The Mound is an artificial
hillA hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain, in a limited area. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of scarp slope without a well-defined summit A hill is a landform that extends above the...
in central
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, which connects Edinburgh's
New TownThe New Town, a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
and its
Old TownThe Old Town of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has preserved its medieval plan and many Reformation-era buildings....
. It was formed by the dumping of 1,501,000 cartloads of earth excavated from the draining of the
Nor LochThe Nor Loch, also known as the Nor' Loch and the North Loch, was a loch formerly in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the area now occupied by Princes Street Gardens, which lies between the Royal Mile and Princes Street.-Geological formation:...
- which today forms
Princes Street GardensPrinces Street Gardens is a public park in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and the creation of the New Town. The Nor Loch was a large loch in the centre of the city. It was...
and the foundations of
Princes StreetPrinces Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, and its main shopping street. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1 mile from Lothian Road in the west to Leith Street in the east. The street is mostly closed to private...
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/capitalcity.cfm?id=601692003.
The Mound is an artificial
hillA hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain, in a limited area. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of scarp slope without a well-defined summit A hill is a landform that extends above the...
in central
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, which connects Edinburgh's
New TownThe New Town, a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
and its
Old TownThe Old Town of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has preserved its medieval plan and many Reformation-era buildings....
. It was formed by the dumping of 1,501,000 cartloads of earth excavated from the draining of the
Nor LochThe Nor Loch, also known as the Nor' Loch and the North Loch, was a loch formerly in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the area now occupied by Princes Street Gardens, which lies between the Royal Mile and Princes Street.-Geological formation:...
- which today forms
Princes Street GardensPrinces Street Gardens is a public park in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and the creation of the New Town. The Nor Loch was a large loch in the centre of the city. It was...
and the foundations of
Princes StreetPrinces Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, and its main shopping street. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1 mile from Lothian Road in the west to Leith Street in the east. The street is mostly closed to private...
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/capitalcity.cfm?id=601692003. The Mound was officially opened in 1781. When the
Edinburgh and Glasgow RailwayThe Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was a railway built to link Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Act of Parliament for building the railway received its Royal Assent in 1838 which was open on 28 July 1863. Services started between Glasgow Queen Street and Haymarket on 21 February 1842. The line was...
was extended to
WaverleyEdinburgh Waverley railway station, commonly called "Waverley", is the main railway station in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Covering an area of over 25 acres in the centre of the city, it is the second-largest main line railway station in the United Kingdom in terms of area, the largest being...
in 1846, tunnels were driven under The Mound to allow access to the west.
Some of Edinburgh's most notable buildings and institutions have their premises on The Mound, including the
National Gallery of ScotlandThe National Gallery of Scotland, in Edinburgh, is the national art gallery of Scotland. An elaborate neoclassical edifice, it stands on The Mound, between the two sections of Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens...
, the
Royal Scottish AcademyThe Royal Scottish Academy is Scotland’s premier organisation promoting contemporary Scottish art. Founded in 1826, the RSA maintains a unique position in Scotland as an independently funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote and support the creation,...
, the spires of
New CollegeNew College was opened in 1846 as a college of the Free Church of Scotland, later of the United Free Church of Scotland, and from the 1930s has been the home of the School of Divinity of the University of Edinburgh...
, the
General Assembly Hall of the Church of ScotlandThe Assembly Hall is located between the Lawnmarket and The Mound in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the meeting place of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.-History:...
, and the elegant domed Headquarters of the
Bank of ScotlandThe Bank of Scotland plc is a commercial and clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. With a history dating to the 17th century, it is the second oldest surviving bank in what is now the United Kingdom, and is the only commercial institution created by the Parliament of Scotland to remain...
.
Today The Mound is a busy, if fairly steep, thoroughfare taking traffic from
Princes StreetPrinces Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, and its main shopping street. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1 mile from Lothian Road in the west to Leith Street in the east. The street is mostly closed to private...
, over the
Royal MileThe Royal Mile is the popular name for the succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland....
and into the Old Town. Due to its raised elevation, the Mound commands expansive views over
Princes StreetPrinces Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, and its main shopping street. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1 mile from Lothian Road in the west to Leith Street in the east. The street is mostly closed to private...
and the New Town of
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
and towards
Calton HillCalton Hill is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, just to the east of the New Town. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the city....
.
See also
- Sermon on the Mound
The Sermon on the Mound is the name given by the Scottish press to an address made by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on 21 May 1988...
- The Mound
"The Mound" is a short story H. P. Lovecraft wrote as a ghostwriter from December 1929 to January 1930 after he was hired by Zealia Bishop to create a story based on following plot synopsis:...
, a short story by H. P. Lovecraft