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Pitlochry, estimated population 2,564, is a burgh in the council area of Perth and Kinross, Scotland, lying on the River Tummel.
It is largely a Victorian town, whose success as a tourist resort was due to Queen Victoria visiting the area in 1842 and the arrival of the railway in 1863. It remains a popular tourist resort today and is particularly known as a centre for hillwalking, surrounded by mountains such as Ben Vrackie. The town has retained many stone-built Victorian buildings.
Pitlochry dates largely from Victorian times, though the area known as Moulin, once a separate village, is older. Moulin Kirk was granted by the Earl of Atholl to Dunfermline Abbey in 1180. Moulin became a burgh of barony in 1511.
Pitlochry itself first started to grow after General George Wade built a road through the town as part of his effort to improve access to rural Scotland between 1725 and 1737 as a response to the Jacobite Rising of 1715.
In 1842, Queen Victoria visited the nearby Blair Castle. Her favourable opinion of the area caused the town to be more widely noticed. After the railway station was built in 1863, Pitlochry became a favoured destination for tourists. In 1947 Pitlochry became a burgh. That year also saw the beginning of construction of a dam as part of the Tummel hydro-electric power scheme. The dam and its fish ladder are a popular tourist attraction today. The damming of the river created an artificial loch, Loch Faskally.
Pitlochry Festival Theatre opened in 1951, originally situated in the current location of the Curling Rink as a tent. The current building dates from 1981.
The town was the winner of the 2003 Britain in Bloom horticultural contest, in the category of Small Country Town.
The town, which lies 24 miles north of Perth is bypassed by the main A9 Inverness to Perth road, and has a railway station on the Highland Main Line.
Pitlochry had a population of 2,564 at the 2001 census.
According to the census, 34.17% of the population was of pensionable age and older, compared to a Scottish average of 18.61%. The median age for males was 47, compared to a Scottish median age of 37, while the median age for females was 52, compared to a Scottish median of 39.There are not many famous residents hailing from Pitlochry, apart from, of course, arguably the best English drummer in Scotland with Maltese roots - Tom Whiting of the mercurial band - The Benthams.
Pitlochry is part of the Perth and Kinross council area. The council members representing the town are Eleanor Howie and John Culliven, both members of the Scottish National Party.
The Scottish Parliamentary constituency is Tayside North, represented by John Swinney of the Scottish National Party. The UK Parliament constituency is Perth and North Perthshire. The MP is Peter Wishart, also of the Scottish National Party.
As Scotland comprises a single European Parliament Constituency, Pitlochry participates in electing 7 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of proportional representation every five years.
Pitlochry has a repertory theatre (with a seating capacity of 544), Pitlochry Festival Theatre, whose ensemble company is the largest in Scotland. The theatre boasts Scottish-based author JK Rowling as a patron. Its vision is "Stay Six Days and See Six Plays". In 1960, Margaret Morris founded a Scottish National Ballet Company in the town.