Edinburgh ( i/dnbr/;[5] Scottish Gaelic: Dn ideann) is the capital city of Scotland,

situated in Lothian on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth. It is the second most
populous city in Scotland and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom. The
population in 2013 was 487,500.[1] Edinburgh lies at the heart of a larger urban zonewith a
population of 778,000.[6]
Edinburgh has been recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century
(after Scone, Perth,Roxburgh, and Stirling, respectively) but political power moved south
to London after the Union of the Crowns in 1603 and the Union of Parliaments in 1707.
After nearly three centuries of unitary government, a measure of self-government returned
in the shape of the devolved Scottish Parliament, which officially opened in Edinburgh in
1999. The city is also the annual venue of the General Assembly of the Church of
Scotland and home to many national institutions such as the National Museum of Scotland,
the National Library of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery. Edinburgh's relatively
buoyant economy, traditionally centred on banking and insurance but now encompassing
a wide range of businesses, makes it the biggest financial centre in the UK after London.
[7] Many Scottish companies have established their head offices in the city.
Edinburgh is rich in associations with the past and has many historic buildings,
including Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, the churches of St. Giles, Greyfriars and
the Canongate, and an extensive Georgian New Town built in the 18th century.
Edinburgh's Old Town and New Town are jointly listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
[8] The city has long been known abroad as a centre of education, particularly in the fields
of medicine, Scots law, the sciences and engineering. The University of Edinburgh,
founded in 1583 and now one of four in the city, was placed 17th in the QS World
University Rankings in 2014.[9] The city is also famous for the Edinburgh International
Festival and theFringe, the latter being the largest annual international arts festival in the
world. In 2004 Edinburgh became the world's first UNESCO City of Literature, an accolade
awarded in recognition of its literary heritage and lively literary activities in the present.
[10] The city's historical and cultural attractions, together with an annual calendar of
events aimed primarily at the tourist market, have made it the second most popular tourist
destination in the United Kingdom after London, attracting over one million overseas
visitors each year