Kirkwall is the main town of the Orkney Islands, which are located as an archipelago north of Scotland. The town goes back to the city of Kirkjuvágr, which was founded by Scandinavian Vikings. Kirkwall is known from 1046, when it was mentioned in the tale Orkneyinga saga as the residence of Rögnvaldr Brúsason. Later, the Orkney Islands became part of Scotland, and in 1486 King James III elevated Kirkwall’s status to a so-called royal burgh with consequent privileges.

From 1708 to 1918, Kirkwall was a parliamentary burgh, which together with other areas thereby had representation in the British Parliament. During this time, the town’s natural harbor was also developed into an actual port, which started in 1811, and it is continuously developed as one of Kirkwall’s and the Orkney Islands’ most important traffic hubs.

Today you can take a pleasant stroll in Kirkwall, where nature and the city’s attractions are all within a short walking distance. You can start at Kirkwall harbor, where there are ferry routes to the various islands in the Orkney Islands and to both Scotland and the Shetland Islands.

Here you can also see the city’s marina and enjoy the view over the water and the slightly hilly landscape around Kirkwall’s natural harbor. The central street in this area is Harbor Street, and a stone’s throw from here is the Orkney Wireless Museum, where you can see a collection of radios and much more electronics and technology from not least the 20th century’s great development in those fields.

If you go south and thereby enter Kirkwall, you can see several interesting places. Here is St Magnus Cathedral, which was the most northerly cathedral in the United Kingdom. Formally, the cathedral is today a parish church, but is called a cathedral, and it dominates Kirkwall’s skyline. The church is a huge building compared to the city’s modest size. It was built from 1137 in Romanesque style, and the cathedral was built on for approximately 300 years.

The name of St Magnus Cathedral comes from Magnus Erlandsson, who was earl of the Orkney Islands from 1108 to 1115. At that time the islands were Norwegian, and the cathedral belonged to the archbishopric seat of present day Trondheim. South of the church you can see the ruins of the bishop’s residence that belonged to St Magnus Cathedral, and which was also built in the 12th century.

Close to St Magnus Cathedral you can visit The Orkney Museum, which serves as the national museum of the Orkney Islands. The museum tells the story of the islands from the Stone Age through the Viking Age to present day. The museum is open in Tankerness House, one of Kirkwall’s finest townhouses.

The first parts of the house were built in the 1530s as a rectory for St Magnus Cathedral, and Tankerness House was built on until the 18th century. A few buildings from here you can see Kirkwall Town Hall, which was built in Scottish neo-Gothic style 1884-1886. The Town Hall was for many years the meeting place for the local government, while today it is a venue for many different activities in the town.