Though its name is a bit odd, don't mistake Dunfermline for a quirky town set amid one of Scotland's many lochs. In truth, Dunfermline is a large and important Scottish city and is the second largest settlement in the crowded county of Fife. Though Dunfermline officially has a population that is just under fifty thousand, the overreaching areas of the West Fife and Dunfermline's outer boroughs makes the true tally easily exceed one hundred thousand. It is rare for a city that is as immediate and necessary in the current age as Dunfermline to be also incredibly historically significant but Dunfermline easily toes the line between modern amenities and ancient wonders. Once one of the capitals of Scotland, Dunfermline has played a role in some of Scotland's biggest historical events and a visitor to Dunfermline today can still see some fascinating parts of the country's past.
The gorgeous abbey in Dunfermline, for instance, houses the graves of some of the most notable figures in Scottish and English history. Robert I can be found entombed within the recently renovated church and the martyred Saint Margaret is also buried within the walls of the abbey. Unfortunately, the abbey and many more of Dunfermline's most prized buildings were damaged terribly during an incredibly destructive fire in 1624. The Abbot's House and the palace of Princess Margaret were also harmed during the blaze but visitors today can still see the remains of any of these fantastic landmarks. It wasn't until the early 1700s, though, that Dunfermline would begin to take shape and form into the town that we know it as today. During this century the fortunes of the town changed drastically thanks to the introduction of damask linen. In the eighteenth century linen became one of the most valuable and sought-after material in the world and damask linen was considered to be one of the finest linens available. Dunfermline had the monopoly on the damask linen trade and within no time the town became the biggest supplier of the material in the entire world.
The United Kingdom saw many a city rise into fame and collapse into ruin as a result of the changing tastes of the aristocracy. There was a time when nearly every pasture town in England became a giant in the wool industry and nearly fell into poverty almost overnight. The natural springs that turned many quaint villages into booming spa towns experienced a similar decline that was almost immediate and, in Scotland, the equivalent of those debacles was not unlike Dunfermline's experience with its damask linen trade. Power loom weaving came into vogue not long after the damask trade peaked and Dunfermline was the victim of a particularly heinous recession, meeting the power loom on its upward ascent as Dunfermline crashed to the ground. Funnily enough, Dunfermline would see its fortunes shift as a result of the two World Wars. While many towns in the United Kingdom were irrevocably ruined after these struggles, Dunfermline saw itself grow in size and popularity as its postwar population exploded. This is where we find Dunfermline today; it is most definitely an important part of the U.K. but it has not succumbed to many of the problems that plague the more important U.K. cities. Dunfermline has maintained its identity and beauty through a slew of history both good and bad. This kind of praise can be said about very few cities in the world and it would do us a world of good to keep that in mind.
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