Round Church of Orphir
The Orphir Round Church in Orphir on the Orkney Island of Mainland was built in the late 11th or early 12th century. Today's ruin above Scapa Flow Bay is the only evidence of a medieval round church in Scotland .
The church consisted of a round nave with a diameter of about six meters and a two-meter wide and equally deep semicircular apse with a central window. The walls are a meter thick. Only the apse and a small segment of the nave are preserved. The church survived almost completely until 1757. Then it was demolished and its stones used in the construction of the new parish church. No remains of this parish church have survived.
The founder of the church dedicated to St. Nicholas is Jarl Haakon Paulsson (Earl from 1103 to 1123). According to the Orkneyinga saga , Earl Haakon took sole power over the Orkney in 1117 after his cousin and co-regent, Earl Magnus Erlendsson , was killed at Egilsay's initiative.
The ensemble around the church includes the remains of the "Earls Bu", a hall that is mentioned in the Orkneyinga saga, and a horizontal water mill that was initially kept for the remainder of a basement .
See also
literature
- N. Card, T. Desalle: Orphir Cemetery, Geophysical survey , Discovery Excav Scot, New, Vol. 16 Cathedral Communications Limited, Wiltshire, England. 2016 p. 130
Web links
- The Orphir Round Kirk
- Entry on Orphir Round Church in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database
Coordinates: 58 ° 55 ′ N , 3 ° 9 ′ W