13 Facts About Edinburgh Castle

Image: Wikimedia Commons

No other structure in Edinburgh, Scotland, commands much attention, than Edinburgh Castle. Grand and breathtaking, it is perched on top of a volcanic plug and has been watching over the old city for over a millennium.

1. The castle sits upon the lava neck or the plug—known as the Castle Rock, which rises 135 meters/433 feet above sea level—of an extinct volcano that is believed by archaeologists to have formed back in the Carboniferous period (some 350 million years ago).

2. Earliest records of human activity on the Castle Rock go as far back as 3,000 years ago. Around 600 CE, a Celtic tribe that called themselves Votadini or Gododdin erected Eidyn’s Hill on the very site of the Edinburgh Castle.

3. Malcolm III Canmore, who reigned from 1058-1093, was the first Scottish king who lived on the Castle Rock.

4. The castle’s St. Margaret’s Chapel was in constructed in honor of Queen Margaret, King Malcolm III’s wife, who died in 1093 and who was later canonized as St. Margaret of Scotland. The chapel was built around between 1130 and 1140 right on the highest peak of the rock, and is now considered as the oldest surviving building in the whole of Edinburgh Castle.

5. In 1663, Charles I was the last monarch to have stayed overnight at the Edinburgh Castle.

Malcolm Canmore and St. Margaret. Image: Wikimedia Commons

6. A suspected witch was burned at the stake at the castle’s esplanade.  Janet Douglas or Lady Glamis was put on trial for allegedly using witchcraft against King James V, and though the woman’s innocence was apparent, the king wanted revenge. He tortured Janet’s servants until they were forced to confess that the lady was a witch.

7. Jacobite rebels planned to overthrow the castle in 1751. They attempted to penetrate the fortress using a ladder, yet to no avail as it turned out to be too short. Stranded they were until the morning, they later on discovered and arrested.

8. The Honours of Scotland or the Scottish crown jewels were lost for 100 years after they were stowed away in a chest and kept in a secret place in the castle following the Unification of the Crowns. It was not until 1818 when the crown jewels were recovered, thanks to a group of men that included Sir Walter Scott.

9. Over 1000 prisoners had been imprisoned in the Edinburgh Castle, including 21 pirates of the Caribbean who were found guilty of piracy and American prisoners who were captured during the War of Independence, to name some.

The Armory. Image: Pixabay

10. Students at the University of Edinburgh are most likely afraid to enter the castle. One legend says that any student who passes through the gates of Edinburg Castle will not pass their final examinations.

11. A stained glass at the castle’s War Memorial room contains the swastika. Before the symbol became infamously associated with the Nazis, the swastika was originally a symbol of good fortune.

12. Edinburgh Castle is located on top of the Royal Mile, a long stretch of thoroughfare in the city’s Old Town (at the far end lies the Palace of Holyroodhouse).

13. The castle was sieged for 26 times in its 1100-year-old history, making it "the most besieged place in Great Britain and one of the most attacked in the world."