Scottish cultural ‘renaissance’ hailed by First Minister

The First Minister has hailed the past year as a renaissance for the country’s cultural heritage, ahead of the re-opening of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery today.

The Edinburgh gallery is the latest in a number of cultural sites to re-launch after extensive renovation, following Stirling Castle Palace, the Burns Museum and the National Museum of Scotland.

The gallery has undergone a £17.6 million makeover, while earlier this year, the National Museum of Scotland, also in Edinburgh, re-launched following more than £47m of investment.

Meanwhile, the Burns Museum in Ayrshire also benefited from renovation, and Historic Scotland spent £12m to return Stirling Castle’s royal palace to how it is thought to have looked in the 1540s.