh became the powerful capital of Scotland and went on growing. The harmonious communal life was unsettled by the religious disunity in the 16th century. The significant politician John Knox led the Reformation in Scotland and Calvinism became the dominant religion. The following years were the darkest in Edinburgh s history. The population was weakened after hell found a place on earth and most of Edinburgh burned down. This great misfortune opened the doors to the Black Death and he ruled with an iron fist. In 1603, James VI, King of Scotland and England, removed his seat of regency from Holyrood Palace to London. Thereby, the Act of Union of 1707 was initiated and Great Britain was formed. Due to this union the minds of the people had opened for cultural and scientific progress. The city was now first in the field of medicine, literature and research through the University of Edinburgh. Until 1760 the steep Castle Rock, the city wall and the artificial lake Nor Loch prevented the ongoing growth in width. To give people a home, edifices went up to 15 levels high. These were Europe s first skyscrapers, which were called Lands, where all the different social classes lived together in one house. Since the mid-18th century the big buildings started to collapse under the weight of the many people living inside. The desperate major of Edinburgh was forced to expand the city and proclaimed the New Town design competition. James Craig won the competition and designed the first planned city of the world: the New Town. Within 80 years the New Town and three bridges where built to connect the two parts to become one city. Nowadays, Edinburgh is the second largest city of Scotland and the hometown of the Scottish Parliament. Now all 483,000 inhabitants live happily ever after Maxi Lauterbach, Veronique Maaß

5 History Edinburgh Castle The most noticeable site of Edinburgh is of course the Edinburgh Castle. Having existed since ancient times this fortress became a home for Scottish royalty such as Queen Margaret, David I and Mary Queen of Scots. The whole castle complex is a little town itself, including different buildings, squares and viewpoints. A paid audio guide is recommended for those who want to find out more about the history of the Castle. There is only one way and exit so you can never get lost. For those who are into military history the Castle provides three places of interest: the Royal Dragoon Guards Museum with a permanent exhibition on horses; the Royal Scots Museum and the National War Museum that explore over 400 years of Scottish military history. Finally there is a huge building which is a Memorial for victims of WWI. While exploring don t forget to watch the time a One o Clock Gun fires at 1pm each day except Sunday. Enjoy the tranquility in the tiny St Margaret Chapel, the oldest building in the Castle and perhaps in Edinburgh. Before going on look down on a little promontory there is a cemetery of soldiers dogs. Take some pictures of Castle the spectacular view instruments Castlehill Edinburgh of Edinburgh s performed by landscape and an actor in Opening times: then go on to a historical Oct Mar 9.30am 5pm; the breathtaking costume. One Apr Sept 9.30am 6pm heart of the of the most Admission: 16 adults, Castle. Don t miss fascinating and 16,50 in summer the underground popular exhibits entrance to David s to see here are the Tower a dark Scottish regalia also medieval labyrinth telling known as Honours of scary legends of the past. Scotland. Observe its interesting The main square of the Castle story and the history of coronation starts with the Royal Palace. in a special museum next to the Visit the chamber where Mary Great Hall. On the way to the exit Stuart gave birth to her son and you find a little hall with panoramic future great King James VI and windows and comfortable seats, I. Then go straight to the Great perfect to relax for a while before Hall. Completed in 1511 for King leaving. James IV it was later remade in an The queues for tickets in summer arsenal, so all walls are covered are long, so pre-booking online is with spears and swords. At recommended. weekends watch out for the live demonstration of renaissance musical Olga Sviridova 9

6 History Body snatching by Burke & Hare During the 19th century many medical inventions were made. Therefore, loads of corpses were needed for anatomical research. After a change of law, crime was punished less radically. So the source of criminals, used after execution for dissection, Surgeon s Hall Museum The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Nicolson Street dried up. Medics needed more bodies, so they started paying well for them, no matter where they came from. William Burke and his mistress Helen MacDougal came to the guesthouse of William Hare and his wife. Once they owed them the rent for their room. Another guest died under natural circumstances and the idea of selling the body to cover the debts, grew in their minds. Burke and Hare started a body snatching business as professional resurrection men. Stealing freshly buried bodies from the cemetery and morgues became a fad in these years and was a good income. Watchmen were acquired to look after the buried people. To ensure a rest in peace, watchtowers were built on many cemeteries. The fresher the corpses, the better the paying. Soon, digging out dead people was not enough for Burke and Hare and they started killing. Burke invented a way of killing (still known as burking ), without leaving a sign of murder which was important for the sale. Luring more or less random people into Hare s guesthouse or even on the street, Burke and Hare killed 17 people. They sold the bodies for (depending on age and condition of the person) to their principal customer Dr. Robert Knox. Accidentally, the married c o u p l e n a m e d Gray found out about the morbid business and went to the police - even after MacDougal tried to bribe them with an annuity for life. The police actually didn t have a proof of the cruel crimes the two couples had committed. The Lord Advocate (prosecutor) offered Hare amnesty, if he would confess so he did. Burke was hanged in Hare went to Australia and the two women barely escaped getting lynched. Dr. Robert Knox was never indicted. The death masks of Burke and Hare are presented in the Surgeon s Hall Museum, as well as a wallet made out of Burke s skin. His skeleton is still in the possession of Edinburgh University Anatomy Museum. Edinburgh University Anatomy Museum 3 Doorway, Medical School, Teviot Place Opening times: 10am 4pm (last admission 3.30pm) Maxi Lauterbach

7 History Craigmillar Castle Road, Opening times: Apr-Sept, Mon-Sun: 9.30am-5.30pm Admission: 5.50 Craigmiller Castle Craigmiller is one of Scotland s best preserved ruined castles. You can easily reach it by the 26 Lothian Bus. It was built in the mid-15th century with Mary Queen of Scots as a regular visitor. Her supporters met there and signed the notorious Craigmiller Bond. This committed them to kill her husband, which they did half a year afterwards. Nowadays Craigmiller Castle is a ruin, open to the public. It is possible to visit the Craigmiller Castle Park as well as the Castle itself. Each room is well signposted, providing information to read and giving an idea of what it was like to live in late-medieval times. The highlight is to go up on the Tower house. The view is unforgettable as you can see for miles and miles. It is like being King or Queen for a few hours and discovering your own castle. Sometimes it can be a bit difficult to find your way through the old rooms because it is like a labyrinth. But sitting on the tower or finding the wine cellar makes the searching worth it. Despite being a ruin, Craigmiller allows a person with imagination to enter history if you just give yourself enough space and time. It is definitely a must-see place in Edinburgh. Veronique Maaß 13

8 History Deacon Brodie In the 18th century, Deacon dark side appeared. His secret Brodie ( ) was a was gambling and he respected member of had two mistresses Deacon Brodies Edinburgh s society, and 5 children. Tavern a well-known Part of his job as 435 Lawnmarket c a b i n e t- m a ke r, a cabinet-maker Opening times: daily member of the was the making Town Council and repairing of 10am-1am and deacon of security locks the Incorporation Together with of Wrights and Brown, Smith and Masons. However, he Ainslie he started became history when his copying the keys of his customers and then robbing them during the night. Their last coup was an armed raid on His Majesty s Excise Office in Chessel s Court. Ainslie and Brown turned King s Evidence after they were caught. Brodie fled to the Netherlands but was arrested in Amsterdam. Brodie and Smith were executed by hanging on Tollbooth, on 1st October The irony Brodie himself had recently designed the gibbet he was hanged on. Nevertheless, Brodie tried to escape his fate and bribed the hangman to ignore a steel collar and remove his body fast, but he did not survive. Despite the rumours of him being alive, he was buried anonymously. The dark story inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to the double-life novel of the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Maxi Lauterbach 15

9 History Maggie Dickson A fish hawker deserted by her husband doesn t sound like a story to mention. Maggie Dickson became a legend after being hanged. Greyfriar s Bobby Greyfriars Bobby is like the 19th century Grumpy Cat. He was loved by everyone and one of the favorite subjects for everyday conversation at that time. The tale, which has been told since then, is about the loyalty of a dog to his master. Bobby was a small Skye Terrier and loved friend of a policeman called John Gray, who died in After this dark moment in Bobby s life, he stayed at the grave of his master for 14 years. to bury animals at the Greyfriars Graveyard. However, the people were so impressed by the loyalty the dog had shown and honoured this by burying him right in front of the cemetery, as close as possible to his master. Nowadays, it is a common tradition to lay down a stick in front of Bobby s gravestone to show him respect. In 1872 William Brodie created a life-size statue of Greyfriars Bobby, which stands in front of the graveyard entrance. In the last Some contemporary witnesses few years people tended to rub tell the story of Bobby s the nose of the statue to daily routine to walk to have good luck, which is a nearby café when the actually destroying this For more one o clock gun was piece of Edinburgh information fired in order to get history. visit the official lunch until he died at website the age of 16. Maxi Lauterbach It was against the law She became pregnant For more by another man information check out the review and tried to hide it. about Maggie The baby was born Dikson s Pub prematurely and it died a few days later. Leaving the body on the riverbank of the River Tweed, it was found and traced back to her. She was hanged on the Grassmarket. During the transport to Musselburgh, where she was supposed to be buried, a knocking came out of her coffin. Half-Hangit Maggie was actually still alive. Maggie was granted amnesty because she was already pronounced as dead and lived on with a happy life for more years. Maxi Lauterbach 17

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