St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh

Although there has been a church on this site since 1854, the earliest remains to be found in St Giles' Cathedral are four pillars which date from about 1120. In 1385, the church was destroyed by an English army but soon afterward rebuilt in greater splendor. In 1460, the roof was raised and the main body of the church extended eastwards. The famously elaborate crown spire was completed in 1495 and St Giles' was made a Presbyterian cathedral by Charles I in 1633. There is a contemporary contribution to the cathedral - in 1992, the organ was installed and you can view its mechanisms from a glass panel in the back. The Chapel of the Knights of the Thistle, built in 1911 for the Order of the Thistle, is particularly beautiful: each Knight's stall is carved in wood with an impressively intricate touch.