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Kirkwall Castle

Castles in OrkneyDemolished buildings and structures in ScotlandFormer castles in ScotlandKirkwall

Kirkwall Castle, also known as King's Castle, was located in Kirkwall, the main settlement in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. Built in the 14th century, it was deliberately destroyed in 1614. The last ruins were cleared in the 19th century. The castle was located around the corner of Broad Street and Castle Street in the centre of Kirkwall.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Kirkwall Castle (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Kirkwall Castle
Castle Street,

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Wikipedia: Kirkwall CastleContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 58.9823 ° E -2.9605 °
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Address

Castle Street

Castle Street
KW15 1DF
Scotland, United Kingdom
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St Magnus Cathedral
St Magnus Cathedral

St Magnus Cathedral dominates the skyline of Kirkwall, the main town of Orkney, a group of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in Scotland, and the most northerly cathedral in the United Kingdom, a fine example of Romanesque architecture built for the bishops of Orkney when the islands were ruled by the Norse Earls of Orkney. It is owned not by the church, but by the burgh of Kirkwall as a result of an act of King James III of Scotland following Orkney's annexation by the Scottish Crown in 1468. The cathedral has its own dungeon. People accused of witchcraft in Orkney from 1594-1708 were usually incarcerated in the church, with their trials also held here. Construction began in 1137, and it was added to over the next 300 years. The first bishop was William the Old, and the diocese was under the authority of the Archbishop of Nidaros in Norway. It was for Bishop William that the nearby Bishop's Palace was built. Before the Reformation, the cathedral was presided over by the Bishop of Orkney, whose seat was in Kirkwall. Today, it is a parish church of the Church of Scotland (with a Presbyterian system of Church governance), but remains consecrated grounds and place of worship within the Roman Catholic Church with occasional Catholic services taking place. The congregation of St Magnus Cathedral is now (since 1 October 2024) part of Orkney Islands Church of Scotland - a single ecclesiastical parish staffed by a team ministry.