St andrews wikitravel

St Andrews is a town on the coast of Fife in northeast Scotland.

St andrews wikitravel church

With a population of 16,930 in 2021, it's an attractive place famous for its ancient university and as the "home of golf".

Understand

St Andrews in medieval times was the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland, and its cathedral was the most important in the country.

But from the 15th century there was religious turbulence: John Knox preached here, two other Lutheran preachers were burned as heretics, the cardinal was lynched as revenge and the cathedral and bishop's castle were wrecked.

The university was founded in 1413, making it the oldest in Scotland, and the third oldest in the English-speaking world.

Today the university dominates the town, particularly during term-time. It is often perceived as being elitist: for instance, Prince William studied geography here and met Kate Middleton, who was studying history of art; they are now known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

St Andrews proclaims itself