Kisimul Castle

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Kisimul Castle
patio
Hall

Kisimul Castle , also Kiessimul or Kiessamul Castle or Caisteal Chiosmuil , is a castle on a small Scottish Hebridean island in the bay of Castlebay , the capital of the island of Barra . In 1971 Kisimul Castle was included in the Scottish List of Monuments in Category A. It is also protected as a Scheduled Monument .

history

On the basis of archaeological finds, the settlement of the small island can be proven up to the Stone and Bronze Ages . There is evidence that the history of Kisimul Castle originally dates back to the 11th or 12th century. Artifacts from this period were discovered on the island, but no buildings could be clearly assigned to this period. It is believed that Kisimul Castle dates from the early to mid 15th century. Architecturally, it is similar to Breachacha Castle on the island of Coll, which dates from the 1430s and could have been designed by the same builders. It was the seat of the Clan MacNeil of Barra and was the control of the on Islay resident Lords of the Isles . Between the 15th and 17th centuries, Kisimul Castle was expanded and modernized several times. The fortress was finally abandoned in the early 18th century and burned down in 1795. At the height of herring fishing, stones from the ruins were used as ship ballast and large parts of the facility were destroyed. The ruins were finally rebuilt in the 20th century, but little attention was paid to authenticity and large amounts of mortar and modern plaster were used. In 2000, Kisimul Castle was leased to Historic Scotland for 1000 years . The annual rent is a pound and a bottle of whiskey .

literature

  • Keith Branigan, Patrick Foster (Eds.): Barra: archaeological research on Ben Tangaval from the end of the Ice Age to the Crofting Commission , In: Barra: archaeological research on Ben Tangaval. Sheffield 1995. S: 48, 203, 204

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  2. ↑ Scheduled Monument - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  3. ↑ Entry on Kisimul Castle  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
  4. ^ Entry in the Gazetteer for Scotland

Web links

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

Coordinates: 56 ° 57 '7.7 "  N , 7 ° 29" 14.8 "  W.