Edinburgh is 900 years old!

2024 marks the 900th anniversary of King David I introducing a new system of local government into Scotland, and making Edinburgh a royal burgh. To celebrate this anniversary, a range of events will be held across the city from August 2024 through August 2025, and the Museums and Galleries Service will be hosting a number of them at the City Art Centre and Lauriston Castle.

 

All our events are free, but pre-booking is essential for most (see individual listings for more information).

 

Details of the city-wide celebrations can be found at https://edinburgh.org/900/

 

Four panels, of James III with his son and Queen Margaret, St Andrew & St George. The lion rampant on the coat of arms is reversed in deference to the holy figures on the missing central panel.

Edward Bonkil and the Trinity Altarpiece: Art and Ambition in a fifteenth Century Edinburgh Merchant Family

Thursday 17 October 2024, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Commerce

Sir Edward Bonkil was the first provost of the Trinity Collegiate Church. He commissioned the most prestigious artwork in Scotland for the church... Book now More info
A sepia photo of the ruins of Old Greyfriars Church

Early Edinburgh Churches from about 800-1650

Thursday 24 October 2024, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Faith

Edinburgh has several church buildings whose sites date from the early middle ages and before. With a few exceptions they are not well known. This... Fully Booked More info
Trinity College Church from the south west, 19th century oil painting

Reviving the Trinity Stones: A Puzzle and a Treasure Hunt

Friday 22 November 2024, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Industry

In 1848 the iconic Trinity Collegiate Church was demolished to make way for what is now Platform 2 of Waverley Station. The stones were left on... Fully Booked More info
An arched window and flags flying inside St Giles Cathedral

St Giles and the Larger Burgh Churches in Scotland: 900 Years of Development

Thursday 5 December 2024, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Faith

St Giles is well known and also celebrates 900 years of existence. It is one of several large churches that developed in, or close to, the centres of... Book now More info
Plaque on Museum of Edinburgh: 'UT TU LINGUAE TUAE SIC EGO ME AR AURIU DOMINUS SUM', which means 'As thou art (master) of my tongue, so I am master of my ears'.

‘Maister Cunyeours’ – the sixteenth-century Acheson Goldsmiths of the Burgh of Canongate

Friday 17 January 2025, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Industry

Come along and hear about a fascinating aspect of Edinburgh’s history. Maister cunyeours were masters of the king’s or queen’s mint who received and... Book now More info
Chepman and Myllar black line imprints of two people beside a tree and a windmill respectively

Edinburgh: The Birthplace of Printing in Scotland

Thursday 30 January 2025, 2:00pm

A National Library of Scotland Partnership Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Conflict

Scotland’s first printing press was set up in the Cowgate in 1508. This illustrated talk will introduce the main players involved in its... Fully Booked More info
A list of the names of the adventurers, Bank of Scotland, February 4 1697

Adventures in Banking: The Scandals and Stories behind the Bank of Scotland’s First Investors.

Thursday 13 February 2025, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Finance

In 1695, 172 prominent citizens invested their wealth in the fledging Bank of Scotland. Known as the Adventurers, some of the investors stories are... Fully Booked More info
A blended image showing a painting of a group of people in a churchyard signing a document with Edinburgh Castle in the background, fading into a detail view of a document with old handwriting and signatures including "Montrose"

So, you think you know your National Covenant?

Friday 28 February 2025, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Conflict

The Scottish National Covenant of 1638 was a defining moment in Scottish and wider British history. It triggered off a series of events which... Book now More info
James Craig's map of the New Town

Edinburgh's New Town

Wednesday 16 April 2025, 7:00pm

A Digital Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Ideas

By the 1750s the Old Town of Edinburgh was grossly overcrowded. Some 55,000 people were crammed within the city walls. With no open space for... Book now More info
A side on, black and white, head and shoulders portrait of Thomas Muir

Thomas Muir and the Martyrs’ Monument on Calton Hill

Thursday 1 May 2025, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Ideas

The obelisk on Edinburgh’s Calton Hill is not a trophy looted from Ancient Egypt but the Martyrs’ Monument erected in 1844 to honour five men, three... Book now More info
A black and white sketch of the Advocates Library, showing high ceilings with a cupola, corinthian columns, ceiling-high windows, and seats along the walls with groups of people standing

The Library of the Faculty of Advocates in the Scottish Enlightenment: A Locus for the Exchange of Ideas

Friday 2 May 2025, 2:00pm

A National Library of Scotland Partnership Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Ideas

The Library of the Faculty of Advocates played an important role in the dissemination of ideas during the Scottish Enlightenment. The Edinburgh... Book now More info
A coloured drawing of the signed treaty being handed to Queen Anne by a kneeling man in flowing blue robes and a wig.Two courtiers stand behind the queen; a fourth man holds the union flag

Edinburgh and the Act of Union 1707

Thursday 8 May 2025, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Ideas

On March 25 1707, in Parliament Hall, the Lord Chancellor, the Earl of Seafield formally confirmed the passing of the Act of Union and closed the... Book now More info
Detail from Sir Henry Raeburn self-portrait

Edinburgh Enlightened Golfers

Thursday 15 May 2025, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Leisure

The rich heritage of Leith has many interesting stories to tell. This talk will explore the variety of notable people who have played golf on Leith... Book now More info
Sara Sheridan wearing a blue top and a mulberry skirt reclining in an arm chair plus Leslie Hills, dressed in black in front of a black door

In Conversation with Sara Sheridan and Leslie Hills

Saturday 17 May 2025, 2:00pm

An In Conversation to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Ideas

Edinburgh's women have always been key to the life of the capital - working, inventing, writing and making art - at the heart of everything which... Book now More info
This view looking south from Calton Hill depicts young men playing football, showing that the game was an accepted part of everyday life in the city in the 1840s.

The birth of football in Edinburgh

Thursday 22 May 2025, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Leisure

The birth of football in Edinburgh: from the world’s first football club to the founding of Hearts and Hibs. If you think football in Edinburgh... Book now More info
A black and white photo of a steam train travelling through the city

Life and leisure in Victorian Edinburgh

Friday 23 May 2025, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Leisure

Join us as we explore the archives to look at life and leisure in Victorian Edinburgh. We’ll pay a special visit to The Meadows for the International... Book now More info
A painting of the action from a rugby match in 1871. A scrum of players is in the centre and crawds stand behind a fence nearby

The birth of rugby in Edinburgh

Thursday 29 May 2025, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Leisure

The birth of rugby in Edinburgh: how the handling code captivated the city and led to the first international in 1871. Edinburgh is right at the... Book now More info
A group of men digging a trench for an air raid shelter in Harrison Park in 1938 watched over by a small boy and two women

The Bombing of Edinburgh

Friday 30 May 2025, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Conflict

Although Edinburgh was not ‘Blitzed ‘ like London or Clydebank , from the first raid of October 1939 to 1942 the city was regularly attacked by... Book now More info
A fire eater holding flaming torches surrounded by crowds outside St Giles' cathedral

The Festival in the 60s

Thursday 19 June 2025, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Celebration

What happened when a nude art school model was wheeled across the gallery of the McEwan Hall during the 1963 Edinburgh International Festival? Why... Book now More info
A historical photo of a swimming pool

The Legacy of Edinburgh's Victorian Swimming Baths

Friday 20 June 2025, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Leisure

Many of the city's contemporary swimming pools were part of a scheme to build public baths to promote cleanliness and hygiene amongst the working... Book Now More info
Historical Photo

The Forth Bridge

Thursday 26 June 2025, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Leisure

Recognised the world over, this unique piece of Victorian engineering formally opened in 1890 to connect the Lothians to Fife and allow the rail... Book Now More info
A fire eater holding flaming torches surrounded by crowds outside St Giles' cathedral

The Origins of the Edinburgh Festival

Friday 4 July 2025, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Celebration

Join Mike Lewis to hear about the origins and colourful history of Edinburgh International Festival. Mike will recount how an Austrian refugee, an... Book now More info
A head and shoulders portrait of Irene Mosota, wearing a pink top, black jacket and blue head wrap

Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review Implementation Group

Friday 11 July 2025, 2:00pm

A Discussion to mark Edinburgh900: City of Diversity

Slavery and colonialism is part of our city’s history - we can’t change the past but we can change the consequences of the future. Join Irene Mosota... Book now More info
The Lavender Menace sign across the railings at the top of the stairs in Forth Street

Lavender Menace: Queer Bookselling in Edinburgh

Saturday 19 July 2025, 2:00pm

A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Diversity

Scotland’s first lesbian and gay bookshop grew out of several years of LGBT+ bookselling in the city which started with Open Gaze bookstall in 1976... Book now More info
Outdoor tents in which a band is playing in the Lauriston grounds. A crowd is watching, sitting in front of a cluster of daffodils

Music Encounters

Saturday 26 July 2025, 1:00pm

Music at Lauriston Castle to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Diversity

1pm - 4pm Your Saturday walk, picnic or playtime just got even better! Join us for an afternoon of musical tunes at Lauriston Castle. From classical... Just drop in More info
Sara Sheridan wearing a blue top and a mulberry skirt reclining in an arm chair plus Amina Shah, wearing a brown suit and a green and grey scarf, standing inside library stacks

If you can't see it, you can't be it: In Conversation with Sara Sheridan and Amina Shah

Saturday 26 July 2025, 2:00pm

A National Library of Scotland Partnership 'In Conversation' to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Diversity

Focusing on growing up in 20th century Scotland, Sara Sheridan (The Fair Botanists and Where are the Women) and Amina Shah (Chief Executive of the... Book now More info
Lauriston Castle

Edinburgh's Festival of Faiths

Friday 15 August 2025, 1:00pm

A Three Day Festival to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Diversity

Friday 15 August - Sunday 17 August 2025, 1pm - 4pm each day Edinburgh's Festival of Faiths is a vibrant celebration of the many people of faith and... Just drop in More info