West View of the City of Edinburgh

Category

Library Item

Item no

10982

Title

West view of the city of Edinburgh - Vue Occidebtale de la Ville d'Edinbourg capitale d'Ecosse

Description

View of Edinburgh Castle drawn from the west. In the centre of the image is Edinburgh Castle with the Old Town stretching along the ridge behind it. Below the castle are open fields and trees. In the foreground three men are resting by a large rock.

Artist / maker

Sandby, P.

Date

1753

Size

24.6 x 35.5 cm

Type

Engraving

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

The city of Edinburgh is built around seven hills, mostly volcanic in origin. It is bordered to its north by the Firth of Forth, and to its south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh has been Scotland's capital since the mid fifteenth century, but evidence of human habitation on the site stretches back some 7000 years. The central city is made up of the Old Town area immediately surrounding Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile, and the New Town to the north, an important example of eighteenth and nineteenth century Neoclassical town planning. These central areas were designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1995. Other more modern developments, from the 19th century to the present, radiate from this central area incorporating many older villages. Edinburgh attracts more tourists than any other city in the UK except London, especially during the annual festivals in August.

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Related images

Related subjects

Homes > Residential buildings > Castles and palaces

Landscape > Land > Hills

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Plants > Trees > Trees

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