Photos and the City

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Skara Brae

In 1850 a storm uncovered something truly special lying under the sand dunes next to Skaill beach in Orkney: Skara Brae – a Neolithic settlement.

The Neolithic village of Skara Brae was discovered in the winter of 1850. Wild storms ripped the grass from a high dune known as Skara Brae, beside the Bay of Skaill, and exposed an immense midden (refuse heap) and the ruins of ancient stone buildings. The discovery proved to be the best-preserved Neolithic village in northern Europe. And so it remains today. (Visit Scotland)

This revealed the outline of a number of stone buildings – something that intrigued the local laird, William Watt, of Skaill, who embarked on an excavation of the site.

In 1868, after the remains of four ancient houses had been unearthed, work at Skerrabra was abandoned. The settlement remained undisturbed until 1925, when another storm damaged some of the previously excavated structures. (Orkney Jar)

Skara Brae was inhabited around 5000 years ago – even before the pyramids or Stonehenge were built and thanks to being buried under the sand for around 4000 years it is very well preserved and gives us a glimpse of life back in the Neolithic age.

Original an inland settlement next to a freshwater loch Skara Brae consists of 10 stone structures. All of them are well built with flat stones (slap stones), set in the middle of a mould and all of them are connected by covered passageways.

Each house has one room, around 40 square meters, with fitted stone furniture, like shelves, dressers, beds, fireplace and tanks in the floor.

There is one bigger structure without beds which might have been a workshop or meeting place.

The villagers were farmers, hunters and fishermen who were able to produce beautiful and complex items using basic tools. (Historic Enviroment Scotland)

Each house was constructed along the same design and many have the same sort of furniture and the same layout of the rooms. The village had a drainage system and even indoor toilets. (Worldhistory)

Skara Brae has probably abandoned around 2500 BC when the weather became colder and wetter. There were also theories that there was a storm which made the inhabitants leave quickly, but others disagree.

Like the Broch of Gurness, it is a fascinating step back in time.

05/05/2022
Kirkwall

After exploring the Broch of Gurness I made my way to Kirkwall, the largest town in Orkney. It was just a short drive along the coastline.

Officially a Royal Burgh since 1486, Kirkwall’s name comes from the Norse ‘Kirkjuvagr’, meaning ‘Church on the bay’, and a Viking spirit still runs through the town, focused on the magnificent St Magnus Cathedral. (Orkney.com)

Kirkwall has a lovely town centre filled with independent shops and cafés. Stroll around the harbour and take a peek into Orkney Museum, where some of the finds from the Broch of Gurness are exhibited.

The Bishop´s Palace and Earl´s Palace

The ruins of two remarkable buildings are site by site next to St. Magnus Cathedral.

The medieval Bishop’s Palace was built around the same time as St Magnus Cathedral, in the early 1100s. The builder may well have been Bishop William the Old, crusader and friend of Earl Rognvald, St Magnus’s nephew and patron of the new cathedral. (Orkney.com)

Earl´s Palace

Bishop´s Palace

The ground floor of the quite simple two-storey hall house is quite intact and offers an interesting view of former times.

St. Magnus Cathedral in the back.

Across the road is Earl´s Palace built in 1603 by Patrick, Earl of Orkney – one of Orkney’s most notorious rulers.

His Renaissance palace was built to impress and featured a first-floor hall with elaborate staircase, inner, outer and guest chambers and accommodation for staff. Huge fireplaces dominated the main hall. The Earl’s Palace incorporated the Bishop’s Palace into a larger complex in the heart of this old Viking town. (Orkney.com)

St. Magnus cathedral

St. Magnus Cathedral, the light of the north, dominates Kirkwall’s skyline, it is one of the most iconic buildings in Orkney.

This stunning Romanesque cathedral, made from striking red and yellow sandstone, was founded in 1137 and took around 300 years to complete. It was dedicated to Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney. (Orkney.com)

Magnus’s bones are held at the Cathedral, the only church in the country known to hold the bones of its original saint. And the only complete Medieval cathedral in Scotland.

21/04/2022
Broch of Gurness

After driving through the dense fog the night, I was pleasantly surprised by my view the next morning. My lovely little cottage had a beautiful view of the sea and I could even see the Broch of Gurness from there sitting on the coastline vis a vis from the island Rousay.

I already had booked my ticket and started my stay in Orkney with a visit to one of Scotland´s finest broch. The Broch of Gurness was an Iron Age settlement with a small village surrounding a massive broch tower.

The first settlement started between 500 and 200 BC, later a causeway was added and the broch was built, surrounded by small stone houses with attached yards and sheds.

But the broch then again was abandoned after 100 AD and the ditches filled in. The site continued as a single farmstead until around the 8th century. In the 9th century, a Viking woman was buried here, which became the last activity on this very spot.

The broch was probably the home of the chief family of the community and probably was also a defensive refuge for the village.

The broch originally had a central hearth, stone-built cupboards, sunken water basins used as wells but also for rituals, and a stairway going to the upper floors.

The broch is surrounded by numerous houses which each had a large living and sleeping room with smaller side rooms. Again we find stone-built cupboards and shelves, sleeping spaces and a large tank set into the floor.

19/04/2022