Urquhart Castle
| Urquhart Castle | ||
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 Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness |
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| Creation time : | after 1230 | |
| Castle type : | Rock castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Drumnadrochit | |
| Geographical location | 57 ° 19 '27 " N , 4 ° 26' 30.5" W | |
| Height: | 62 m ASL | |
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Urquhart Castle ( ) is a ruined castle on Loch Ness . The closest location is Drumnadrochit, about 2.7 km away .
history
First tracks
The first traces of settlement of the place go back to the time before the visit of Saint Columban in the 6th century. In Adomnán's Life of Columba , a forerunner of the fortress is mentioned as the residence of a Pictish nobleman. Corresponding artefacts were found on the site during various excavations, but a previously suspected Pictish fort has not yet been proven.
The castle through the ages
By 1230, King Alexander II put down a revolt against his rule in the Moray region . To secure his reign, he handed this region over to his son-in-law Alan Durward . This began immediately with the construction of a strategically located castle complex, which was planned to be a fortress. Even so, the complex was to have all the comforts of a residence expected from a chief of Clan Urquhart . This castle was one of the largest in Scotland in its heyday . The stone ring wall surrounded an extensive area and thus protected the wooden residential buildings inside.
Alan Durward died in 1275 without an heir and the castle fell to the Comyn family . In 1296 it was captured by the English, and in 1303 it was retaken by the Scots, but fell back into English hands in the same year. After he became king, Robert the Bruce was able to bring the facility under Scottish control for good in 1306. After that, the complex gained more and more strategic importance and from 1395 was further expanded into a medieval fortress. For example, the heavily fortified gatehouse and the keep were added as a second point of defense in the north of the complex. In the course of the following 150 years, however, many of the buildings erected were badly damaged when the "Lords of the Isles" of Clan MacDonald stood against the crown. The northern part of the castle was strengthened as it was easier to defend a smaller complex with few people.
From 1545, the castle was largely abandoned as a defense system, instead the keep was renovated and converted into a residential building for a laird . At that time, part of the defenses had already fallen into disrepair.
By 1600 the castle was abandoned as the Lairds now preferred more comfortable residences in more acceptable areas. As a result, the castle no longer played a strategic role, the last garrison left it after the Scottish Jacobite revolt of 1689 in 1692. From then on, the castle was left to decay. After it was abandoned, the buildings were systematically ransacked; their stones and roofs were partially removed for the construction of houses. 10 tons of stolen lead from the roof structure of the facility were found in the surrounding cottages and barns .
description
One approaches the castle from the west over a gently sloping meadow. The former drawbridge A (today a solid construction) spans a ditch up to 30 meters wide and up to 5 meters deep. You enter the castle through gatehouse B , a passage protected by two round towers. These towers formerly contained the guard rooms, a prison cell and the mechanisms for raising and lowering the drawbridge.
Turning to after entering the castle to the right, you reach the upper bailey , the upper courtyard J . This is the oldest and at the same time the highest part of the complex located on the rock; most of the Celtic artefacts were found here during excavations. Only ruins of the foundations are evidence of the former K buildings ; the use of most of these rooms has not yet been clearly identified. A round foundation L can, however, be identified as a brick pigeon tower, another area M was identified as a forge. The transition between the upper and lower courtyard is opposite the gatehouse, the water gate I with access to Loch Ness.
The nether bailey , the lower courtyard C, grants access to the other buildings of the castle, which were built later and, to a large extent, are better preserved. However, the castle courtyard is dominated by a small hill on which the foundations of a former chapel D can be found. To the right are the remains of the “Great Hall” G and H , the kitchen and accommodation for the lord of the castle and his guests were also to be found here.
The best preserved part of the castle was also used the longest; it is called inner close in English and occasionally called a citadel in German . It consists of a small gatehouse with additional rooms unknown purpose E and the bergfried like Tower House F . Its massive foundation dates from the 14th century, the floors above were only built after 1509.
Protected by another small moat, you enter this tower on its first floor, which once contained a single large hall. The cellar vaults below could only be reached from here. On the two floors above there were living rooms and bedrooms, including the private room of the lord of the castle. Large chimneys and small latrines offered a certain level of comfort. The top floor was designed for military use, with guard rooms and sleeping quarters for the soldiers as well as a few defensive cores.
Urquhart Castle today
Around 1930 a Mr. Chewett bought the ruin, today Historic Scotland manages the complex. Urquhart Castle is a popular part of Scotland tours, and the ruins are accordingly well attended. The facility includes a bus parking lot and a large visitor center which, in addition to a small museum, also has a large souvenir shop, an information cinema and a café. The facility is open all year round. The ruin is located directly on the A82 and is also served by public buses.
The southern plant
Gatehouse and keep, northern enclosure
Keep, northern facility
Complete system seen from Loch Ness
literature
- AO Anderson, MO Anderson: Adomnán's Life of Columba. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1991, ISBN 0-19-820215-6 .
- Martin Coventry: The Castles of Scotland (4th Edition) . Polygon, Goblinshead, 2006.
- J. Gifford: Highlands and Islands: the Buildings of Scotland. Penguin Books, London 1992, ISBN 0-300-09625-9 .
- Chris Tabraham, Fiona Stewart: Urquhart Castle . Historic Scotland, Edinburgh 1991, reprinted 1995. ISBN 074800601X .
Web links
- History of the castle (English)
- Historic Scotland (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tabraham / Stewart , p. 11.
- ↑ Tabraham / Stewart , p. 12f.
- ↑ Tabraham / Stewart , p. 15
- ↑ Display board on the site of the castle ruins, picture 1–5.
- ↑ Tabraham / Stewart , p. 16
- ↑ Tabraham / Stewart , p. 18
- ↑ Tabraham / Stewart , p. 4
- ↑ Tabraham / Stewart , p. 5
- ↑ Tabraham / Stewart , p. 7
- ↑ Tabraham / Stewart , p. 8