Kildalton Cross, Islay, United Kingdom

The Kildalton Cross is a monolithic high cross in Celtic cross form in the churchyard of the former parish church of Kildalton. It was carved probably in the second half of the 8th century AD, and is closely related to crosses of similar date on Iona. It is often considered the finest surviving Celtic cross in Scotland, and is certainly one of the most perfect monuments of its date to survive on western Europe. A simpler cross of late medieval date stands nearby.

The Kildalton Cross features an iconic image of the Virgin and Child, which is closely related to similar Virgin and Child iconography found on St. Martin's Cross and St. Oran's Cross at Iona.

References:

Wikipedia

Statues in United Kingdom

User Reviews

Neil Westland (3 years ago)
The walk down to Port Mor is well worth it

Barbara Broadbent (3 years ago)
Love it. Also enjoyed the cakes we brought. Its a great way to look after the cross.

M “LoveToTravel” Poddar (3 years ago)
The place is locked up and unreachable due to unstable structure, but were able to see most of the cross from just outside the walls.

Susan MacLellan (3 years ago)
Wow this place is amazing. And I got quite emotional reading the inscriptions on the grave stones. Some really young deaths

Iain Sutherland (4 years ago)
Wonderful experience. Magical area, lovely inlets and sandy bays, not mention the three famous distillery's on route. Ardtalla is worth a detour.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.

Kildalton Cross

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus