P446 - UK - Edinburgh Castle & Art Galleries,Scotland

Edinburgh Castle and Art Galleries, from the scott Monument, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK (UNESCO WHS)

Edinburgh Castle is a castle fortress which dominates the sky-line of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear. There has been a royal castle here since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. As one of the most important fortresses in the Kingdom of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle has been involved in many historical conflicts, from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century, up to the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and has been besieged, both successfully and unsuccessfully, on several occasions. From the later 17th century, the castle became a military base, with a large garrison. Its importance as a historic monument was recognised from the 19th century, and various restoration programmes have been carried out since.

愛丁堡城堡（Edinburgh Castle）是蘇格蘭和愛丁堡的重要象徵。它坐落在愛丁堡市內的一座死火山的花崗岩頂上，十分明顯，從市中心各角落都可看到。海拔120米，從上面可以俯瞰愛丁堡全城的景色。人類在該地區的活動可以追溯到公元前9世紀。城堡從公元12世紀到16世紀一直是蘇格蘭皇家城堡，見證了蘇格蘭的多次戰爭。17世紀起成為軍事基地，目前歸屬於蘇格蘭文物局（Historic Scotland），仍有軍隊駐紮在城堡上。城堡的大多數建築在16世紀的長期圍城（Lang Siege）事件中被毀，但也有少數建築挺過這次圍城，其中最著名的便是建造於12世紀早期的聖瑪格麗特禮拜堂。

城堡目前對公眾開放，其內的一些建築也允許遊客參觀。它是蘇格蘭最受歡迎的旅遊景點之一，每年能迎接從世界各地前來的超過120萬名遊客。城堡內有軍事博物館，內陳列有各類實物，並記述有蘇格蘭、英國及歐洲的軍事歷史。

愛丁堡城堡是愛丁堡的重要象徵。愛丁堡市的紋章上就有愛丁堡城堡的圖像。每年一度的愛丁堡軍操表演也在愛丁堡城堡前舉

References sources : wikipedia