Edinburgh
Town Guide
Edinburgh Town Guide, University of Edinburgh, 6K

Founded in 1582, Edinburgh University is one of the oldest universities in the UK. It is now also one of the biggest in the UK, being home to over 15,000 students.

Edinburgh Town Guide, The University, 1K Edinburgh's University has an excellent reputation for academic excellence. It is particularly strongly associated with law, philosophy, and the arts with past students including, among others, the famous Scottish writers Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott.

In addition, although Edinburgh is forever associated with the gruesome body-snatching antics of Burke and Hare in the 19th century, the University nevertheless has an excellent reputation for being in the forefront of medical development. Notable medical discoveries that have been made here include the discovery of anaesthetic.

The oldest surviving part of the University is located on Chambers Street in the Old Town, next to the Royal Museum of Scotland. It is known as Old College, or sometimes the Old Quad and dates from the 18th century. The distinctive dome is topped by the statue of The Golden Boy who carries the torch of knowledge.

Parts of it are accessible to tourists, most notably the Talbot Rice Gallery, one of Edinburgh's excellent small art galleries. Guided tours of the Old College are sometimes available, depending on the time of year.

Otherwise, most of today's university buildings are spread around the city, some of them, unfortuately, being far from architectually aesthetic.




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