The Bishop's Palace, Kirkwall was built at the same time as the adjacent St Magnus Cathedral in the centre of Kirkwall, Orkney was being constructed, and housed the cathedral's first bishop, William the Old of the Norwegian Catholic church who took his authority from the Archbishop of Trondheim. The ruined structure now looks like a small castle. St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall is the cathedral in the capital of Orkney in Scotland. ... Location within the British Isles Kirkwall is the largest town and capital of the Orkney Islands, in northern Scotland. ... The Orkney Islands are one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland, and form a traditional county and Lieutenancy area, and the Orkney constituency of the Scottish Parliament. ... County Sør-Trøndelag Landscape Municipality NO-1601 Administrative centre Trondheim Mayor (2005) Rita Ottervik (A) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 258 342 km² 322 km² 0. ... The Alcázar of Segovia, Spain A castle (from the Latin castellum, diminutive of castra, a military camp, in turn the plural of castrum or watchpost), is a fort, a camp and the logical development of a fortified enclosure. ...

Originally it is thought to have been like a typical Royal Norwegian Palace, with a large rectangular hall above store rooms and a tower house as the Bishop's private residence. King Haakon IV of Norway, overwintering after the Battle of Largs, died here in 1263, marking the end of Norse rule over the Outer Hebrides. The neglected palace had fallen into ruins by 1320. A tower house stands on a hillock near Quin along the back road from Limerick to Ennis. ... Håkon IV (1204–December 15, 1263), also called Haakon the Old, was declared to be the son of Håkon III of Norway, the leader of the Birkebeiner, who had seized control over large parts of Norway in 1202. ... The Battle of Largs took place in Largs, North Ayrshire in 1263 between Scotland and the forces of King Magnus III of Man and the Isles as well as the manxmens ally, King Haakon IV of Norway. ... The Outer Hebrides or Western Isles (officially known by their Gaelic name, Na h-Eileanan Siar) comprise an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. ...

In 1468 Orkney was annexed by Scotland, and in 1526 the palace came briefly into the possession of William, Lord Sinclair, before he was ordered to return it to the Bishop of Orkney. When King James V of Scotland visited Kirkwall in 1540 he garrisoned his troops in the Palace and in Kirkwall Castle. Soon afterwards extensive restoration was begun by Bishop Robert Reid, the last and greatest of Orkney's medieval Bishops who also founded the University of Edinburgh. Reid added a round tower, the "Moosie Toor". James V (April 10, 1512 – December 14, 1542) was king of Scotland (September 9, 1513 – December 14, 1542). ... The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ...

Ownership passed to Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney, in 1568, then to his son Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney who planned to incorporate it into his Earl's Palace, Kirkwall, but debts forced him to return it to Bishop James Law. Earl Patrick's son Robert seized both palaces in 1614, and a siege followed though it is not known if this caused damage to the structures, both of which are now ruins. Earl of Orkney - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The ruins of the Earls Palace, Kirkwall lie near St Magnus Cathedral in the centre of Kirkwall, Orkney. ...

External link

• Orkneyjar - The Bishop's Palace, Kirkwall