Until 1707, when it was signed the Act of Union, Scotland was an independent kingdom. The Scottish Parliament was first mentioned in chronicles in the beginning of the XIII century. In the XVII century by order of King Charles I, next to the Cathedral of St Giles built the Parliament Hall - the first building of the parliament.

Act of Union proclaimed the new state -Korolevstva UK. Parliaments of England and Scotland were abolished, instead of a parliament of Great Britain, and over the next three hundred years Scotland was governed from Westminster, London. During these three hundred years does not stop requirements recreate the Scottish parliament, but only in the referendum of 1997 were recruited the required number of votes. In 1999, parliamentary elections were held and the first session of the Scottish Parliament updated.

It was decided to build a new parliament for a new building. The construction site was chosen the historic center of Edinburgh, close to Holyrood Palace. Author of the project - the Catalan architect Enrique Miralles. The original complex of modern buildings should symbolize, according to his plan, the unity of the Scottish nation, its culture and the city of Edinburgh. Like any modern large-scale project (particularly one that has to fit into the old building) the draft Scottish Parliament was subjected to merciless criticism from the start of construction. Extension of construction time of three years and a huge - more than 10 times - overruns also added pop project. Which only epithets awarded the "Celtic-Catalan cocktail"! The main foyer with low ceilings called "cave troglodytes", and wooden panels on the facade - "hairdryers".

However, many experts and critics say the project architectural masterpiece, noting that although he stands out among the old buildings, yet does not contradict either the surrounding landscape or the general architectural appearance of the area.