Lewis (Lewis and Harris)
Lewis | |
Stoth |
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Geographical location | |
Coordinates | 58 ° 13 ′ N , 6 ° 23 ′ W |
Waters 1 | Atlantic Ocean |
surface | 1 769 km² |
Stornoway |
Lewis , also Isle of Lewis ( Scottish Gaelic : Leòdhas or Eilean Leòdhais , An t-Eilean Fada , German "the long island"), is the northern region of the island of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides .
landscape
Lewis is not an island, but just like the southern island region of Harris, it is part of the Lewis and Harris Island, which has been given two names by the residents because of the separating, impassable mountain landscape. The northern part of Lewis is characterized by wide, flat peat bog landscapes with the 280 meter high Ben Barvas as the highest elevation and the Butt of Lewis as the northernmost point of the entire archipelago. The southern part is mountainous with elevations over 500 meters and merges into the island part Harris. The dividing line runs between Loch Resort and Loch Seaforth .
The coasts consist mainly of steep cliffs, in bays and on the northeast side there are also beaches with very fine sand, in the southern part there are also fjord-like inlets. In a larger bay on the west coast, Great Bernera Island is connected to Lewis by a car bridge, similar to the Eye Peninsula (called Point by the locals) on the east side.
population
About half of the island's population lives in the northern part of Lewis in the main town of Stornoway (Gaelic: Steòrnabhagh ). Including the villages agglomerated with the main town, a good two thirds of the island's population live here. The villages of Leurbost on Lewis and Tarbert and Leverburg on Harris have a population of around 500 each. About a quarter of the island's population lives in small scattered villages that are spread over the entire island.
Litter villages are mainly to be found on the coasts and along the main roads. Hamlets and farmsteads with fewer than five buildings are often signposted with their own place names.
Due to these conditions, it is necessary to take care of most of the daily life in the main town of Stornoway. In the rural area of the archipelago, however, there are some primary schools and post offices. In order to enable the purchase of groceries and important everyday items outside the main town, charitable initiatives have been set up to run small grocery stores, so-called community stores , which also function as gas stations.
The population is predominantly Protestant. In addition to English , many residents speak Gaelic .
economy
The population lives mainly from agriculture (especially extensive sheep breeding and, with an increasing tendency, cattle breeding ) and tourism . Fish and crab farming is increasingly contributing to economic output. Fishing - Stornoway was a major fishing port - still plays a role, but is becoming less important.
Lewis is the main producer of Harris Tweed .
Attractions
Culturally, Lewis offers some highlights that show the island's long history of settlement:
- The Standing Stones of Callanish are a 5000 year old megalithic place of worship. With over 20 rock formations known today, Callanish is the largest megalithic complex in the British Isles.
- The Dun Carloway is the relatively well-preserved ruin of an approximately 2000 year old brochure .
- The island has a variety of menhirs (such as the Clach an Trushal ), stone circles , cairns and domed structures .
- The Gearrannan Blackhouses is a museum near Arnol that was inhabited until 1964. It shows how most of the inhabitants lived on the archipelago over the past centuries.
- The Lewis chess pieces , found in 1831 and now exhibited mainly in the British Museum in London, are considered to be the best preserved medieval chess pieces and are an excellent testimony to Norwegian settlement.
- The Shawbost horizontal mill and kiln
- Cnoc a Phrionnsa is a chamber grave near Breasclete.
traffic
Lewis can be reached by car ferries or airplanes:
- Stornoway has an airport that is nationally connected.
- There are daily ferry services from Ullapool from mainland Scotland .
- Other ferries connect Lewis with the neighboring islands and thus enable indirect travel, for example by train to Kyle of Lochalsh , bus transfer via Skye to Uig and there on the ferry to Tarbert on Harris. From there there are bus routes to Lewis.
The northern islands are strongly Protestant. Not only are shops, restaurants and pubs closed on Sundays, there are also no buses and until July 2009 there were no ferries on Sunday. Then the timetable was changed against the considerable resistance of the islanders and a Sunday ferry was introduced from Stornoway to Ullapool .
Wind farm
There are plans to build Europe's largest wind farm with 200 wind turbines in the Lewis area.