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Old and New Towns of Edinburgh

Scotland
Project Resources

Edinburgh has been the Scottish capital since the 15th century. With a craggy underlying landscape derived from 350-400 million year-old volcanism later eroded by glaciation into its current form, the Scottish capital of Edinburgh retains two distinct districts: the Old Town, dominated by a medieval fortress; and the neoclassical New Town, whose development from the 18th century onwards had a far-reaching influence of European urban planning. The hilltop fortress of Edinburgh Castle towers over Old Town, while the neoclassical New Town with its Georgian architecture features such notable monuments as Charlotte Square. The harmonious juxtaposition of these two contrasting historic areas, each with many important buildings, is what gives the city its unique character. The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh are one of the ten sites included in the Scottish Ten project, a partnership project between CyArk, Historic Scotland, and The Glasgow School of Art’s Digital Design Studio. The Scottish Ten ambitiously strives to create accurate digital models of Scotland’s five UNESCO designated World Heritage Sites and five international heritage sites over the course of five years. Along with The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, the Scottish Ten will also digitally document the remaining four sites in Scotland - the Antonine Wall, the Heart of Neolithic Orkney, New Lanark, and St. Kilda - as well as five international heritage sites.

For more information about the Scottish Ten, visit the Scottish Ten website.

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