Scotland - FAMOUS PLACES

Edinburgh Castle

The Edinburgh castle was built in the XIIth century, in Scotland. At the death of Alexander III in 1286, the throne of Scotland became free. King Edward I of England took the throne and invaded Scotland, creating the

First War of Scottish Independence. On the death of King Edward in 1307, the English power over Scotland weakened considerably. The castle's defenses were destroyed on March 14th, 1314 under the attack of Robert the Bruce. King Edward III of England invaded Scotland in 1333, marking the beginning of the second war of independence of Scotland. The British forces therefore fortified Edinburgh Castle and they held until 1341. The ultimate attack in Scotland was led by William Douglas. The operation was a great victory for the Scots and the castle returned to a great relief to them. The Treaty of Berwick concluded the wars of independence and gave the chance to King David II to start an extensive reconstruction project for Edinburgh Castle. The castle saw its primary function slowly drift into a warehouse of weapons and war materiel. At various times, it suffered several attacks and damages. During the 1720s, major buildings were added to the castle, among which the northern and western bastion. Subsequently, several other buildings were added to the structures to imprison prisoners of different wars in the world. The castle is still nowadays a military place and every year in August, the soldiers have their parade on the esplanade. The show is famous all over the world and is called the Tattoo.

Holyrood Palace

Has been the house of the monarchs of Scotland since the fifteenth century. Many kings of Scotland stayed in the palace. Holyrood became a royal residence. Between 1498 and 1501, James IV built a new building. The palace was built around a square courtyard. Inside the palace were among others a chapel, the royal apartments and a large bathroom. The chapel occupies the northern part of the courtyard, while the queen's apartments were in the south wing. The western part housed the apartments of the king and the palace entrance. It was in this tower thatMary Stuart lived. The apartments contain an audience chamber and the chamber of the queen. It is in the north room on the 9^th of March 1566 that took place the murder of David Rizzio, best friend of the queen. Mary's husband was so jealous that he ordered his friends to stab him with daggers. He was stabbed 56 times. Later, the palace was burnt when troops of Oliver Cromwell invaded Scotland. Nowadays, it is still the official palace of Queen Elizabeth II and she has garden parties there every summer. 

Mélanie