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45-592: Camera Obscura & World of Illusions is a tourist attraction located in Outlook Tower on the Castlehill section of the Royal Mile close to Edinburgh Castle . The original attraction was founded by entrepreneur Maria Theresa Short in 1835 and was exhibited on Calton Hill. Outlook Tower has been a museum since the late 1890s and is currently home to many interactive exhibits, including the original Camera Obscura . In

90-400: A mirror maze , and a vortex tunnel . Although the project is primarily a tourist attraction, it also serves as a learning centre about optical illusions, holograms , the origins of photography and about Edinburgh itself. The concept of the Outlook Tower was tried elsewhere. When at the age of 70 Patrick Geddes moved to Montpellier , France where he bought land on a hill with a view over

135-528: A Whole”, Geddes creates there the last of what the French philosopher Thierry Paquot calls PG’s finest invention: the pedagogical garden. « To the end of his life he insisted on teaching outdoors whenever possible, taking his students on long walks into the neighbouring countryside. He was an environmentalist long before the word “environment” became fashionable, and his teachings are increasingly studied and applied today. » As he already did years ahead with

180-767: A long stay in India , Geddes decided to settle with his daughter Norah in Montpellier, a city that was already linked with Scotland since the Middle Ages , when it became the European capital of medicine: "In this he was harking back to medieval ideas, looking for unity among scholars who saw a wholeness in their studies and in where they lived with others from other lands". As the Jardin des plantes de Montpellier , first botanical garden in France,

225-613: A museum of social history called The People's Story ), the Kirk of the Canongate (the Canongate's parish church and a thriving congregation of the Church of Scotland) and the new Scottish Parliament Building to Holyrood Palace and the ruined abbey. Until 1856 the Canongate was not merely a street, but the name of the surrounding burgh, separate from Edinburgh and outside the Flodden Wall. This street

270-700: Is a modern extension to John Knox House, owned by the Church of Scotland. It opened in 2006, replacing the former Netherbow Arts Centre, which itself replaced the Moray-Knox Church in the 1960s. Following the English victory over the Scots at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, a city wall was built around Edinburgh known as the Flodden Wall , some parts of which survive. The Netherbow Port was a gateway in this wall and brass studs in

315-672: Is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland . The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century (1901), describing the city "with its Castle and Palace and the royal mile between", and was further popularised as the title of a guidebook by R. T. Skinner published in 1920, " The Royal Mile (Edinburgh) Castle to Holyrood(house) ". The Royal Mile runs between two significant locations in

360-457: Is the only one that can compete with war and its glory: action. Therefore, said Geddes, peace means an unending fight against disease and slums, ignorance and economic injustice, against deforestation and waste of natural resources; peace means, both concretely and figuratively, that everyone must cultivate his garden, » il faut cultiver son jardin … Thanks to the Metagraphies non-profit,

405-531: Is the short approach to the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the foot of the Canongate. One of the buildings On the north side, the building to the east was the house of Lucky Spence, a notorious brothel madam, remembered in Allan Ramsay 's poem, Lucky Spence's Last Advice . The building to the west was described as a new "Great Mansion" in 1570. Renaissance painted ceilings were salvaged from the building in 1967. Some of

450-566: Is the venue of the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo at which time specially designed temporary grandstands are erected. From the Castle Esplanade, the first building on the right is Cannonball House which has a cannonball lodged in the wall facing the Esplanade, often said to have been accidentally fired from the Castle but which actually marks the elevation of Comiston Springs, three miles to

495-497: Is thought to be the original mansion of the Ramsays of Dalhousie (the "Lairds of Cockpen"), turned into small flats in the 18th century. The main attraction in "Short's Observatory" was the camera obscura occupying the topmost room. Her husband, Robert Henderson, continued to run the attraction after Maria died in 1869. In 1892, Patrick Geddes , a pioneering Scottish urban planner , sociologist , and ecologist , assumed management of

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540-580: The Bank of Scotland . On the south-west corner of this intersection, with its entrance on George IV Bridge, is the Hotel Missoni, replacing the former Lothian Regional Council offices. This building is of controversial design, winning a Scottish Civic Trust award and a 2010 RIBA award, but also being nominated for (but not winning) the Carbuncle Cup in 2009. Between Bank Street and St Giles Street, marking

585-616: The Church of Scotland and New College are further down on the same side. The Scottish Parliament met in the Assembly Hall between 1999 and 2004. The Lawnmarket is a separately named part of the High Street. Addresses are a continuation of the High Street numbers. It runs from the West Bow to St Giles Street. A charter of 1477 designated this part of the High Street as the market-place for what

630-454: The burgh . The prison was described by Sir Walter Scott as the "Heart of Midlothian", and soon after demolition the city fathers marked the site with a heart mosaic. Locals have traditionally spat upon the heart's centre as a sign of contempt for the prison. On the north side, opposite St Giles', stand Edinburgh City Chambers , where the City of Edinburgh Council meets. On the south side, just past

675-666: The Bridges. North Bridge runs north over Waverley station to the New Town's Princes Street. South Bridge (which appears at street level to be simply a road with shops on either side—only one arch is visible from below) spans the Cowgate to the south, a street in a hollow below, and continues as Nicolson Street past the Old College building of the University of Edinburgh . At John Knox's House

720-518: The French botanist at the Marine Station of Roscoff in 1878. » Like the one he had already installed in 1892 in Royal Mile when renovating Edinburgh Old Town , Geddes had an Outlook Tower attached to the Scottish Pavilion, both erected by the local architect Edmond Leenhardt in white local stone. He had also an Indian Pavilion designed and built by his son-in-law Frank Mears , that

765-674: The High Kirk, is the Mercat Cross from which royal proclamations are read and the summoning of Parliament announced. The whole south side of buildings from St Giles to the Tron Kirk had to be rebuilt or refaced in the 1820s following the Great Edinburgh Fire of 1824. This was done in a Georgian style, stepping down the hill. The central focus of the Royal Mile is a major intersection with

810-525: The High Street narrows to a section of the street formerly known as the Netherbow, which, at its crossroads with Jeffrey Street (north) and St Mary's Street (south), marked the former city boundary. At this point stood the Netherbow Port , a fortified gateway between Edinburgh and the Canongate (until 1856 a separate burgh), which was removed in 1764 to improve traffic flow. The Scottish Storytelling Centre

855-707: The Old Town, rivalled only by Princes Street in the New Town . The Royal Mile contains a variety of shops, restaurants, public houses, and visitor attractions. During the annual Edinburgh Fringe , the High Street becomes crowded with tourists, entertainers, and buskers . Parliament Square is at the heart of Scotland's legal system, being the home of both the High Court of Justiciary and the Court of Session. Retreating ice sheets, many millennia ago, deposited their glacial debris behind

900-531: The Scottish Pavilion housed too the SIGMA (International Station of Mediterranean and Alpine Geobotany) laboratory founded by Josias Braun-Blanquet , the Swiss botanist settled in Montpellier after he submitted a dissertation on phytosociology supervised by Flahault. By conceiving it as a place for teaching not only regional culture, geography, town planning, sociology, biology, botany and other sciences, but mainly “Life As

945-589: The Tron and on the Royal Mile include the Entry of Mary, Queen of Scots (1561), the Entry of James VI (1579), and the Entry of Anne of Denmark (1590). In July 1598, scholars from Edinburgh High School put on a satirical play at the Tolbooth. Costumes were made for the characters of a Pope, two Cardinals, and several friars. After the performance the costumes were donated to the poor. Several infamous murders have taken place on

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990-548: The University closed its regional planning department. In 1982, the building was sold to a private owner, though a one-room Geddes exhibit remained on the fourth floor. The tower, with its six floors of interactive exhibitions, is still open to the public, making it the oldest purpose-built attraction in the city, and one of the oldest in the United Kingdom. Nowadays there are passing references to Maria Short and Patrick Geddes in

1035-410: The camera obscura itself continuing to project a real-time image of the city at the very top. People from all walks of life were invited to come to the tower to study and learn about their city. The museum closed after Geddes' death in 1932. It was purchased by the University of Edinburgh in 1966 as the home for a proposed Patrick Geddes Centre and archive, but the project was greatly scaled back after

1080-581: The central section of the Royal Mile: Beyond the crossroads, the Royal Mile continues down the Canongate, meaning literally "the canons' way" when it was used in former times by the Augustinian canons of Holyrood Abbey . The street continues downhill past Moray House (now the main academic offices of Moray House School of Education of the University of Edinburgh), the Canongate Tolbooth (now

1125-748: The city, built a house and incorporated another Outlook Tower. The house became the Scots College ( Collège des Écossais ). There is a working camera obscura tower (the Clifton Observatory ) in Bristol , England, also others at Aberystwyth in Wales and at Kirriemuir , Dumfries and Cairngorm Mountain , Scotland. 55°56′56″N 3°11′44″W  /  55.9490°N 3.1956°W  / 55.9490; -3.1956 Royal Mile The Royal Mile ( Scottish Gaelic : Am Mìle Rìoghail ; Scots : Ryal Mile )

1170-650: The early 18th century, the Edinburgh instrument maker Thomas Short leased some land on Calton Hill to display his instruments to the public. As his lease stipulated female relatives of Thomas could not inherit the building and its contents, his wife and children did not inherit it when he died in 1788. In 1827, Maria Theresa Short returned to Edinburgh from the West Indies claiming to be Thomas Short’s daughter and attempted to claim his "Great Telescope" for her inheritance. Despite strong competition from other parties, she received

1215-569: The end of the Lawnmarket, the High Court of Justiciary , Scotland's supreme criminal court, is housed in the Justiciary Building . On the south side, about one-third of the way down from the Castle toward the Palace is Parliament Square , named after the old Parliament House which housed both the law courts and the old Parliament of Scotland between the 1630s and 1707 (when its existence

1260-525: The gatehouse of Holyrood Palace built by Walter Merlioun for James IV , with a carving of the royal coat-of-arms of James V set in the wall. Coll%C3%A8ge des %C3%89cossais, Montpellier The College Des Ecossais (Scots College) was founded by Patrick Geddes in 1924 as an international teaching establishment located in Montpellier , in the south of France . When coming back in Europe in 1924 after

1305-476: The hard volcanic plug of the castle rock on which Edinburgh Castle stands, resulting in a distinctive crag and tail formation. Running eastwards from the crag on which the castle sits, the Royal Mile sits upon the ridge of the tail which slopes gently down to Holyrood Palace. Steep closes (or alleyways) run between the many tall lands (or tenement buildings) off the main thoroughfare. The route runs from an elevation of 138 feet (42 m) above sea level at

1350-483: The majority of shops in the street are aimed at tourists. On the north side is the preserved 17th century merchant's townhouse Gladstone's Land owned by the National Trust for Scotland . The lower end of the Lawnmarket is intersected by George IV Bridge on the right (south) and Bank Street on the left (north), leading to The Mound and the New Town. The view down Bank Street is closed by the baroque headquarters of

1395-482: The original thematic botanic garden he created in the University of Dundee , then dedicated to Shakespeare ’s flowers, Geddes dedicates several parterres in that parcel of Mediterranean landscape to the Greek philosophers on both sides of an alley of cypress trees . So, more than all the garden is for Geddes the ideal place for practicing the wise conclusion of Voltaire ’s Candide . « An active, constructive peace

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1440-526: The palace to 358 feet (109 m) at the castle, giving an average gradient of 4.1%. The Castle Esplanade was laid out as a parade ground, in 1753, using spoil from the building of the Royal Exchange (now the City Chambers ). It was formalised in 1816 when it was widened and provided with decorative railings and walls. The Esplanade with its several monuments has been A-listed by Historic Scotland . It

1485-513: The presentation on the top floor where the Camera Obscura is still in use to project a "virtual" tour of the city for visitors, and also on the rooftop terrace with its views of Edinburgh and telescopes. The floors beneath the Camera Obscura hold the "World of Illusions", which offers interactive exhibits demonstrating aspects of optical illusions , light , colour . There are also puzzles ,

1530-682: The road mark its former position. On the corner of St Mary's Street is the World's End Pub which takes its name from the adjacent World's End Close, whimsically so named because this was in former times the last close in Edinburgh before entering the Canongate. There was a triumph or show at the Salt Tron and other locations on the Royal Mile to celebrate the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots , and Francis II of France , on 3 July 1558. The wedding itself took place in Paris on 24 April 1558. The Edinburgh entertainment

1575-449: The royal history of Scotland : Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse . The name derives from it being the traditional processional route of monarchs, with a total length of approximately one mile. The streets which make up the Royal Mile are (west to east) Castlehill, the Lawnmarket, the High Street, the Canongate and Abbey Strand. The Royal Mile is the busiest tourist street in

1620-493: The site, renamed it the "Outlook Tower," and organized it as a museum and urban study centre demonstrating his philosophy of planning, which was based on comprehensive surveys of the site, city, and region. He installed a series of exhibits on progressively broader geographic themes as one ascended the tower — first the world on the ground floor, then Europe , the English-speaking countries , Scotland , and Edinburgh — with

1665-589: The south of the Castle, which fed a cistern on Castlehill, one of the first piped water supplies in Scotland. Castlehill is dominated by the former Tolbooth-Highland-St John's Church (on the south side at the foot of this section), now the headquarters of the Edinburgh International Festival society – The Hub , and on the north side by the Outlook Tower and Camera Obscura . The Assembly Hall of

1710-656: The telescope and set up "Short's Popular Observatory" in 1835, housed in a wooden and stone building next to the National Monument on Calton Hill . She exhibited many scientific instruments and kept her Observatory open till 9pm each evening. After this very popular observatory was pulled down by authorities against her protests in 1851, she moved to Castlehill . In 1852, she bought the Laird of Cockpen’s townhouse, adding two storeys to create Short's Observatory, Museum of Science and Art , in existence from 1853 to 1892. The tenement

1755-547: The timbers were felled in the 1560s. During 20th century restorations by the Ministry of Works , other painted beams found at Midhope Castle and Caroline Park were inserted into the buildings. On the south side is the Queen's Gallery , used to exhibit items in the Royal collection, in the shell of the former Holyrood Free Church and Duchess of Gordon's School. There are also the remains of

1800-622: The whole site was gazetted as a ”Monument historique” in December 2013. Until then, the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris was the only students’ hostel to be considered so. With Metagraphies, Sabine Kraus has organised commented visits of the College on several occasions, in order to illustrate in vivo how « Geddes’ human ecology unifies Nature and Civilisation ». By Leaves We Live, Vivendo Discimus , Conservative Surgery, Think Global Act Local,

1845-481: Was called "inland merchandise" – items such as yarn, stockings, coarse cloth and other similar articles. In later years, linen was the main product sold. As a result, it became known as the Land Market which was later corrupted to Lawn Market. Located in a close on the south side, Riddle's Court is the well-preserved 16th-century house of a merchant John MacMorran , who was shot by rioting schoolboys in 1595. Today,

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1890-727: Was ended by the Act of Union ). Parliament House now houses the Court of Session , Scotland's supreme civil court . St Giles' Cathedral , the High Kirk of Edinburgh, also stands in Parliament Square. By the West Door of St Giles' is the Heart of Midlothian , a heart-shaped pattern built into the "setted" road, marking the site of the Old Tolbooth , formerly the centre of administration, taxation and justice in

1935-443: Was implemented there in 1593 as part of the medicine faculty, the place had a long-standing tradition in these sciences. Moreover, the biologist Charles Flahault , that Geddes considered the greatest of their times was living there. « The concept of the Scots College as an international students’ Center emerged during Geddes’ first travel to Montpellier in 1890, when invited by his friend Charles Flahault » after « he met

1980-427: Was to be headed by Rabindranath Tagore . An American Pavilion was also in program. « The concept of itinerant students went back to earlier times when students throughout Europe would travel to other countries and institutions to complete their education in real situations rather than be restricted to dry home and university study ». But as the College was also conceived as an educational and research center,

2025-422: Was written and produced by William Lauder and William Adamson. Walter Binning painted the "play cart" for actors portraying the signs of the seven planets and Cupid. Artificial "summer trees" decorated with fruit made from tennis balls covered with gold foil or leaf were placed on four stages. The seven planets had been portrayed in a show in Paris after the wedding. Other 16th-century royal entertainments at

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