Location: 14 Royal Terrace

About 35,000 Ukrainians came to Scotland during and after the Second World War – many had fought in the Polish army or in the First Galician Division and some came as part of the European Volunteer Workers scheme. This EVW scheme recruited workers from territories liberated from the Nazis to help rebuild post-war Britain. Many Ukrainians worked in the agricultural, mining, and textile industries.

The Ukrainian Community Centre was opened in 1964 and brings together members of the Ukrainian community for Ukrainian festivals, Independence day, Ukrainian music and others. The centre also hosts traditional Ukrainian dances, poetry and offers online Ukrainian lessons. It is the only one of its kind in Scotland.  A memorial to Volodymyr the Great (an early King who brought Christianity to Ukraine)  is on the steps leading up to Calton Hill from Waterloo Place. In 2021, Ukrainians in Edinburgh celebrated 30 years of independence at the Community Centre. They also raised the Ukrainian flag outside the Edinburgh Council offices in the High Street in the presence of the Lord Provost and gathered at the Holodomor monument (which commemorates the millions who died in Stalin’s forced famines in 1932-1933) on Calton Hill.

Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine is a twin town of Edinburgh.

Read more about the Scottish Ukrainian community at this link.

Continue walking for about 100 metres along Royal Terrace until you reach 5 Royal Terrace, the home of the honorary Finnish Consul. He sometimes has the Finnish flag hanging outside his house.

Picture credits: Stuart Baillie Strong/Edinburgh4Europe