Inverness Town Twinning - The Highland Capital City

The City of Inverness

Inverness evolved from an ancient fort to being the Capital of the Scottish Highlands, situated at the mouth of the River Ness which flows from Loch Ness to the Moray Firth. As one of Europe's fastest growing towns Inverness is the regional and administrative centre for the Highlands of Scotland. It is a vibrant town with excellent travel, retail, leisure and educational facilities and a location for many high-tech and traditional industries.

Click for a larger image

For almost two millennia, Inverness has been recognised as an important junction for travellers and an economic centre for traders. Key characters and events in the city's history include:

560AD
St. Columba of Iona visited the Royal Court of the Pictish King Brude and converted the lord to Christianity on St. Michael's mound where now stands the Old High Church.

1040AD
Legend has it that MacBeth - of Shakespeare notoriety - built his stronghold here.

1158AD
Inverness was established as a Royal Burgh by King David of Scotland.

1307AD
Robert the Bruce seized the first of the city's five castles from English forces.

1562AD
Mary Queen of Scots had the governor of Inverness Castle hanged for refusing her entry.

1746AD
Bonnie Prince Charlie foolishly lead his troops to the slaughter at the Battle of Culloden.

1822AD
The spectacular Caledonian Canal was completed linking Inverness to the west coast of Scotland.

1921AD
Inverness Town Hall hosted the only cabinet meeting of the British government ever held outside London.

Inverness was granted City status by Her Majesty The Queen in the year 2000.

Click for a larger image

Inverness has always attracted people from far afield. The city has welcomed Pictish, Celtic and English settlers amongst others, and today a cosmopolitan mix of residents and visitors gives Inverness an atmosphere which is unique in the Highlands.

The Inverness area is home to 65,000 people and is growing at an unprecedented rate. As the regional centre for the Highlands of Scotland, it is the administrative hub of an area the size of Belgium.

It is also an award winning city, regularly recognised in the Tourism City of the Year, Britain in Bloom and Beautiful Scotland in the Bloom awards. Indeed, Inverness was recently ranked fifth out of 189 British towns and cities by the Quality of Life Research Group at the University of Strathclyde - and this does not take into account many of the city's most pleasant attributes including its location at the heart of the Highlands of Scotland.

Visit the links page here or via the buttons to the left
for a link to the official town website.

Click here for an interactive Inverness centre streetmap.