Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, is its second largest city after Glasgow which is situated 45 miles (72 km) to the west, is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and is the seventh largest city in the United Kingdom.
Located in the south-east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of Scotland's Central Belt, along the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea. Owing to its rugged setting and vast collection of Medieval and Georgian architecture, including numerous stone tenements, it is often considered one of the most picturesque cities in Europe.
It forms the City of Edinburgh council area; the city council area includes urban Edinburgh and a 30-square-mile (78 km²) rural area.
It has been the capital of Scotland since 1437 (replacing Scone) and is the seat of the Scottish Parliament. The city was one of the major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, earning it the nickname Athens of the North. The Old Town and New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. There are over 4,500 listed buildings within the city. In the census of 2001, Edinburgh had a total resident population of 448,625.
Edinburgh is well-known for the annual Edinburgh Festival, a collection of official and independent festivals held annually over about four weeks from early August. The number of visitors attracted to Edinburgh for the Festival is roughly equal to the settled population of the city. The most famous of these events are the Edinburgh Fringe (the largest performing arts festival in the world), the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. |
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