Thurso

Thurso is a facility located in the extreme north of Scotland port city with a population of 9000 ( 2001 census ). The Gaelic name is Inbhir Theorsa.

  • 7.1 Cultural institutions
  • 7.2 Historical Buildings
  • 7.3 environment
  • 9.1 Sons of Thurso
  • 9.2 Citizens of Thurso

Location

The city is located in the former county of Caithness and the Highland administrative unit, each approximately 300 line kilometers from both Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as 800 km from London. Thurso is the most northerly town on the British mainland. Through the town of Thurso River, which flows into the Thurso Bay in the Pentland Firth flows.

History

The city's name is derived from the Old Norse. There are to two interpretations: the bull or water flow of Thor ( Thorsaa )

A first planned city expansion with a " grid plan " was created in the first half of the 19th century by the local landowner and politician John Sinclair. She was however advised something big for the former requirement and was only partially with residential buildings, initially the Regency and later the Victorian era, cultivated.

Since the 19th century occurring in the area layer stone was mined on a large scale, the excellent suitable for paving slabs. These plates were exported throughout the world. They are found in the streets of Sydney or Montevideo. This export boom also benefited from the port of Thurso. In the heyday of the industry they had up to 500 employees. From the 1920s, but were increasingly used for concrete slabs, so that this branch fell sharply. A permanent population decline set in, which could be reversed only with the construction of the nuclear reactor, a fast-breeder reactor in Dounreay, 14 km west of Thurso from 1955. A second planned city expansion followed. Within a period of just ten years, the population grew from about 3,000 inhabitants Thursos to about 9,000. 1977, the reactor was indeed shut down, but the follow-up work is concerned, many people still.

Population

With 7,540 inhabitants in 2004 Thurso is the largest city in the county of Caithness.

Economy

Originally Fisheries main branch. Even though she no longer has the high importance today than ever before about 50 years, it is still an important economic factor in the structurally weak region.

Since 1977, the nuclear reactor at Dounreay is decommissioned. The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority ( UKAEA ) is, together with the Ministry of Defence still the main employer ( Dounreay Nuclear Power Development Establishment). There are also nuclear fuel rods are processed.

Another source of income is tourism, particularly in connection with the ferry to the Orkney Islands.

Twinning

Since 1980 has been twinned with the German town of Brilon.

Infrastructure

Rail

The city is the northernmost terminus of the upcoming Far North Line from Inverness and thus has the northernmost station in the UK. The railway reached Thurso 1874. Operate it today weekdays four, two pairs of trains on Sundays.

Road

Thurso is up to the highways " A 9 ", which connects it to Inverness, and "A 836 ", which runs along the north coast of Scotland

Traffic

Good 12 kilometers east of the town there is an airfield rather regional significance. With its 35 kilometers southeastern city of Wick is a major airport located with regular scheduled flights.

Port

The approximately two kilometers to the west located at the Thurso Bay Port Scrabster today is also the fishing port of Thurso. There is a deep-water port. From there is a regular car ferry to the Orkney Islands, almost without exception, to the small harbor town of Stromness on the island of Mainland. In June 2007, a weekly, traffic forming in summer ferry service from Scrabster with the Faroe Islands, the Shetland Islands, Iceland, Denmark and Norway was included, which has since been discontinued but again.

Tourism and Attractions

Today, tourism is an important industry in Thurso, but mainly based on the ferry to the Orkney Islands. There are hotel beds, B & B accommodation, two hostels and a campsite.

Cultural institutions

In the former Town Hall and the former library grown the local museum in 2008 under the name Caithness Horizons was reopened. It provides information about the city's history, from prehistory to the fast breeder reactor at Dounreay and the natural history of the area.

There is a public library.

Historical Buildings

  • Ruin of Thurso Castle
  • Ruins of Old St Peter 's Church. It dates at least from the 12th century, the oldest surviving parts were built around 1220, most of which is still standing, dates from the 15th and 16th centuries. She was the medieval main church of the village and was built in 1833 abandoned.
  • The neo-Gothic St. Peter 's and St. Andrew 's Church replaced the medieval St Peter 's Church in 1833. It stands in the line of sight of the River Thurso Road Bridge.
  • The Thurso River Road Bridge (there are also two pedestrian bridges that cross the river) from the year 1877. It replaced an older bridge in 1800. Previously, the river could be crossed only by ferry. Until 1878 bridge toll was charged. The customs house at the east end of the bridge is preserved and now houses a gallery.
  • Planned expansion of the city with a " grid layout " from the first half of the 19th century with numerous historic homes often tidy appearance of the Regency and Victorian era.

Environment

A few kilometers to the northeast lies the Dunnet Head, a 114 -meter -rise out of the sea cape with a lighthouse and a bird sanctuary, which is the northernmost country in point of mainland UK at the same time.

At a special attraction, the Castle of Mey is on its way between Thurso and Dunnet Head. Resided here in the summer since 1955 until her death in 2002 Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. Today, the palace and park are open for visitors during summer when it is not being used by a member of the royal family.

Educational institutions

  • Different primary schools
  • Thurso High School
  • North Highland College is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands

Personalities

Sons of Thurso

  • Andrew Geddes Bain (1797-1864), geologist and paleontologist, significant fossil finds and created the first geological map of South Africa
  • Arthur St. Clair (1736-1818), American general and politician
  • Gary Mackay - Steven (* 1990), football player in the service of Dundee United
  • William David Ross (1877-1971), philosopher
  • John Sinclair (1754-1835), statistician and economist

Citizens of Thurso

  • Robert Dick (1811-1866), worked from 1830 in Thurso as a baker and explored from here the Botany of the Scottish Highlands, moreover, sea shells and fossils
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