Book reveals history of Castle swastika

Published on Monday 11 August 2008 10:53

A NEW guidebook explains why there is a swastika inside the Scottish National War Memorial at Edinburgh Castle.

The guide was compiled by the Castle's historians to shed new light on the ancient fortress and features "quirky facts about Edinburgh Castle you probably didn't know".

A swastika can be seen within the decorated window panes of the memorial, designed by Douglas Strachan, which was built during the 1920s.

The guidebook states: "High up in a stained-glass window in the War Memorial is the horseman, Faithful and True, from the Bible's book of Revelation. On his cloak is a swastika. Even as the mortar was drying in the walls, this ancient symbol of fortune was appearing in the skies over Europe, the insignia of a man who, like the rider on the white horse, would 'smite the nations and rule over them with a rod of iron' – Adolf Hitler."

The guide also reveals the castle's role in an intriguing piece of Cold War history. A little barred window above the fireplace in the Great Hall, which was used to spy on guests, was bricked up prior to a planned visit by Mikhail Gorbachev to the castle in 1984, at the request of the KGB.