Dunfermline Tourism, Information and History

Dunfermline is the largest town in West Fife, situated in close proximity to the Forth Bridges and easily accessible from the M90 motorway.

Dunfermline's royal and monastic past dominates a town whose lifeblood is history. The ancient capital of Scotland, Dunfermline boasts a royal palace, a 12th century Abbey - the final resting place of King Robert the Bruce and the post-Iona burial site of the Kings and Queens of Scotland - the restored 15th century Abbot House and the cave in which St Margaret prayed. King Malcolm Canmore held court after the death of Macbeth at the now ruined fortified tower in the heart of Pittencrieff Park, which abounds in wildlife.

This is the birthplace of philanthropist Andrew Carnegie - in a humble weaver's cottage - contrasting with the Ornate City Chambers in the French Gothic Style and the elegant spire of the Old Sheriff Court which remains an impressive landmark.

The main shopping centre for West Fife, Dunfermline is also home to Dunfermline Athletic Football Club. Simply click on Visit Scoland logo above to access the Dunfermline section of their website.

Experience the living past in ancient Dunfermline where you can walk through 900 years of Scottish history in a day.

Dunfermline's royal and monastic past dominate the town which boasts a royal palace, a 12th Century abbey (which is the final resting place of Robert the Bruce and the burial site of eleven other Scottish kings and queens), the restored 15th Century Abbot House and the cave in which St Margaret bathed the feet of the poor. King Malcolm Canmore established his court after the death of Macbeth at the now ruined fortified tower in the heart of Pittencrieff Glen. Dunfermline was the birthplace of James I in 1394 and of Charles I in 1600.

It is also the birthplace, in 1835, of philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and the Carnegie Trust have benefited the town greatly. The first of many Carnegie Libraries was built here in 1881 and both Carnegie Hall and Pittencrieff Park were gifted to the town by the 'Star-spangled Scotchman'. Carnegie's birthplace, a humble weaver's cottage has been preserved and extended to include a museum of his life.

Close by is the Royal Burgh of Culross, with its picturesque 17th Century cottages, now fully restored. Meander through the cobbled streets skirting the shoreline of the Firth of Forth, overlooked by the red pan-tiled roofs of the harled whitewashed cottages. Culross was once an important religious centre and was the birthplace of St Mungo, patron saint of Glasgow.

Along the coast lies Limekilns, the ancient port of the Benedictine monks of Dunfermline. Follow the coastal walkway east, past the magnificence of the Forth Bridges, to Aberdour, with its fine castle, granted by Robert the Bruce to his nephew in the 14th Century.

Dunfermline and West Fife lie at the very heart of Scotland's fascinating history, where the past is still very much alive.

Wikipedia Information on Dunfermline :

Dunfermline (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Phàrlain) is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife.It sits on high ground three miles from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth, northwest of Edinburgh, and was an ancient capital of Scotland.

At the centre of Dunfermline is an historic abbey which is now a parish church situated beside the ruins of its former monastic buildings and the Royal Palace of Dunfermline. It is the burial place for a number of Scotland's monarchs, including Malcolm III, Saint Margaret and Robert I.  The poet Robert Henryson, one of Scotland's most important literary figures, was also associated with the abbey. Dunfermline's most famous son in modern times was the wealthy industrialist, businessman, and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

Traditional industries in the Dunfermline catchment area principally involved textiles, engineering, defence and electronics. Today this has increasingly diversified into the service sector, including tourism.

Dunfermline today is contiguous with the town of Rosyth, itself contiguous with nearby Inverkeithing. In 2006 the population estimate was over 45,000 for Dunfermline itself, while combined with its suburban towns and villages (Dalgety Bay, Inverkeithing and Rosyth) this is closer to 76,000.

History :

The earliest record of Dunfermline was as a centre for the Culdee faith in the early 9th century and it derives it's name from the hill on which this community built their church. The name is a composite of the Celtic terms Dun (fortified hill), fiaram (bent or crooked) and lin (pool or waterfall). This translates as the hill by the winding stream and corresponds with the landscape around the tower hill in Pittencrieff Park today where the stream crooks and drops down the 15 foot cascade of the Ferm burn.  The name Dunfermline was officially adopted in 1609 but references had been made previously in the seals and badges of the royal coat of arms.

Documented history for Dunfermline begins with King Malcolm III in the mid-11th century. He relocated the seat of power of Kings of Scots to the town from its previous centre at Forteviot in Perthshire.  When, in 1069, Malcolm III took the Saxon princess, Margaret as his second wife, his new queen's devout catholic faith was to have a profound effect on the town.  Queen Margaret encouraged Malcolm III to convert the small Culdee church into a Benedictine priory, this was to prove a major factor in the romanisation of the church in Scotland.  The new church was inaugurated around 1072 with Lanfranc, then-Archbishop of Canterbury sending Benedictine monks on the insistence of Margaret who not only dedicated the priory to the holy trinity. Another dedication to the priory was also made to the "crucifix of the holy saviour" made of ebony, gold and silver and covered in gems from her own homeland. After her death in Edinburgh Castle on 10th November 1093 her body was taken back to Dunfermline for her burial [10] on a site near the Rwde Awtre (the Altar of the Holy Cross or Rood) via the Queen's Ferry but this was journey was made with great difficulty particularly when the castle was under siege by Donald Bane with the only exit in the from of a secret door in the abbey church.

The Benedictine priory - for which she had started - was raised to the rank of an abbey in 1128 by her son, David I of Scotland, with Priory Geoffrey in place as the first abbot.  During the course of several decades, the abbey gained power and wealth in Dunfermline with the dedication of 26 altars being gifted by the individuals and guilds; at the peak of the abbey's power, it controlled areas of land from Moray in the north all the way to Berwickshire close to the English border, including four burghs and three courts of regality.

Dunfermline would remain the de facto capital of Scotland until the brutal murder of James II at Perth, Scotland  in 1436. The royal family felt safer in Edinburgh Castle, as burghs such as Dunfermline and Stirling could not provide protection in defense of the nobles.

Relocation of the Scottish courts to London after the 1603 Union of the Crowns saw the loss of the town's royal connections.  A subsequent fire in 1624 left a large part of the town in ruin  , as a result of this and with the reformation depriving the town of its ecclesiastical importance, Dunfermline quickly declined.

In the 18th century, the town impressed Daniel Defoe as showing the "full perfection of decay"  but soon regained prosperity with the introduction, in 1718 by James Blake, of the weaving of fine damask linen  - a commodity of which the town would eventually become the world's leading producer [. Dunfermline became one of four main centres of the industry alongside Kirkcaldy, Dysart and Leslie in 1810.  In a report in the Ordnance Gazette in 1894, it was stated: "The damask manufacture of Dunfermline is probably unequalled in the world for design and beauty of finish".

Among other industries that have contributed to the economic life of the town were dyeing, bleaching; soap (from 1790s); rope-making (from 1830s); iron founding; textile milling; distillery and brewing.