Interesting Facts About Edinburgh Castle - Fun Facts About Edinburgh Castle Scotland

Edinburgh Castle is an ancient fortress situated in the Edinburgh city of Scotland. It is perched on top of Castle Rock, dominating the skyline of the city. The most popular attraction of Edinburgh, the castle served as the seat of royalty during the Middle Ages, but with time, it came to be used as a centre of military activity. The head of the Army in Scotland has always served as the Governor of the castle. However, direct administration by the War Office ended in 1923. Edinburgh Castle still has its military garrison, though it is now used largely for ceremonial and administrative purposes. Let us know some more fun and interesting facts about Edinburgh Castle.

Fun & Interesting Facts about Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is situated on top of Castle Rock, which falls in the Edinburgh city of Scotland.
Edinburgh Castle is the second-most-visited tourist attraction of Scotland.
It is believed that the castle was inhabited by human beings as far back as 900 BC, the late Bronze Age.
Edinburgh Castle thrived with people in 1^st and 2^nd century AD, when Scotland was under Roman occupation.
During Roman occupation, the castle was called the place Din Eidyn, ‘the stronghold of Eidyn’.
Angles invaded Scotland around 638 AD and since then, the castle is known as Edinburgh Castle.
Edinburgh Castle became Scotland’s seat of royalty, headquarters of the sheriff of Edinburgh, military garrison and storehouse of the royal gun train, and repository of the nation’s crown jewels and state records, during the Middle Ages.
In 1566, Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI in the royal palace within the castle.
As the Scottish court moved to London, in the early 17^th century, Edinburgh Castle became reduced to only a garrison fortress and arsenal.
Charles I was the last sovereign to sleep in the castle, in 1633, just before his coronation as King of Scots.
Edinburgh Castle served as an active army base after the Jacobite siege of 1745.
Stone of Destiny, Scotland’s coronation stone, was placed in the Crown Room of the castle, alongside the nation’s Crown Jewels (the Honors of Scotland), in 1996.
David II got the castle rebuilt in 1356. The David’s Tower in the castle is named after him only.
Mons Meg, the giant cannon, arrived in Edinburgh Castle in 1457, as a gift to James II.
From 1574 to 1578, reconstruction was carried out in the castle, with Half-Moon Battery and Portcullis Gate being added to it.
George IV visited the castle in1822, becoming the first ruling sovereign to do so in 189 years.
The One O’Clock Gun in the Edinburgh Castle was fired for the first time in 1861.
It was in 1950 that the first Edinburgh Military Tattoo was held on the Castle Esplanade.
The Stone of Destiny was returned to Scotland and put on permanent display in the castle, in the year 1996.
In 1999, Edinburgh Castle became the single most important building in the Edinburgh Old and New Town World Heritage Site.
Presently, the castle is the most popular attraction of Edinburgh, with more than 1.25 million visitors a year.
Edinburgh Castle is open from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm, between 1^st April and 30^th September, and from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm, between 1^st October and 31^st March.
Edinburgh Castle is maintained by Historic Scotland, a Scottish Government agency.

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