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          In a land known for its many castles with rich histories in dramatic settings, Edinburgh Castle is Scotland’s most visited fortress. But despite Scotland’s tumultuous history, Edinburgh Castle has seen relatively little action, although it did fall to England’s King Edward I (“Hammer of the Scots”) in the siege of 1296, only to be retaken by Robert the Bruce’s daring men in the great war of Scottish Independence in 1314. The castle fell again to the Protestant English (and their anti-Mary Queen of Scots Scottish supporters) in the Long Siege of 1568, and fall a

EDINBURGH CASTLE ENTRANCE

third and final time to the anti-Catholic English and Scottish forces of joint monarchs William & Mary in 1688. With its religious uncertainties, battles for independence, confusion over the Scottish royal lineage, and power struggles and intrigues among jealous Scottish nobility, the castle’s complex history mirrors the political history of Scotland.

EDINBURGH CASTLE DOMINATES THE CITY'S
SKYLINE AS IT HAS SINCE MEDIEVAL TIMES.

          Despite its importance as keeper of Scotland’s most important national symbols and its location atop the nation’s capital city, Edinburgh Castle was not always the seat of Scottish kings or home of its most beloved queen, Mary Queen of Scots, who was born in Linlithgow Palace, and crowned in Stirling Castle, but who did gave birth to son and future King James VI of Scotland and King James I of England in a little room in the Royal Apartments at Edinburgh Castle.

          Iconic Edinburgh Castle, perched on its great up-thrusting basalt pedestal, looks every

bit the part of the impregnable fortress. Even today, the castle dominates the Edinburgh skyline as it has since medieval times. It provides Scotland—with its high-tech economy best known for international banking and North Sea oil riches—a symbol of timeless strength and security any financial services organization would covet.

          The Scots are nobody’s fools. They recognize the real power of Edinburgh Castle is both symbolic and theatrical. Each year come August they feature the castle as the setting of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, a sort of martial Olympics atop the Mt. Olympia of Scotland, with more fireworks than the Fourth of July and more noise than if the Shriners and Hells Angels had a joint motorcycle convention. Sure, the Scots could sell a lot more tickets if they moved the Tattoo to a football stadium with acres of parking somewhere in the sprawling Edinburgh ’burbs away from congested Auld Reekie—there’s no public parking at all at the castle—but that would miss the point. The Red Sox need Fenway. King Kong needs the Empire State Building. And the Tattoo needs the Castle.

EDINBURGH CASTLE VIEWED FROM PRINCES STREET GARDENS.
Photo courtesy www.britainonview.com

A STREET JUGGLER
PERFORMS DURING THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL.
Grant Pritchard Photo courtesy www.britainonview.com

          Edinburgh comes alive each August with three great events: the Military Tattoo at the castle, and the Edinburgh Festival and the Fringe Festival, which take place at venues throughout the city. Because the three events draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to Edinburgh in August, tickets to all three events should be ordered months before the date of any specific performance.

          Since 1999 Scotland has been a semi-independent member of the United Kingdom, with its own Parliament meeting down Princes Street a Royal Mile’s distance from the Castle. Symbolic of Scotland’s return to nationhood was the return from London of the Stone of Destiny, Scotland’s traditional coronation stone that had been held at Westminster Abbey since taken by the forces of England’s King Edward I (“Longshanks”) 700 years earlier. The Stone of Destiny now rests in the castle’s Crown Room with the same ancient crown, scepter, and sword that attended the coronation of Mary Queen of Scots at Stirling in 1543.

Guarding the Crown Room, and indeed Edinburgh Castle itself, is a force of Royal Scots Guards still garrisoned at the castle.

          Despite their uniform kilts and Scottish brogues, Edinburgh Castle’s guards are in the service of the queen and the United Kingdom, and continue a centuries-long tradition of the castle as a military installation, as visitors will immediately notice. Outside the castle entrance there are cannons along the ramparts. One modern weapon, the One O’Clock Gun, fires daily (except Sunday) and loudly to help Edinburghers keep watches and clocks accurate. One late-medieval weapon, Mons Meg, is also on display, but no longer heaves 300lb stone cannonballs up to 2 miles from the castle walls as it did between the 15^th and 17^th centuries. Inside the castle is a treasury of militaria of all kinds, from medieval armor to flags, badges, medals, and citations to the British units that call Edinburgh Castle and Scotland home.

          Not all the castle’s military commemorations are devoted to the Scots. One special exhibit remembers prisoners of war of many nations who were warehoused at Edinburgh Castle, including the crew of John Paul Jones, the honored war admiral of American Independence, whose graffiti and prison art are on display.

KILTED GUARD AT EDINBURGH CASTLE

ACCESS TO MEDIEVAL EDINBURGH CASTLE IS VIA THIS STEEP, COBBLESTONE RAMP.

          Also on display are one of Edinburgh’s oldest structures, 13^th century St. Margaret’s Chapel—trendy for intimate weddings—and a fine late medieval Great Hall (1511) with its splendid decorated Gothic hammerbeam ceiling. Many visitors, however, prefer the vast exterior views of Edinburgh and north to Fife afforded from the castle’s perch. Other than the city’s landmark Arthur’s Seat, there’s not a better seat overlooking Edinburgh.