Back سانت كيلدا Arabic سانت كيلدا ARZ Сент-Кілда Byelorussian Сейнт Килда Bulgarian Hiort Breton Saint Kilda Catalan Saint Kilda (pulo) CEB St. Kilda (Skotsko) Czech Sant Kilda Welsh St Kilda (Skotland) Danish
| Scottish Gaelic name | Hiort |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | [hirˠʃt̪] |
| Old Norse name | Possibly Hirtir[1] |
| Meaning of name | Unknown, possibly Gaelic for "westland" or Norse for "stags"[1] |
 Overview of Village Bay, St Kilda | |
| Location | |
  St Kilda St Kilda shown within the Outer Hebrides | |
| OS grid reference | NF095995 |
| Coordinates | 57°48′54″N 08°35′15″W / 57.81500°N 8.58750°W |
| Physical geography | |
| Island group | St Kilda |
| Area | 3.3 square miles (8.5 km2) |
| Highest elevation | Conachair, 430 m (1,410 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Council area | Comhairle nan Eilean Siar |
| Demographics | |
| Population | No permanent population since 1930 |
| Largest settlement | Am Baile (the Village) |
 | |
| References | [2][3][4][5][6]
|
| Criteria | Cultural: iii, v; Natural: vii, ix, x |
| Reference | 387 |
| Inscription | 1986 (10th Session) |
| Extensions | 2004, 2005 |
| Area | 24,201.4004 hectares (59,803 acres) |
St Kilda (Scottish Gaelic: Hiort) is a remote archipelago situated 64 kilometres (40 mi) west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.[note 1] The largest island is Hirta, whose sea cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom; three other islands (Dùn, Soay and Boreray) were also used for grazing and seabird hunting.[7] The islands are administratively a part of the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar local authority area.[8]: 254
The origin of the name St Kilda is a matter of conjecture. The islands' human heritage includes numerous unique architectural features from the historic and prehistoric periods, although the earliest written records of island life date from the Late Middle Ages. The medieval village on Hirta was rebuilt in the 19th century, but illnesses brought by increased external contacts through tourism, and the upheaval of the First World War, contributed to the island's evacuation in 1930.[9] The story of St Kilda has attracted artistic interpretations, including Michael Powell's film The Edge of the World and an opera.[10]
Permanent habitation on the islands possibly extends back two millennia, the population probably never exceeding 180; its peak was in the late 17th century. The population was 112 in 1851. According to the 1861 census, there were 71 inhabitants at that time; over subsequent years, the population ebbed and waned, eventually dropping to 36 as of May 1930.[11] Virtually all of the population lived on Hirta. The entire remaining population was evacuated from Hirta, by then the only inhabited island, in 1930.
The islands house a unique form of stone structure known as cleitean. A cleit is a stone storage hut or bothy; while many still exist, they are slowly falling into disrepair.[12] There are known to be 1,260 cleitean on Hirta and a further 170 on the other group islands.[13] Currently, the only year-round residents are military personnel; a variety of conservation workers, volunteers and scientists spend time there in the summer months.[4][14]
The entire archipelago is owned by the National Trust for Scotland.[15] It became one of Scotland's six World Heritage Sites in 1986, and is one of the few in the world to hold joint status for both its natural and cultural qualities.[16] Parties of volunteers work on the islands in the summer to restore the many ruined buildings that the native St Kildans left behind. They share the island with a small military base established in 1957.[17]
Two different early sheep types have survived on these remote islands: the Soay, a Neolithic type, and the Boreray, an Iron Age type. The islands are a breeding ground for many important seabird species including northern gannets, Atlantic puffins, and northern fulmars. The St Kilda wren and St Kilda field mouse are endemic subspecies.[4]
- ^ a b Maclean (1977) page 33.
- ^ General Register Office for Scotland (28 November 2003). "Statistics for Inhabited Islands" (PDF). Occasional Paper No 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
- ^ Grid reference NF095995
- ^ a b c Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. pp. 314–26. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
UNEPwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2003) Ainmean-àite/Placenames. (pdf) Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- ^ Hiltner, Stephen (11 October 2021). "Agony and Ecstasy on the Scottish Archipelago of St. Kilda". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ^ Steel (1988)
- ^ See especially Maclean (1977), Steel (1988), Fleming (2005).
- ^ McMillan, Joyce (3 March 2007) "St Kilda the Opera brings out the bully-boys" Archived 2 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Edinburgh. The Scotsman. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
- ^ "Stories from St Kilda". National Records of Scotland. 31 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Cleit of the Week". Ranger's Diary. St Kilda Today. 13 August 2007. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ St Kilda – David Quine (Colin Baxter Island Guides) 1995
- ^ "The new residents of St Kilda archipelago" Archived 11 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine. (29 August 2010). BBC News. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
- ^ National Trust for Scotland. Guide. "St Kilda Houses". Archived from the original on 11 March 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "World Heritage: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" Archived 28 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. UNESCO. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
- ^ Steel (1988) page 273.
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