Photos and the City

Category: Sotland

Isle of Birsay

From the Earl´s Palace, it was just a short drive to get to the parking for the Isle of Birsay, a tidal island linked to the headland by a concrete causeway visible only when the sea retreats. It is about a two-hour window before and after low tide that allows us to cross the causeway to visit the island.

After a few minutes of crossing the causeway and the stony beach, we arrive at the Isle of Birsay and are greeting by the Broch of Birsay

Broch of Birsay

The historic site was not officially open, but it was possible to walk around the grounds. I think usually there is a little museum and maybe a ranger on site. But walking around this former settlement was lovely and very interesting.

The island hosts the remains of a substantial Pictish settlement, with evidence of Viking buildings visible too. The site of the Norse structures included a ruined Romanesque church that was a place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages. (Orkney.com)

A collection of buildings from the 10th century when the Vikings ruled Orkney and even older remains from the Pictish. It probably even was a centre of power during Pictish times.

Objects found here tell us that the site was a high status settlement for all of its life. Birsay was probably a Pictish power centre, and the village itself is likely the site of the first Orcadian bishopric (diocese) and seat of the earldom of Orkney. (Historic Enviroment Scotland)

“brough” and “birsay” come from Old Norse words, meaning “fort” but their meanings are slightly different.

‘Brough’ refers to the natural defences of the island. ‘Birsay’ (previously byrgisey) means an island accessible only by a narrow neck of land. (Historic Enviroment Scotland)

The Pictish lived on the Island of Birsay in the late 7th century, one of their main (still visible) reminders is a standing stone with Pictish symbols. And there is also a small well next to the church. Pictish brooches, pins, rings and bone combs were found, even under the Norse houses.

The Vikings settled on the brough in the early 9th century and stayed for around 300 years with a growing settlement.

The building and rebuilding has left a complex maze of walls – one on top of the other – between the later churchyard and the sea. (Historic Enviroment Scotland)

We still see individual rooms of houses, a house with underfloor heating and the remains of a workshop and sauna.

A small church and what appears to be a monastery were built in the final phase. Apart from St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, this is one of the most sophisticated medieval ecclesiastical buildings to survive in the Northern Isles. ( Historic Enviroment Scotland)

walking Birsay

I started my round around the Island, it is an easy walk along the cliffs with stunning views across the sea and the headland and many, many birds.

Stacking stones – nobody knows who and why this was started, but it is best to not do it! It exposes the soil to erosion, aesthetically intrudes upon the natural landscape (like seen here), and serves no purpose at all! Often locals have to be the ones putting the stones back down.

The lighthouse was built in 1925 by David A. Stevenson, who built 26 lighthouses in his lifetime, it is unmanned.

Puffins

Birsay is one of the best places in Orkney to spot Puffins – they nest here in the cliffs between the months of May through to July each year. My host gave me the tip to lay down and look down on the cliffs, otherwise it is hard to spot them. And I got lucky and spent th

30/05/2022
Earl´s Palace Birsay

It´s been a long day already, but there was one more thing I wanted to do – the Isle of Birsay, which one only can visit during low tide. But right next to the pathway, or better said, nearby is the Earl´s Palace and invites for a short visit.

It was the residence of Robert Stewart, half-brother of Mary Queen of Scots, who became Earl of Orkney in the late 1500s.

The palace’s use was short-lived, however: built between 1569 and 1574, its story effectively ended with the overthrow of the Stewart earls in 1615. An inventory drawn up by Oliver Cromwell’s troops in 1653 suggests neglect had already set in, and by 1700 the palace was roofless and decaying. (Historic Enviroment)

Built between 1569 and 1574 by Robert Stewart who created Earl of Orkney, Lord of Shetland and Knight of Birsay in 1581 by his nephew, James VI.

The palace complex was entered via an elaborate southern entrance, and ranged around the courtyard were four ranges of two-storey buildings. Three-storey towers projected from the corners.

On the ground floor were service rooms, while the upper floors, comprising two halls, chambers and a gallery, were reserved for the earl. (Historic Enviroment)

Robert ruled like a tyrant and in 1593 was succeeded by his son Patrick, who practised similar ruthless tactics until he was arrested in 1609. But again his son Robert tried to cling to power. In 1614 he recaptured the palace and marched on Orkney’s capital, Kirkwall, seizing the Earl’s Palace there.

But Robert was captured too and both men, father and son, were executed om early 1615.

Today the ruins of the Palace are a lovely place to visit and even have a picnic, there is a honesty box (more a cabinet), filled with delicious things, right next to the palace. The views over the Bay of Birsay are stunning.

And maybe you will also meet this lovely watch-cat:

24/05/2022
Italian Chapel

The Italian Chapel in Orkney, built on the Island Lamb Holm by Italian prisoners of war, is a very special reminder of hard times.

In October 1939 a German submarine under the command of Gunther Prien entered Scapa Flow and sank the British battleship ‘HMS Royal Oak’ with the loss of 834 lives. Winston Churchill, First Sea Lord at that time, visited Orkney and it was decided to build barriers to close off four entrances to Scapa Flow.

In January 1942 over a thousand Italian prisoners of war were brought to Orkney to help built the Churchill Barriers. But it was forbidden to have POWs work in military projects, so the barriers were declared to be needed causeways linking the south-eastern islands of Orkney, which they do till today.

It was a hard life for all the workers on the barriers, many died during the construction works. The POWs lived in Nissan Huts in Camps on the islands. The Italian Chapel and a statue of George slaying the dragon are a reminder of Camp 60.

Camp 60 housed 550 Italian prisoners from January 1942 until September 1944. The camp had 13 huts and

which the Italians improved with concrete paths (concrete was never in short supply during the construction of the Churchill Barriers) and gardens, complete with flower beds and vegetable plots. (Undiscovered Sotland)

Domenico Chiocchetti, one of the prisoners, built the statue of George slaying the dragon in the middle of the camp out of barbed wire and concrete. The Italians also built a theatre and a recreation hut, complete with three billiard tables, all built with concrete.

But what was really missing for Camp 60 was a chapel – when the camp got a new commander in 1943, Major T.P. Buckland, the Italians proposed the building of a chapel out of two small huts.

The work of turning the Nissen huts into a chapel fell to the prisoners themselves, led once more by Domenico Chiocchetti. The interior of the east end was lined with plasterboard and Chiocchetti started work on what is now the sanctuary. The altar and its fittings were made from concrete and were flanked by two windows made from painted glass. The gold curtains either side of the altar were purchased from a company in Exeter using the prisoners’ own funds. (Undiscovered Scotland)

Chiocchetti painted the inside of the Chapel like a work of art, still taking your breath away today.

Domenico Chiocchetti carried in his pocket a small prayer card given to him by his mother before he left his home in Italy, and it was the image on that card of the Madonna and Child by Nicolo Barabino that Chiocchetti based his painting above the altar in the Chapel. When the Camp Commander, Major Buckland, realised that the prisoner was a very talented artist he was allowed to continue painting to make the building more attractive. (Orkney.com)

Another prisoner, Giuseppe Palumbi, who had been a blacksmith in Italy before the war, spent four months constructing the wrought iron rood screen, which still complements the rest of the interior today. (Undiscovered Scotland)

Working on the chapel took a long time, the Italian Chapel wasn´t even fully finished when the Italians left the island on 9 September 1944, only Chiocchetti stayed to finish the works.

Before the Italians departed the Lord Lieutenant of Orkney, who also owned Lamb Holm, promised that the Orcadians would look after the chapel they had created. (Undiscovered Scotland)

Even though the rest of the camps were demolished, the Chapel survived and soon became a visitor attraction. In 1958 a preservation committee was formed and in 1960 the BBC funded the travels for Chiocchetti to come back to Orkney and restore his painting works.

Domenico Chiocchetti returned to Orkney again in 1964 with his wife, and gifted to the chapel the 14 wooden stations of the cross on view today. In 1992, 50 years after the Italians were originally brought to Orkney, 8 of the former prisoners returned, though Chiocchetti was too ill to be with them. Domenico Chiocchetti died on 7 May 1999 in his home village of Moena, aged 89. (Undiscovered Scotland)

A strong friendship with the town of Moena in Italy, the home of Chiocchetti, and Orkney still remains today. Chiocchettis daughter Letizia is an Honorary President of the Preservation Committee.

Antonella Papa, a restoration artist from Rome, who had previously done work in the Sistine Chapel, has also spent time working in the Chapel to refresh areas of Chiocchetti’s painting. (Orkney.com)

19/05/2022