Old and New Towns of Edinburgh*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	United Kingdom
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv
Reference	728
Region†	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	1995  (19th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Map of the city, showing New and Old Towns

The Cowgate

The Old Town of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The New Town, a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning and is a UNESCO Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex As of 2008 there are a total of 878 World Heritage Sites located in 145 "State Parties" The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex This is a list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Europe. Asia Minor, Cyprus, all of the Aegean Islands, the Canaries A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex The New Town, a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning and is a UNESCO The Cowgate is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about 5 minutes' walk from Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex It has preserved its medieval plan and many Reformation-era buildings. The Scottish Reformation was Scotland 's formal break with the Roman Catholic Church in 1560 and the events surrounding this

One end is closed by the castle and the main artery, the Royal Mile, actually made up of four distinct streets named Castlehill, the Lawnmarket, the High Street and the Canongate, leads away from it, down to the now-ruined Holyrood Abbey. Edinburgh Castle is an ancient Stronghold which dominates the sky-line of the The Royal Mile is the popular name for the succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of Edinburgh's Old Town. The Canongate is a small district and former Burgh at the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland 's capital city Holyrood Abbey is a ruined Augustinian Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland. Narrow closes (alleyways), often no more than a few feet wide, lead downhill on either side of the main spine in a herringbone pattern. Large squares mark the location of markets or surround major public buildings such as St Giles Cathedral and the supreme courts. A prominent feature of the Edinburgh skyline St Giles' Cathedral or the High Kirk of Edinburgh is a Church of Scotland place of worship decorating the The College of Justice is a term used to describe the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies

Other notable places include the Scottish Parliament Building, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland, the Royal Museum of Scotland, Surgeons' Hall, the University of Edinburgh, and numerous underground streets and vaults, relics of previous phases of construction. The Scottish Parliament Building (Pàrlamaid na h-Alba is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site The Palace of Holyroodhouse, or informally Holyrood Palace, founded as a monastery by David I of Scotland in 1128, has served as the principal residence The Assembly Hall is located between the Lawnmarket and The Mound in Edinburgh, Scotland. For other museums called the Royal Museum see Royal Museum (disambiguation. Surgeons' Hall houses the Surgeons' Hall Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. The University of Edinburgh (Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann founded in 1582 is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. The street layout, typical of the old quarters of many northern European cities, is made especially picturesque in Edinburgh, where the castle perches on top of a rocky crag, the remnants of an extinct volcano, and the main street runs down the crest of a ridge from it. A crag (sometimes spelled cragg, or in Scotland craig) is a rocky hill or mountain generally isolated from other high ground

The topography for the city is known as "crag and tail" and was created during the last ice age when receding glaciers scored across the land pushing soft soil aside but being split by harder crags of volcanic rock. A crag (sometimes spelled cragg, or in Scotland craig) is a rocky hill or mountain generally isolated from other high ground "Last glacial" redirects here For the period of maximum glacier extent during this time see Last Glacial Maximum The last glacial period "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. The hilltop crag was the earliest part of the city to develop, becoming fortified and eventually developing into the current Edinburgh Castle. Edinburgh Castle is an ancient Stronghold which dominates the sky-line of the The rest of the city grew slowly down the tail of land from the Castle Rock. This was an easily defended spot with marshland on the south and a loch, the Nor Loch, on the north. The Nor Loch, also known as the Nor' Loch and the North Loch, was a Loch formerly in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the area now occupied Access up the main road to the settlement was therefore restricted by means of various gates and a City Wall, of which only fragmentary sections remain (see Flodden Wall). See also List of cities with defensive walls A defensive wall is a Fortification used to defend a city or settlement from potential aggressors The Flodden Wall was a defensive structure built around the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, after the disastrous Battle of Flodden (1513 in which King

Due to the space restrictions imposed by the narrowness of the "tail" the Old Town became home to some of the earliest "high rise" residential buildings. Multi-story dwellings were the norm from the 1500s onwards. During the 1700s the Old Town had a population of about 80,000 residents. However, in more modern times it had declined dramatically to just 4,000 residents. There are currently approximately 20,000 residents in the various parts of the Old Town. As the population was for a long time reluctant to build outside the defensive wall, the need for housing grew and hence the buildings became higher and higher. Tragically, many of these buildings were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1824; the rebuilding of these on the original foundations led to changes in the ground level and the creation of many passages and vaults under the Old Town.

On December 7, 2002, another major fire in the Old Town engulfed part of the Cowgate. Events 43 BC - Marcus Tullius Cicero assassinated 1696 - Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. The Cowgate is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about 5 minutes' walk from Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site It destroyed the famous comedy club, The Gilded Balloon, and much of the Informatics Department of the University of Edinburgh, including the comprehensive AI (Artificial Intelligence) library. The Gilded Balloon is one of the Edinburgh Fringe 's best-known venues established by Karen Koren in 1986 in Edinburgh 's Cowgate. The School of Informatics is an academic unit of the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland, responsible for research teaching outreach and commercialisation

See also

• Scotland in the High Middle Ages
• Timeline of Edinburgh history
• Edinburgh New Town
• World Heritage Sites in Scotland

External links

• UNESCO World Heritage Site Inscription
• Old Town Guide
• Edinburgh Old Town Association