Falkland (Fife)

Falkland is a small town with about 1200 inhabitants ( 2004 estimate ) in the north of the Lomond Hills, in County Fife in Scotland. It is 13 km north of Glenrothes.

Gained fame Falkland due to its strategic location in the valley of the River Eden. MacDuff, the Thane of Fife had at this point build a castle, which was destroyed in 1337 by the English. In the 14th century arose Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, the estate. He let his nephew, David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay and heir of Robert III. imprisoned in the rebuilt castle and starve to death (1402 ).

1458 Falkland received the Royal Charter. Between 1501 and 1541 James IV built a hunting lodge, which was also used by his son James V.

After the Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England in 1603 Falkland was abandoned. Charles II used to Falkland Palace 1650 to einzuquartieren a regiment of Scots Guards.

In the early 19th century the families of Bruce and Tyndall, who had inherited the estate and the town, took efforts to bring the industrialization here. The regional or textile and linoleum industry no longer exists. In the 1970s, the Falklands was one of the first Conservation Areas in Scotland. The houses and Falkland Palace have been restored and are now a major tourist attraction in the region.