Roxburgh

Roxburgh ( Scottish Gaelic Rosbrog ) is the name of a village in the Scottish county of Roxburghshire, a few kilometers from Kelso on the border with England. Today it is part of Scottish Borders.

The historic town of Roxburgh, which was about two and a half miles northeast of the village today no longer exists. During the Middle Ages Roxburgh was next to Edinburgh, Stirling and Berwick -upon -Tweed, one of the most important cities in the country. She lay on a peninsula between the rivers Tweed and Teviot in the center of the Lowlands and served as a point of defense against English invaders. The Roxburgh Castle Castle guarding the narrowest part of the peninsula.

King David I. Roxburgh rose to the rank of a royal town (royal burgh ) and granted the city the right to mint coins. At the height of prosperity, there were no less than five mints here. The town had three churches, a castle, a royal residence, several schools and public buildings, several markets and a monastery. Roxburgh was a trade center, not only regionally but also internationally. Bankers from Italy and merchants from all over Europe came here to trade in wool and leather.

The city was repeatedly conquered between the 13th and 15th century by English and Scottish troops and re-captured, in particular 1296-1318 during the Scottish Wars of Independence. In 1460, the Scots destroyed the castle for good. In this campaign died King James II, as being directly next to him exploded a cannon. After Berwick -upon- Tweed was finally conquered by the British in 1482, Roxburgh lost its access to the sea and thus to European markets. The few remaining inhabitants left the city and moved to the nearby Kelso. Roxburgh fell apart within a few years; today there are only a few ruins remain available. The name was taken over by the much smaller village.