thumb|upright=1.4|The National Monument of Scotland
thumb|upright=1.4|The National Monument (right), viewed from the [[Salisbury Crags with Nelson's Monument on the left]]
The National Monument of Scotland, on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, is Scotland's national memorial to the Scottish soldiers and sailors who died fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. It was intended, according to the inscription, to be "A Memorial of the Past and Incentive to the Future Heroism of the Men of Scotland".
The monument dominates the top of Calton Hill, just to the east of Princes Street. It was designed during 1823–1826 by Charles Robert Cockerell and William Henry Playfair and is modeled upon the Parthenon in Athens. Construction started in 1826 and, due to the lack of funds, was left unfinished in 1829. This circumstance gave rise to various nicknames such as "Scotland's Folly", "Edinburgh's Disgrace", "Scotland's Pride and Poverty" and "Edinburgh's Folly".
Proposals
As early as 1816, the Highland Society of Scotland called for the construction of a national monument to commemorate the fallen in the Napoleonic Wars.
In January 1822, a proposal was put forward to 'erect a facsimile of the Parthenon' at a cost of some £42,000. The appeal found support amongst many prominent Edinburgh residents such as Sir Walter Scott, Henry, Lord Cockburn and Francis, Lord Jeffrey. The leading man behind the campaign to model the new monument specifically on the Athenian Parthenon was Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, who had controversially removed many of the temple's sculptures (now known as the Elgin Marbles) a decade earlier and brought them to Britain. In July 1822 the Royal Association of Contributors to the National Monument of Scotland was incorporated by an act of Parliament, the (3 Geo. 4. c. 100). The foundation stone was laid, amid great pomp and ceremony, the following month.
thumb|upright=1.4|Drawing of the front elevation of the Western Portico of the National Monument of Scotland, by William Henry Playfair, dated 1826
Sixteen months after the initial appeal, only £16,000 had been found with the possibility of a £10,000 grant from Parliament. In 1826, the building was finally commissioned and work began. intended as a "Scottish Valhalla".
The monument was repaired in December 2008, repositioning one of the stone lintels that had moved out of alignment. The cost was £100,262.
Protection
The National Monument was classified as a Category A Listed building in 1966. It is not a scheduled monument.