Inverness

Inverness is the long-established centre of the Highlands and lies at the best crossing place of the River Ness, which flows from Loch Ness at the east end of Glen More. Situated astride the river and the Caledonian Canal, it commands the route system of northeastern Scotland. Inverness was the capital of the Pictish kingdom of King Brude, who was visited and converted by St. Columba c. 565. By the 12th century Inverness had become a burgh nestling under the castle attributed to King Malcolm III Canmore, which remained a royal residence and fortress for centuries. The present 19th-century castle overlooks the river and, on the site of a fortress destroyed in 1746 by the Jacobites, now houses law courts. The few old surviving buildings include the old Town Cross (1685), the Town Steeple (formerly a prison), the old High Church (1769-72), and St. Andrew's Cathedral (1866-71). The houses on the left side do not exist anymore.

Inverness is a town in the Highlands of North Scotland, on the Moray Firth at the mouth of the Ness River. "Capital of the Highlands," it is a seaport and transportation center due to its proximity to the river and the Caledonian Canal, completed in 1812. The town has diverse light industries, including printing, food processing, distilling, wool weaving, and shipbuilding, in addition to a herring fishery. Electrical and mechanical products and automobile parts are also manufactured. Inverness holds an annual cattle and wool market. An ancient town, it is thought to have been a Pict stronghold. The castle, reputedly built under Malcolm III (late 11th cent.), was involved in many wars and was blown up by the Jacobites in 1746. A new castle was built in 1835. Frequent invasions have destroyed most of the town's old buildings. Cromwell's Fort was demolished at the Restoration by Charles II. Inverness, a thriving tourist center, has a museum of Highland relics and hosts an annual Highland Gathering.

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