Holyrood Palace

Besides the official Edinburgh Castle, in the city lies another masterpiece of palace architecture called, Holyrood Palace. Founded as a monastery in 1128, the Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh was the official residence of the British Queen in Scotland.

Between Edinburgh Castle and Castle Holyrood lies the so called Royal Mile, representing a sloping road that connects the castle. The writer Daniel Defoe described it as "the most extensive, longest and most beautiful street in the world". Today Holyrood Palace has the same amount of visitors as the official castle of Edinburgh, having arrived there a year thousands of tourists from around the world.

Around the name of the castle has an interesting legend. In translation from English Holyrood means, World Cross Crucifixion.

The story tells how in 1128 King David I was hunted in that area. His horse was frightened by a large deer that approached King and so threw him to the ground and fled. The deer began treading over the monarch then bent down and pierced him with his horns. Further history is intertwined with magical elements and describe how the horns of the animal instantly become a crucifix.

Between 1498 and 1501 James IV on a larger scale began a rather grand reconstruction of existing fort, resulting in the actual palace Holyrood. The palace was built in a square shape and is located west of the former cloister of the abbey. Today, in addition to the royal premises of Holyrood you can see a chapel, gallery and the great hall is also very attractive.

Castle Holyrood is one of several official residences of Queen Elizabeth II. Public visits are permitted however, access to some of the rooms for visitors is limited and most of the rooms and halls are furnished in the baroque style.