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St Andrews (Scottish Gaelic: Cill Rìmhinn) is a town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife, Scotland. According to the recent population estimate (2006), the town has a population of 16,596. It is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle. It is home to Scotland's oldest university, the University of St Andrews.
From mediaeval times until the Reformation, St Andrews was the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland: its bishop being the primus of the Scottish church. Today, its historic cathedral lies in ruins.
The town of St Andrews is known worldwide as the "home of golf". This is in part because the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, founded in 1754, exercises legislative authority over the game worldwide (except in the United States and Mexico), and also because the famous links (acquired by the town in 1894) is the most frequent venue for The Open Championship, the oldest of golf's four major championships. Visitors travel to St Andrews in great numbers for several courses ranked amongst the finest in the world, as well as for the sandy beaches.