One of Europe’s finest towns, St Andrews is a place of history, learning and culture, a wonderful coastal resort, and the world’s home of golf.
St Andrews (Scottish Gaelic: Cill Rìmhinn) is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town, which until the later Middle Ages was known as Cell Rígmonaid or Kilrymont, is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.
St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife.
There has been an important church in St Andrews since at least the 8th century, and a bishopric since at least the 11th century. The settlement grew to the west of St Andrews cathedral with the southern side of the Scores to the north and the Kinness burn to the south. The burgh soon became the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland, a position which was held until the Scottish Reformation. The famous cathedral, the largest in Scotland, now lies in ruins.
The town is home to the University of St Andrews, the third oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of the UK’s most prestigious. The University is an integral part of the burgh, and during term time students make up approximately one third of the town’s population.
