Eriskay

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Eriskay
Eriskay, look over to South Uist
Eriskay, look over to South Uist
Waters North Atlantic
Archipelago Outer Hebrides
Geographical location 57 ° 4 ′ 12 ″  N , 7 ° 17 ′ 24 ″  W Coordinates: 57 ° 4 ′ 12 ″  N , 7 ° 17 ′ 24 ″  W
Location of Eriskay
surface 7.03 km²
Highest elevation Beinn Sciathan
185  m above sea level NN
Residents 143 (2011)
20 inhabitants / km²
main place Haun

The island of Eriskay ( Scottish Gaelic : Èirisgeigh [ ˈeɾʲiʃkʲej ], from old north. Eiríksey , German "Eiríkrs Island") belongs to the Outer Hebrides in Northern Scotland . It belongs to the Civil parish South Uist . It lies between South Uist and Barra and is connected to South Uist by the Eriskay Causeway , an embankment that opened in 2002 . In the same year a ferry route was opened between Eriskay and Barra . The new ferry runs between Ceann a 'Gharaidh on Eriskay and Ardmore on Barra. The crossing takes around 40 minutes. In 2011, 143 people lived on the island.

Acairseid Mhor, the largest bay on the island, is located on the south east coast of the island. It extends about 1.2 km into the island and forms an isthmus , almost separating the southern part of the island.

Map of the island

There is a shop, a community center and the Politician Lounge Bar on Eriskay. The latter is named after the cargo ship Politician , which wrecked and sank in 1941 in the Eriskay Sound , the strait between South Uist and Eriskay. The ship's cargo consisted of more than 24,000 cases of whiskey ; most of it was never officially recovered. Since then, 1941 has been considered the “best year of the Second World War ” by the residents of the surrounding islands . In 1949 the story was retold in the Ealing comedy Rejoice in your life (English Whiskey Galore! ).

In 1942 the first paved road on Eriskay was completed. The German émigré Werner Kissling , who created the island's first film documentation , contributed to its financing .

The Roman Catholic Church of St. Michael stands on a hill above the main town of Eriskay. It was built by Allan MacDonald in 1903 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 2011 census data

Web links

Commons : Eriskay  - collection of images, videos and audio files