A reproduction of a panorama showing Edinburgh’s Georgian skyline will be displayed at General Register House by National Records of Scotland.
Visitors can step inside the circular panorama for a view of the city as it was in 1788. The painting shows the Old and New Towns, and landmarks including Edinburgh Castle and General Register House itself.
It also shows the Nor Loch, which was later landscaped to become Princes Street Gardens. The port of Leith, which was a separate town at the time, is visible in the distance.
The display is 25 feet across and six feet tall. It shows the city viewed from Calton Hill.
The artist Robert Barker created this panorama from sketches drawn by his 12-year-old son, Henry. This was Barker’s first panorama. He had a successful career displaying circular landscapes of European cities and battles at a specially-built rotunda in London.
This reproduction of Barker’s original panorama was created by the University of Edinburgh for public display.
Jocelyn Grant, NRS Head of Outreach, said:
“Barker’s panorama is a chance for visitors to step back into Edinburgh’s past and to view the capital as it was in the 18th century.
"It’s fitting that the panorama is now on display in the circular Adam Dome inside General Register House, one of Edinburgh’s most familiar landmarks.
“We are currently within the 250th anniversary year of General Register House, which is a prominent building in the painting. In 1788, only the front half of the building had been constructed. It was completed in the 1820s to architect Robert Adam’s full design,.”
The panorama can be viewed between 9 am and 4 pm on weekdays from 26 May to 27 June. Admittance is free.
