Kirkwall
|
Kirkwall Scottish Gaelic Baile na h-Eaglais |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Coordinates | 58 ° 59 ′ N , 2 ° 57 ′ W | ||
|
|||
| Residents | 7045 2011 census | ||
| administration | |||
| Post town | KIRKWALL | ||
| ZIP code section | Week 15 | ||
| prefix | 01856 | ||
| Part of the country | Scotland | ||
| Council area | Orkney | ||
| British Parliament | Orkney and Shetland | ||
| Scottish Parliament | Orkney | ||
Kirkwall ( island Scottish : Kirkwaa ; Old Norse : Kirkjuvágr ) is the capital of the island of Mainland , the largest of the Scottish Orkneys , and has 7045 inhabitants. The city is located on an isthmus between the east and west mainland. From here, ferry services run to most of the islands of northern Orkney and to Aberdeen.
Surname
The name Kirkwall is of Old Norse origin and is already mentioned in the Orkneyinga saga . The name was originally "Kirkjuvágr", which means "church bay". It later became "Kirkvoe". A church dedicated to Olav II. Haraldsson already stood here in the early 11th century .
history
Earl Rognvald Brusason ( Rögnvaldr Brúsason ) shared the Earltum for eight years with Thorfinn Sigurdsson (the Mighty), who had his seat on the Brough of Birsay and killed him in 1046 AD on Papa Stronsay . In the same year, Kirkwall is first mentioned as a market town. In 1137, at the instigation of Earl Rognvald Koli Kolsson ( Rögnvaldr jarl ), construction began on St. Magnus Cathedral , which today characterizes the cityscape.
Kirkwall did not become Scottish until 1468 when James III. (Scotland) acquired the Orkneys. In the following century it was the administrative center for the Orkney and Shetland Islands .
In 1811 the expansion of the natural harbor began. In the 1990s, the main pier was expanded, and in 2003 the fairway was dredged. The Orkney Museum was as Tankerness House is a town house of Orkney nobility .
In and near Kirkwall are the northernmost whiskey distilleries in Scotland , Highland Park and Scapa .
At the turn of the year, the pagan Ba'Games are played in Kirkwall and Stromness .
Personalities
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2011 census
- ↑ The 34th chapter of the Jarla saga begins with the words: " Rögnvaldr jarl sat í Kirkjuvági , ok dró þangat föng at sèr, þau sem hann þurfti til vetrsetu; hafði hann fjölmenni mikit ok rausn mikla. "
- ↑ On Rögnvaldr , son of Brusi jarl is, from the 23rd chapter in the Jarla Saga discussed in detail.
- ↑ The Jarteina Bók deals in detail with Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall.
