What is Stirling Castle?
[[File:Stirlingcastle.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Stirling Castle]] '''Stirling Castle''', is a [[castle]] in [[Stirling]], [[Scotland]]. It is one of the largest and most important [[castle]]s in the United Kingdom. It guarded an important crossing of the [[River Forth]], which exits to the [[North Sea]] in the east. ==Location== The castle sits on the top of Castle Hill, an [[intrusive]] volcanic crag, part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, giving it a strong defensive position. It guards what was, until the 1890s, the farthest downstream crossing of the [[River Forth]], This made it an important fortification from early times. ==Structure== Most of the buildings of the castle date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. A few structures of the fourteenth century remain, while the outer defences fronting the town date from the early eighteenth century. Several [[Scottish monarchs|Scottish kings and queens]] have been crowned at Stirling, including [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], in [[1542]]. There have been at least eight [[siege]]s of Stirling Castle, including several during the [[Wars of Scottish Independence]]. The last siege was in [[1746]], when [[Charles Edward Stuart|Bonnie Prince Charlie]] failed to take the castle. Stirling Castle is a scheduled [[Ancient Monument]], and is a tourist attraction managed by [[Historic Scotland]]. {{authority control}} [[Category:Castles in Scotland]] [[Category:15th-century buildings and structures]] [[Category:Stirling]]