Portal:Scotland/Selected article/Week 3, 2011

Falkirk (Fawkirk, An Eaglais Bhreac, lit. 'the Variegated [or 'Speckled'] Church') (presumably referring to a church building built of many-coloured stones), known in some parts as "The Town With No Name", is a town in central Scotland lying to the north west and north east of the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, respectively. According to a 2007 estimate, the population of the town is 34,071. However, the wider Falkirk area, which includes nearby towns such as Grangemouth, Larbert and Stenhousemuir, has a population of 97,180, making it the 5th largest urban area in Scotland, after Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee.

The town lies at the junction of the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal, a location which proved pivotal to the growth of Falkirk as a centre of heavy industry during the Industrial Revolution. In the 18th and 19th Centuries Falkirk was at the centre of a large iron and steel industry, underpinned by the Carron Company which developed close to the town. In the last 50 years or so heavy industry has declined, and the economy of the town has become increasingly services orientated. Today Falkirk functions as the principal retail and administrative centre for the wider Falkirk Council area. Attractions in and around Falkirk include the Falkirk Wheel, remnants of the Antonine wall and Callendar House.