Yes, it is here that the story of Braveheart took place, even if Mel Gibson did have to film it elsewhere, because supposedly - 'the bridge got in the way' - as it did in 1297 when the Earl of Surrey tried to take it and gain a foothold in Central Scotland. The bridge at Stirling was only broad enough only to allow two horsemen abreast to cross , and facing the english were scotsmen armed in the main with twelve-foot long spears.

There is so much more to the history of Stirling, the other main Royal residence to Edinburgh Castle, Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her son in Edinburgh but it was here that he was duly christened in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle and less than a year later at the Church of the Holy Rude his coronation took place, he was 13 months old and King James VI of Scotland.

Stirling was a walled town a rare thing in Scotland and this is shown on the map above by the double line surrounding it.

Although originally a Stone Age Settlement, Stirling has been strategically significant since at least the Roman occupation of part of Britain, due to its easily defensible hill (latterly the site of Stirling Castle) and its commanding position beside the River Forth. It is supposed that Stirling is the fortress of Iudeu where Oswiu of Northumbria was besieged by Penda of Mercia in 655. Remains from the Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age (8000BC-4000BC) suggest that settlers at the Forth estuary, in the area of modern Stirling, obtained meat from stranded whales.

In the 9th century the Danes were trying to invade Scotland, and Stirling; already invaded by English Northumbrians, aimed to protect the city by use of sentries. However, one fell asleep just as the Danes were furtively preparing to attack. The besieging foe was at hand, and was about to take the city, when a wolf, alarmed at the noise and din of the advancing hordes, crept for safety to the crag on which the sleeping soldier lay. But still he found no safety. He growled in terror. It was his wild cry that saved the city. It awoke the sleeping sentinel, who, seeing the position of matters, raised the alarm. Yet he was not too late. The citizens arose, buckled on their armour, and drove the Danes from the district ; thus the wolf saved the city.

(Stirling welcomed the new millennium recently with the burning of a giant effigy of a wolf, which does not seem very respectful.)

A ford, and later bridge, of the river at Stirling brought wealth and influence, as did its port. Stirling, which first appears as a royal burgh under Alexander I.(1107-24), was one of the towns that constituted the "Curia Quatuor Burgorum," or Court of Four Burghs. This court was a commercial parliament, invested with full powers to determine in any question, whether judicial or legislative, relating to the Scottish burghs. Royal burghs had, by their charters, the exclusive right of overseas trade, though tenants in chief could create burghs with local trade privileges. Burghs evolved their own law to govern trading transactions, and disputes could be referred to the Court of the Four Burghs (originally Berwick, Edinburgh, Roxburgh, and Stirling). Many of the original townspeople, or burgesses, were newcomers to Scotland.

National resistance to English government of Scotland grew slowly and was led by William Wallace, a knight's son, in the absence of a leader from the magnates. Wallace defeated the English at Stirling Bridge in 1297 but lost at Falkirk the next year. He was executed in London in 1305, having shown that heroic leadership without social status was not enough. When Robert the Bruce, grandson of the competitor, rose in revolt in 1306 and had himself crowned Robert I, he supplied the focus necessary for the considerable potential of national resistance, although he missed the Battle of Stirling Bridge he was there at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

The town motto, which was adopted in 1296, is:

The Britons stand by force of arms
The Scots are by this cross preserved from harms
The Castle & Bridge of Stirling town
Are in the compass of this seal set down.

Standing near the castle, the Church of the Holy Rude (Holy Cross) is one of the town's most historically important buildings. The Church of the Holy Rude, which was built in the late 1400s, is the only church in the UK apart from Westminster Abbey, to have held a coronation. On the 29 July 1567 the infant son of Mary Queen of Scots was crowned James VI of Scotland here. Gun shot marks from Cromwell's troops during the civil war are clearly visible on the tower and apse.

During the Civil War the Battle of Stirling (1648) took place in the centre of Stirling on 12th September 1648.

The fortifications continued to play a strategic military role during the 18th century Jacobite Risings. In 1715, the Earl of Mar failed to take control of the castle. In January 1746, the army of Bonnie Prince Charlie seized control of the town but failed to take the Castle. On their consequent retreat northwards, they blew up the church of St. Ninians where they had been storing munitions; only the tower survived and can be seen to this day. In latter days(1881) the castle was home to Princess Louise's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and still retains the regimental museum and the regimental H.Q..

Economically, the River Forth port facilities at Riverside supported trade, including tea trade with India and timber trade with the Baltic. The coming of the railways started the decline of the river trade, not least because a railway bridge downstream made access for shipping more awkward. By the mid 20th century the port had ceased to operate.

Famous residents have included Mary, Queen of Scots, King James VI of Scotland, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (former British Prime Minister), documentary film pioneer John Grierson, film music composer Muir Mathieson, animation pioneer Norman McLaren, and TV presenter Kirsty Young.

The Barnwell brothers, Frank and Harold, worked at Grampian Motors in Causewayhead, and in 1909 they designed and flew the first powered flight in Scotland. Frank Barnwell went on to design aircraft including the Bristol Blenheim. A small monument to the brothers' pioneering achievement has been erected at Causewayhead roundabout.

The University of Stirling opened in a 1967 greenfield site outside the town. It has grown into a major research centre, attracting students from nearly 80 countries. It also ranks 1st in Scotland for Communications and Media Studies and 2nd in Scotland for Environmental Science.

Local sporting teams include the football team Stirling Albion F. C., and the rugby union team Stirling County. Footballers Billy Bremner and Duncan Ferguson were born in Stirling, as was rugby internationals Kenny Logan and Allister Hogg, jockey Willie Carson, and cricketer Dougie Brown.

Stirling is also famous for its many hauntings, like the Pink Lady of the Castle (she is the apparition of a beautiful woman in a pink silk gown), seen by many a soldier also, the spectre called the ‘Green Lady’, what is thought to be one of Queen Mary’s ladies-in-waiting is usually associated with fire. This lady saved the Queen’s life once when her bedclothes caught fire and the Settle Inn near the Castle which is one of the most haunted places in Scotland.

HRH Queen Elizabeth II officially declared by Stirling Scotland's newest city on 24th May 2002. Stirling was chosen to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

Stirling is twinned with Dunedin, Florida in the United States, Villeneuve d'Ascq in northern France, Obuda, Budapes in Hungary and Summerside, Price Edward Island in Canada.