Scotland Guide
Orkney and Shetland
St Magnus Cathedral
Opening time: Mon– Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 2–5pm
Standing at the very heart of Kirkwall, St Magnus Cathedral is the town's most compelling sight. This beautiful red- sandstone building was begun in 1137 by the Orkney Earl Rognvald, who built the cathedral in honour of his uncle Magnus, killed on the orders of his cousin Haakon in 1117. The first version of the cathedral was somewhat smaller than today's structure, which has been added to over the centuries. Today much of the detail in the soft sandstone has worn away – the capitals around the main doors are reduced to gnarled stumps – but it's still an immensely impressive building, its shape and style echoing the great cathedrals of Europe. Inside, the atmosphere is surprisingly intimate, the bulky sandstone columns drawing your eye up to the exposed brickwork arches, while around the walls is a series of mostly seventeenth-century tombstones, many carved with a skull and crossbones and other emblems of mortality.