Northern Western Europe United Kingdom Scotland Orkney Islands KIRKWALL United Kingdom Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the isle of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north of the coast of Caithness and comprises approximately 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, Mainland, is often referred to as "the Mainland", and has an area of 523 square km, making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. The largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall. A form of the name dates to the pre-Roman era. The islands have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name Kirkjuvagr (Church Bay), which later changed to Kirkvoe, Kirkwaa and Kirkwall. The town is first mentioned in Orkneyinga saga in the year 1046 when it is recorded as the residence of Rognvald Brusason the Earl of Orkney, who was killed by his uncle Thorfinn the Mighty. St Magnus Cathedral dominates the skyline of Kirkwall. It is the most northerly cathedral in the United Kingdom. 04.06.2019. 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. St Magnus Cathedral has its own dungeon. 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 Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and therefore technically no longer a cathedral. UK Scotland, Orkney Islands, Kirkwall 04.06.2019. UK Scotland, Orkney Islands, Kirkwall 04.06.2019. 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