Description of the attraction
Calton Hill is one of the hills in the center of Edinburgh, east of the New City. This is a wonderful observation deck with wonderful views of the city. Historical monuments and buildings are also located on the hill: the National Monument (Acropolis), the Nelson Monument, the Philosopher Dugald Stewart Monument, the Robert Bruce Monument. The city observatory is located on the hill. St Andrews House is the building of the Scottish government, and at the foot of the hill is Holyrood House, the seat of the British monarchs.
The hill was officially incorporated into the city of Edinburgh in 1859. Once there was a prison and a place of execution, then the building of the Scottish government, St. Andrews House, was built on the site of the prison.
The wide avenues surrounding the hill on three sides were designed by the renowned Scottish architect William Henry Playfer. There are very beautiful houses here, in which the descendants of French kings, artists, and other famous and wealthy people lived. Playfer is also the author of one of the most famous monuments on Calton Hill, the National Monument of Scotland. It was conceived as a copy of the Parthenon in Athens and was supposed to perpetuate the memory of the soldiers who died in the wars with Napoleon. Lack of funds led to the fact that the monument was never finished, but the residents of the city fell in love with it as it is, and all projects for the completion and completion of the monument invariably met with sharp disapproval and were rejected.
On Calton Hill there is a monument to Admiral Nelson - a tall tower shaped like a telescope. Its observation decks offer a magnificent panorama of Edinburgh and the surrounding area.
