Edinburgh Castle stands on the top of Castle Rock, an extinct volcano. The castle is seen from almost every corner of Edinburgh, but the best view is from the Princess Street. It is such a beautiful castle, enormous and well preserved. The only way to reach the castle is from the Royal Mile. The street is called Royal Mile because one (Scottish) mile away from the Edinburgh Castle, at the bottom of the hill, is Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Royal Residence.

 

Its history goes back to 900 BC when Bronze Age settlers settled on Castle Rock. In late first century AD Romans were probably invading the territory, as the Antonine Wall, built around 154 AD between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde (the Central Belt of Scotland), represened the northernmost frontier barrier of Roman Empire.

 

Over the centuries there were many battles which resulted this kingdom being conquered repeatedly. Iron Age warriors understood the rock’s military potential and built a hill fort. In about 600 AD an Epic poem celebrates warriors of Gododdin at Din Eidyn – Edinburgh. The poetry tells of a war band which feasted here for a year before riding to death in battle.

 

In around 638 AD Northumbrians conquer Din Eidyn and kingdom of Gododdin. By 1018 the Scots king Malcolm II had taken control of Edinburgh.

 

By the end of 1070 King Malcolm III of Scotland married Margaret of Wessex, an English princess, and she became Queen of Scots, later known as Saint Margaret of Scotland. Queen Margaret died in 1093 at the castle and around 1130-1140 St Margaret's Chapel, Edinburgh’s oldest building, was built.

 

During the Wars of Independence the castle changed hands many times. In 1314 it was retaken from the English in a daring night raid by Thomas Randolph, nephew of Robert the Bruce.

 

The castle was home to kings and queens and Mary Queen of Scots, gave birth to James VI in the royal palace in 1566.

 

Her great-great-great grandson Charles Edward Stuart - Bonnie Prince Charlie - captured Edinburgh but couldn’t take the castle during the 1745-6 Jacobite rising and from the 1600s onwards the castle was a military base with a large garrison. Later it also held prisoners of war.

 

In 1996, the Stone of Destiny, on which kings have been enthroned for centuries, was returned to Scotland and is displayed in the Crown Room, where also the Crown Jewels of Scotland (also known as The Honours of Scotland) are displayed and are surrounded by a special exhibition. The jewels are a breath-taking sight. The sceptre was presented to James IV by Pope Alexander VI in 1494 while the crown was first worn for the coronation of James V’s wife Mary of Guise in 1540. They were first used together for the coronation of Mary Queen of Scots in 1543. In 1707 they were locked in a chest and sealed away after the Treaty of Union between England and Scotland and in 1818 they were rediscovered by the novelist Sir Walter Scott, and with them a mysterious silver wand.

 

The castle is well preserved and has multiple buildings, such as The Great Hall, The Royal Palace, St Margaret's Chapel, prisons,etc. There are also many memorials and museums (National War Museum, Regimental Museum) and parts of the castle are still a military base, but the castle is now mostly a world-famous visitor attraction and a key element of the Edinburgh World Heritage Site. This is most definitely the must-see attraction if you visit Edinburgh.