Perth is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population of about 47,180 in 2012. Perth has been known as The Fair City since the publication of the story Fair Maid of Perth by Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott in 1828. During the later medieval period the city was also called St John's Toun or Saint Johnstoun by its inhabitants—a reference to its principal church, which was dedicated to St John the Baptist. This name is preserved in the name of the city's football club, St Johnstone F.C.
Perth is twinned with Aschaffenburg, in the German state of Bavaria, and there are several places in the world named after Scotland’s Perth, including Perth in Western Australia, Perth in Tasmania, and Perth in Ontario, Canada.
There has been a settlement at Perth since prehistoric times. It is a natural mound raised slightly above the flood plain of the Tay, at a place where the river could be crossed on foot at low tide.