St Giles' Cathedral

St Giles' Cathedral occupies a central position on the High Street section of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland, next to Parliament Square. A church has stood on the site since the 12th century, but the present Gothic building dates largely from the 14th and 15th centuries, with major restoration in the 1870s to 1880s funded by William Chambers. Its most recognisable feature is the crown steeple, built in the late 15th century, an open stone crown carried on flying buttresses that dominates the Old Town skyline. In 1559 John Knox became minister of St Giles', and the church became the pulpit of the Scottish Reformation. A bronze statue and memorials recall his role, and the building has historically been a focus of national religious events; the 1637 riot over the introduction of a new prayer book, traditionally linked to Jenny Geddes, helped spark the Covenanting movement. Inside, the interior is lofty and richly detailed, with stained glass from the Victorian era onward, the memorial to Robert Louis Stevenson, and the Burns window. The Thistle Chapel, added in 1911 to designs by Robert Lorimer, is the chapel of the Order of the Thistle, Scotland's highest order of chivalry, and is decorated with intricate carved woodwork, heraldic stall canopies and angels playing bagpipes. The building is called a cathedral by tradition, though it is a parish church of the Church of Scotland and has not been the seat of a bishop since the 17th century. It remains an active place of worship with regular services and concerts, so some areas may be closed at times. Interpretation in the building includes panels and optional guides, and the cathedral is generally well kept after a series of 20th-century conservation works.