Template:FP-Edinburgh Castle
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Edinburgh CastleEdinburgh Castle is the crowning glory of the City of Edinburgh in Midlothian; a grand royal fortress steeped in history which dominates the skyline of the city from its position on the Castle Rock. This is the place from which Edinburgh was founded and which gives the city its name: the rock has borne occupation since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since at least the reign of King David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. From the 15th century the castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century it was principally used as military barracks with a large garrison. Its importance as a part of national heritage was recognised increasingly from the early 19th century onwards, and various restoration programmes have been carried out over the past century and a half. As one of the most important strongholds in the Kingdom of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle was involved in many historical conflicts from the wars of Scotland and England in the 14th century to the Jacobite Rising of 1745. It has been besieged, both successfully and unsuccessfully, on several occasions. (Read more) |