Orkney’s capital, Kirkwall, is named after the church, as the Old Norse name Kirkjuvagr means sanctuary by the bay. However, the city is not named after the magnificent St. Magnus Cathedral, although the settlement began to grow rapidly after its foundation in the 12th century. Kirkwall is named after the much smaller and older St. Olave’s Church, of which nothing more than an arched gate in the churchyard near Bridge Street remains today.
The settlement is first mentioned in the Orkneyinga Saga in connection with the fact that Count Rögnvald Brusason built the St. Olav’s Church there in 1046. He probably did not start building it on a completely empty site, but it is not known exactly how long the area has been inhabited.
A settlement called Burgh began to emerge around St. Olav’s Church. A hundred years later, when St. Magnus Cathedral was built, another settlement arose in the vicinity, which was named Laverock. There was a rivalry between the two settlements and although over time the settlements grew together, the rivalry is still remembered by the street football game Kirkwall Ba’ played at Christmas and New Year. Men and boys from the city and further afield are divided into two teams, ‘ups’ and ‘dons’, and compete to see which team can push, kick, throw or otherwise deliver a hand-made leather ball into a gate at either end of the high street.
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2024-08-31 05:00:40
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