Castletown (Isle of Man)
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Castletown Manx Balley Chashtal |
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| Coordinates | 54 ° 4 ′ N , 4 ° 39 ′ W | ||
| OS National Grid | SC263675 | ||
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| Residents | 3109 (as of 2006) | ||
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| ZIP code section | IM9 | ||
| prefix | 01624 | ||
| Crown possession | Isle of Man | ||
| Sheading | Rush | ||
| Parish | Malew | ||
| House of Keys | Castletown | ||
| Website: www.castletown.org.im | |||
Castletown ( Manx Balley Chashtal ) is a small town in the south of the Isle of Man and was the island's capital until 1874. Castletown is next to Douglas, Ramsey and Peel one of four towns (towns) on the Isle of Man. The place currently has 3,109 inhabitants (as of 2006), making it the sixth largest settlement on the Isle of Man.
history
Castletown's roots can be traced back to 1090. Until Parliament was relocated to what is now the capital, Douglas , in 1874 , Castletown was the capital of the Isle of Man. The city is characterized by narrow streets and fishermen's houses. The first telephone connections were put into operation in Castletown in 1901. Commercial traffic ended in Castletown Harbor in the 1970s.
geography
Castletown is located in the southeast of the Isle of Man on the coast of Castletown Bay and opposite the Langness Peninsula. The city lies on the edge of a long-extinct volcano that is now almost impossible to find. The distance to the island capital Douglas is about 14 kilometers. The place is traversed by the Silverburn River, which flows through the harbor into the Irish Sea .
Castletown is in the Parish of Malew , but is managed independently.
traffic
There are regular buses from Castletown to Douglas, Port St. Mary and Port Erin, and occasionally to Peel. The place has a station on the Isle of Man Railway , a steam-powered narrow - gauge railway that connects Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin on the west coast of the island.
Castletown is on several primary roads : on the A3 , which connects Castletown with Ramsey on the north coast, and on the A5, which runs from Douglas via Castletown to Port Erin. The A 25, which is also the historic route from Castletown to Douglas, is bypassed by the faster A 5. To the northeast of Castletown is Isle of Man Airport , the only civil airport on the Isle of Man.
Castletown has two harbors: the Inner Harbor , which is located near the city center in the Silverburn River and about 400 meters from the mouth of the river, and the seaport Outer Harbor , which is directly below the mouth of the Silverburn River. When the tide is out, many ships lie on the bottom in the Outer Harbor .
Attractions
The medieval castle Castle Rushen is located in the center of Castletown and is on the market square of the city and at the Silverburn River area. It is considered to be one of the best preserved medieval castles in Europe. The castle was built during the 13th century when the Isle of Man was part of the Kingdom of Norway . After that it was continuously expanded. Castle Rushen was redeveloped around 1990 and has since been a Manx National Heritage site .
The Old House of Keys was once the location for the Tynwald island parliament , whose functions are now carried out by the House of Keys in Douglas. It now serves as a museum. Another Castletown attraction is the Nautical Museum , which opened in 1951 and is located next to the mouth of the Silverburn River . The most important object of the museum is the yacht Peggy , built in 1791 , which was found in a boat cellar in 1935 and later given to the museum. The Old Grammar School is located near the Outer Harbor and was originally built as a chapel around 1200 . The Old Grammar School ceased operations in the 1930s. Today it is open to the public as a museum.
The Castle Rushen in Castletown starting point is also the long-distance route Millennium Way , leading from Castletown to Ramsey and opened the 1979th The city is also a stop on the Raad ny Foillan long-distance hiking trail , which opened in 1986 and runs around the coast.
The ship grave of Balladoole lies within an oval Iron Age enclosure, in which an early Christian cemetery was later built.
Web links
- Official website
- Castletown in the Isle of Man Guide
- Castletown on isleofman.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Isle of Man Census - Summary Results ( Memento of the original from June 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Isle of Man population in December 2006
- ↑ a b Information sheet about various sights in Castletown ( Memento of the original from June 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) 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. (PDF; 157 kB)
- ^ Old Grammar School on the City of Castletown website
