Scotland · Ruin
Kirkwall Earl's Palace
The Earl's Palace is a Renaissance-style palace built from 1607 near St Magnus's Cathedral in the centre of Kirkwall, Orkney. Constructed for Patrick, Earl of Orkney, the building later fell into disuse and is now preserved as a ruin managed by Historic Environment Scotland.
First raised
1601
Its prime
1610
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1610
The shape it held in its prime.
A stone-built Renaissance-style urban palace sited directly beside St Magnus's Cathedral in the heart of Kirkwall; in plan it occupies an enclosed plot in the town centre and reads as multi-storey stone ranges with a formal street-facing façade. Constructed of local masonry, the palace in its prime presented complete roofs and intact façades; today it remains as exposed roofless stonework and open ruin but originally formed a continuous, finished built block against the cathedral.
Step inside
3 places to explore in 1610.
The record describes 3 distinct spots at Kirkwall Earl's Palace — including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
See Kirkwall Earl's Palace with the fires lit.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1610 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →
