Calton Hill

Calton Hill has a number of impressive memorials from Edinburgh's history. The National Monument, the largest of the structures was suggested in 1816 as a memorial to the Fallen of the Napoleonic wars. Begun in 1822, it was never finished and the partial monument has come to be a part of Edinburgh skyline. A tower resembling an up-turned telescope is the Nelson Monument, commemorating the victor of Trafalgar in 1805. Built in 1816, it has an interior stairway to the top and a time-ball that works in conjunction with the One o'Clock Gun. There are two observatories on Calton Hill. The Old Observatory (1792) and the City Observatory (1818) still use by the Edinburgh Astronomical Society and is open to the public. Other interesting structures include a small, circular temple commemorates the philosopher Professor Dugald Stewart (1753-1828), Robert Adam's memorial to the philosopher David Hume (1711-76); a memorial to Scottish soldiers killed in the American Civil War and the Martyrs' Monument, commemorating five political reformers transported for sedition in 1793-94. Calton Hill classical architecture is the hallmark of Edinburgh's Georgian New Town. Regent Terrace, Carlton Terrace and Royal Terrace all designed by Playfair sit on a flank of the hill.

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