SCOTLAND

1. SCOTLAND

2. EARLY HISTORY Repeated glaciations, which covered the entire land mass of modern Scotland, destroyed any traces of human habitation that may have existed before the Mesolithic period. It is believed that the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, as the ice sheet retreated after the last glaciation. Groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the Mainland of Orkney dates from this period. Scotland may have been part of a Late Bronze Age maritime trading culture called the Atlantic Bronze Age that also included the other Celtic nations, and the areas that would become England, France, Spain and Portugal.

3. In the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, known as "Skerrabra". When the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the local laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses the work was abandoned in 1868. The site remained undisturbed until 1913, when during a single weekend the site was plundered by a party with shovels who took away an unknown quantity of artifacts. In 1924 another storm swept away part of one of the houses and it was determined the site should be made secure and more seriously investigated. The job was given to University of Edinburgh's Professor Vere Gordon Childe who travelled to Skara Brae for the first time in mid-1927. HISTORY

4. Scotland is a country that is part of the UnitedKingdom. 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 southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland constitutes over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

5. GEOGRAPHY SCOTLAND The mainland of Scotland comprises the northern third of the land mass of the island of Great Britain, which lies off the northwest coast of Continental Europe. The total area is 78,772 km2 (30,414 sq mi),comparable to the size of the Czech Republic. Scotland's only land border is with England, and runs for 96 kilometres (60 mi) between the basin of the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The Atlantic Ocean borders the west coast and the North Sea is to the east. The island of Ireland lies only 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the southwestern peninsula of Kintyre; Norway is 305 kilometres (190 mi) to the east and the Faroes, 270 kilometres (168 mi) to the north.

6. Flag of Scotland The Flag of Scotland also known as Saint Andrew's Cross or the Saltire, is the national flag of Scotland. As the national flag it is the Saltire, rather than the Royal Standard of Scotland, which is the correct flag for all individuals and corporate bodies to fly in order to demonstrate both their loyalty and Scottish nationality.

7. National symbol Purple flower mounted on top of the spiny stems bearing not only on the most important unchecked Scotland - Order Thistle - but also on buildings, in the elements of Scottish dress and, of course, the hundreds of objects stuffed to the brim with gift shops.

8. CLIMATE The climate of Scotland is temperate and oceanic, and tends to be very changeable. It is warmed by the Gulf Stream from the Atlantic. However, temperatures are generally lower than in the rest of the UK, with the coldest ever UK temperature of −27.2 °Crecorded at Braemar in the Grampian Mountains, on 11 February 1895. Winter maximums average 6 °C in the lowlands, with summer maximums averaging 18 °C.

9. C U L T U R E Scottish music is a significant aspect of the nation's culture, with both traditional and modern influences. A famous traditional Scottish instrument is the Great Highland Bagpipe, a wind instrument consisting of three drones and a melody pipe, which are fed continuously by a reservoir of air in a bag.

10. The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtically heritage even more broadly. It is most often made of woollen cloth in a tartan pattern.

11. Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have a long-standing rivalry with Rangers; the two Glasgow clubs are collectively known as the Old Firm.

12. RELIGION Since the Scottish Reformation of 1560, the nationalchurch has been Protestant and Reformed in theology. Since 1689 it has had a Presbyterian system of church government, and enjoys independence from the state. About 12% of the population are currently members of the Church of Scotland, with 40% claiming affinity. The Church operates a territorial parish structure, with every community in Scotland having a local congregation.

13. The Scottish education system has always remained distinct from that of the rest of United Kingdom, with a characteristic emphasis on a broad education.Scotland was the first country since Sparta in classical Greece to implement a system of general public education.Schooling was made compulsory for the first time in Scotland with the Education Act of 1496; then, in 1561, the Church of Scotland set out a national programme for spiritual reform, including a school in every parish. Education continued to be a matter for the church rather than the state until the Education Act (1872)

14. Scottish cuisine Scottish cuisine is known for its shortbread, butter or crisp bread, kidney pie and haggis. Haggis is a sheep's stomach filled with a mixture composed of chopped sheep's offal, oatmeal, onions and spices, and cooked stitched. It is usually served with potatoes. Scottish cuisine is characterized by a large amount of food containing oats. An example might be cranachan. The traditional Scottish breakfast usually consists of porridge, fried eggs and bacon or smoked fish. Scotland is a well-known dessert spotted dick.

15. The renewable energy industry is an important part of the Scottish economy. A windfarm pictured here in Tangy, west side of Kintyre

16. Although the Bank of England is the central bank for the UK, three Scottish clearing banks still issue their own Sterling banknotes: the Bank of Scotland; the Royal Bank of Scotland; and the Clydesdale Bank. The current value of the Scottish banknotes in circulation is £1.5 billion Currency

17. Falkland Palace in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a former royal palace of the Scottish Kings. Today it is in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, and serves as a tourist attraction. The palace has two wings arranged in an 'L' shape, now called the South and East Quarters or Ranges. The palace courtyard is entered through the gatehouse tower at the west end of the South Quarter. The external ashlar façade of the South Quarter has gunloops at basement level. Above these are the small windows of the private lodgings, and on the second level the large paired windows of the Chapel Royal. Between these windows are weathered niches and statues. The corbels show the instruments of the passion. The wallhead is finished with a decorated cornice and battlement which continues around the west side of the gate tower. To the east of the chapel there is small rectangular sectioned tower which once housed a circular staircase. Falkland Palace

18. Broch A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. Brochs include some of the most sophisticated examples of drystone architecture ever created, and belong to the classification "complex Atlantic Roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. The theory that they were defensive military structures is not accepted by many modern archaeologists. while the alternative notion that they were farmhouses is dismissed by some others. Although most stand alone in the landscape, some examples exist of brochs surrounded by clusters of smaller dwellings. There is controversy about whether or not brochs were roofed. Broch of Mousa

19. Aberdour Castleis located in the village of Easter Aberdour, Fife, Scotland. Parts of the castle date from around 1200, making Aberdour one of the two oldest datable standing castles in Scotland, along with Castle Sween in Argyll, which was built at around the same time The earliest part of the castle comprised a modest hall house, on a site overlooking the Dour Burn. The final addition was made around 1635, with refined Renaissance details, and the whole was complemented by a walled garden to the east and terraced gardens to the south. The terraces, dating from the mid-16th century, form one of the oldest gardens in Scotland.

20. Katarzyna Szkudlarek Adrian Szargan Kinga Musiał Natalia Kowalik