Birsay
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Birsay is a parish in the north west corner of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland. Almost all the land in the parish is devoted to agriculture: chiefly grassland used to rear beef cattle. There are vari
Birsay Parish, with the Brough of Birsay in the background
Earl's Palace, Birsay
St Magnus Church, Birsay
Mill near Birsay
Orkney
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Orkney, also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is sometimes used, but this is erroneous. Part of the Northern Isles a
Birsay
…Birsay () (Old Norse: Birgisherað) is a parish in the north west corner of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland. Almost all the land in the parish is devoted to agriculture: chiefly grassland used to rear beef cattle. There are various ancient monuments…
Ring of Brodgar, on the island of Mainland, Orkney
Midhowe Broch on the west coast of Rousay
According to the Orkneyinga Saga, Harald Fairhair (on the right, with fair hair) took control of Orkney in 875. He is shown here inheriting his kingdom from his father Halfdan the Black, in an illustration from the Flateyjarbók.
Artist's conception of King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway, who forcibly Christianised Orkney. Painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo.