Dunfermline
Coordinates: 56°04′19″N 3°26′21″W / 56.07192°N 3.43930°W / 56.07192; -3.43930
Dunfermline (
i; Scots: Dunfaurlin, Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Phàrlain) is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground 3 miles (5 km) from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The 2011 census recorded the town's population at 49,706, however figures released in 2012 estimate Dunfermline's population as 50,380, making it the largest locality in Fife and the tenth largest in Scotland. Until the 17th century, the town served as the royal capital of Scotland.
The area around Dunfermline became home to the first settlers in the Neolithic period, but did not gain recognition until the Bronze Age as a place of importance. The town was first recorded in the 11th century, with the marriage of Malcolm III, King of Scotland, and Saint Margaret at the church in Dunfermline. As his Queen consort, Margaret established a new church dedicated to the Holy Trinity, which evolved into an Abbey under their son, David I in 1128. Following the burial of Alexander I, the abbey graveyard confirmed its status as the mausoleum of Scotland's kings and queens.