High upwardly on the summit of Carlton Hill inwards Edinburgh , Scotland , stands the country’s National Monument. But far from beingness the origin of national pride , the fallacious projection has been a national embarrassment , a disgrace , a folly.
The monument was supposed to live on a national memorial to the Scottish soldiers together with sailors who died fighting inwards the Napoleonic Wars. If completed , it would convey resembled the iconic Parthenon of Athens. Instead , all the Scottish could muster was to erect twelve pillars. The metropolis rapidly lost involvement together with refused to contribute funds for the completion of the monument , together with the construction remained incomplete for 2 hundred years.
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A monument to commemorate the fallen soldiers of the Napoleonic Wars was starting fourth dimension proposed inwards 1816 past times the Highland Society of Scotland. The proposal constitute appeal inwards many prominent Edinburgh residents such equally Sir Walter Scott , Lord Elgin together with Lord Cockburn , whose back upwardly helped promote the projection together with inwards 1822 , the foundation rock was put , amidst bully pomp together with ceremony.
Architect Charles Cockerall together with William Henry Playfair dreamed upwardly an ambitious monument. Externally , the construction would resemble the Parthenon inwards Athens , but the within would household a church building together with convey massive catacomb underneath where Scotland’s of import figures would live on buried.
Estimate for the projection rose to £42 ,000—a vast essence for the day—but the Society managed to heighten entirely £16 ,000 , amongst the possibility of a £10 ,000 grant from Parliament. Despite inadequate funds , it was decided that run would stimulate on the construction inwards 1826. Not surprisingly , inwards simply 3 years , amongst entirely twelve rock pillars raised , the funds dried up.
At that fourth dimension , Edinburgh , equally a metropolis , was rapidly developing amongst several large-scale civic construction projects going on , which the metropolis deemed were to a greater extent than of import than the construction of an elaborate memorial amongst a high projected cost. Despite several attempts inwards successive years to consummate the edifice , the National Monument remains really much unfinished.
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Sources: Wikipedia / Oddly Historical / Scotsman