Leith (Scotland)
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Leith Scottish Gaelic Lìte |
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| Coordinates | 55 ° 59 ′ N , 3 ° 10 ′ W | ||
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| administration | |||
| Post town | EDINBURGH | ||
| ZIP code section | EH6 | ||
| prefix | 0131 | ||
| Part of the country | Scotland | ||
| Council area | Edinburgh | ||
| British Parliament | Edinburgh North and Leith | ||
| Scottish Parliament | Edinburgh Northern and Leith | ||
Leith [ ˈliːθ ] ( Gaelic : Lìte ) is a district of the Scottish capital Edinburgh .
history
Leith was originally an independent city near Edinburgh, which developed into an important Scottish port during the Scottish Wars of Independence in the 13th century. Goods from France and Scandinavia in particular were delivered to Leith . Especially red wine was landed in barrels relatively young from France and then allowed to mature in caverns below the city and thus develop a special, highly valued note. In 1544 the city was captured by an English landing army and burned down. In the following centuries Leith expanded further towards deeper water. During the industrial revolution of the 19th century, traditional branches of industry such as sugar refining and glassblowing were joined by new sources of income such as mills , the manufacture of biscuits and ropes , shipbuilding , wine imports and the timber trade. During this boom, the Old Queens, Albert, Victoria, Edinburgh and Imperial Dock opened.
Shipbuilding had a tradition in Leith even before the industrial revolution - this is where the James I of Scotland fleet was built. Later all kinds of ships were constructed in Leither shipyards. After the Second World War , the shipbuilding industry in Leith lost its importance, the last shipyard (Henry Robbs) closed in 1984.
Leith was also of particular importance for the development of golf , as the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith were founded here in 1744 .
In the middle of the 20th century, the port lost more and more importance and became a poor area. Drugs, prostitution and AIDS earned the once prosperous city a bad reputation. Leith was the place in Britain where AIDS was most prevalent among children.
Today the Port of Leith is controlled by Forth Ports PLC, the UK's second largest port authority . Freighters with goods such as wood, steel, coal or cement still arrive from continental Europe, and the port also serves as a supply base for the oil and gas production platforms in the North Sea .
The urban and tourist development in Leith began on a massive scale in the 1990s. In addition to funding and investment projects such as the Ocean Terminal shopping and entertainment complex designed by Sir Terence Conran , in front of which the former royal yacht Britannia is anchored as a museum ship, the Scottish administration also settled in the former dock area . In addition, over fifty cruise ships arrive at the port every year.
Sports
Leith is the home of Hibernian FC , which plays on Easter Road . Easter Road is on the old border between Leith and Edinburgh. Accordingly, the north end (north stand) would be in Leith and the south end (south stand) in Edinburgh.
Trainspotting
Leith achieved worldwide fame through the novel Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh , which was filmed in 1996 ( Trainspotting - Neue Helden ) - the setting is Leith. The book is about a subculture of young drug addicts who do little in a shabby environment other than use drugs excessively, especially heroin . Still, both books and films are considered to be some of the most telling relics of the 1990s. The circumstances described seem to have actually existed in Leith, whereupon the statements by Irvine Welsh (that there were certainly templates in reality from Leith) and by director Danny Boyle (they had intensively studied the drug scene there in preparation for the film dealt with in order to give the film authenticity and had also looked around the local drug environment for these purposes). There are also many publications in Scottish bulletin boards and newspaper articles on the Internet that deal with the real situation in Leith. The follow-up novel , Porno, takes place again for the most part in Leith, but ten years later, and this time again, the city does not shine pleasantly. The only indication of the dating of the stories is in porn , where a protagonist says: “ In the 80s the word of the decade was me , in the 90s it was us and today everything is just somehow . "
music
The song "Sunshine on Leith" from the album of the same name by the Scottish band The Proclaimers refers in the title to the fact that Leith is also called "sunny Leith" by its inhabitants.
Personalities
- Chris Small (* 1973), Scottish snooker player
Individual evidence
Web links
- Capinfo Home Page - Home of Edinburgh to Leith heard (English)