Blackrock Castle

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Blackrock Castle
Blackrock Castle

Blackrock Castle

Alternative name (s): Caisleán na Carraige Duibhe
Creation time : 1580s
Castle type : Coastal fort
Conservation status: restored
Standing position : English royal family
Construction: Quarry stone
Place: Blackrock
Geographical location 51 ° 54 '0.8 "  N , 8 ° 24' 9"  W Coordinates: 51 ° 54 '0.8 "  N , 8 ° 24' 9"  W.
Height: 5  m ASLTemplate: height / unknown reference
Blackrock Castle (Ireland)
Blackrock Castle
Blackrock Castle, looking north.

Blackrock Castle ( Irish Gaelic : Caisleán na Carraige Duibhe ) is a fortress in the village of Blackrock , about 2 km from the city center of Cork in Ireland County Cork on the banks of the River Lee . Originally, in the 16th century, it was a coastal fortress designed to protect the port of Cork. Today it houses an observatory, a visitor center and a restaurant.

history

At the end of the 16th century, the citizens of Cork petitioned Queen Elizabeth I of England to build a fort in Blackrock to "repel pirates and other intruders". A fortress was built on this site in 1582 and a round tower was added around 1600 to provide security against pirates who brought ships into the port. The earliest part of the building that is still preserved today is the round tower on the edge of the water, 10.5 meters thick and with 2.2 meters thick walls.

According to a charter of the English King James I from 1608, the castle belonged to the city of Cork. In 1613 and 1614 the fort is mentioned in the Council Book of Cork . In 1722 the old four-story tower was destroyed by fire and rebuilt by the citizens of Cork for £ 296.

Throughout this period, Blackrock Castle has been used by the Cork City Council for banquets and "festive gatherings" - some in connection with the tradition of "throwing the arrow". This tradition, which dates back to at least the 18th century, was carried out every three years in August and consisted of the mayor shooting an arrow with an approximately three-foot bow from a boat to give the city council jurisdiction over the harbor to show.

After a banquet, the fort was destroyed by fire in 1827. Reconstruction began at the behest of Mayor Thomas Dunscombe in 1828 and was completed in March 1829. The architects had added three more floors to the original tower and rebuilt the outbuildings. The new building cost the city of Cork £ 1000. The architects were George Richard Pain and James Pain , who were also responsible for other public buildings around Cork at the time. The neo-Gothic building complex around an inner courtyard is essentially what remains of the fort today.

The fort came into private hands for a period in the 20th century and served as a private house, office, seat of a rowing club and restaurant. In 2001 the Cork City Council bought Blackrock Castle back, renovated it and turned it into an observatory and museum.

observatory

In the early 2000s, Blackrock Castle was remodeled in collaboration with the Cork City Council, the Cork Institute of Technology, and a private donor.

The “Cosmos at the Castle” project, which opened in 2007, was intended to create a “center for scientific research, expansion of horizons and communication”. In the observatory there is an interactive astronomy center that is open to the public and offers exhibitions such as the “Tour into the Universe”, as well as a radio telescope with which messages written by school groups can be sent to nearby stars.

The fort also houses laboratories where astronomers from the Cork Institute of Technology work.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Réamhfhocal ó Bhainisteoir na Cathrach . In: Cork City Council Annual Report 2006 . Cork City Council. 2006. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 22, 2018. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.corkcity.ie
  2. ^ The Castle Restaurant, Blackrock Castle . Castlecafe.ie. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  3. ↑ James Coleman: The Old Castles Around Cork Harbor. In: Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. Booklet XXI (1915). P. 106.
  4. ^ Daniel Breen: Cork Harbor Through Time . Amberley Publishing Limited, Stroud 2014, ISBN 978-1-4456-3419-7 ( books.google.ie ).
  5. ^ Thomas Crofton Croker: Researches in the South of Ireland - Chapter XI: Cork Harbor . P. 212, 1823. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  6. ^ Your Council >> Charters . Cork City Council. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  7. ↑ Local know-how rules the waves . Irish Independent. July 17, 1998. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  8. ↑ Ceremony Of “Throwing The Dart” . In: Cork City Library “Past & Present” Project . Illustrated London News. June 2, 1855. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  9. ^ A b Blackrock Castle History . Blackrock Castle Observatory. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  10. ^ DIA entry - Co Cork, Blackrock Castle . Dictionary of Irish Architects. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  11. ^ Blackrock Castle Observatory, Castle Road, Blackrock, Cork City . National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  12. ↑ a b Blackrock Castle Observatory is the perfect space . Irish Examiner. March 18, 2006. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  13. ^ Cosmos at the Castle . Blackrock Castle Observatory. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  14. ^ Supernova School Tour . Blackrock Castle Observatory. Retrieved June 22, 2018.

Web links

Commons : Blackrock Castle  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files