Which European city is known as Auld Reekie?

The European city known as “Auld Reekie” is Edinburgh, Scotland.

“Auld Reekie” is Scots for “Old Smoky,” a nickname linked to the smoke that once hung over Edinburgh. For centuries, coal fires, domestic chimneys, brewing, and dense tenement living contributed to visible smoke and unpleasant smells above the city. People outside Edinburgh could reportedly see the smoky haze from surrounding countryside and distant viewpoints.

The nickname is affectionate today, but its origins were not intended as a compliment. Historic Edinburgh had crowded buildings, narrow closes, open waste, and heavy dependence on coal, all of which helped create the “reek” associated with the city. The exact age of the expression is debated, although it was firmly established by the early modern period and widely used by the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Edinburgh has other famous identities, including Scotland’s capital, the Festival City, and “the Athens of the North.” “Auld Reekie” specifically refers to the older, smoke-darkened city rather than Glasgow or another Scottish location.