Lerwick, Shetland Isles, Live Webcam
- Local time
- Location: Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland
- Source: www.shetlandwebcams.com
- Info: Live streaming webcam in Lerwick in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. The Shetland Islands lie between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway and Lerwick is the main town and port of the Islands.
More info: Lerwick is well known for its annual Up Helly Aa which is a spectacular fire festival that takes place throughout Lerwick on the last Tuesday of January. The event culminates with the sound of a bugle call as flaming torches are thrown into an imitation Viking Galley.
Being located further north than Saint Petersburg and three of the four mainland Nordic capitals, Lerwick's nights in the middle of summer only get dark twilight and winters have below six hours of complete daylight.
In the old days, Lewick was the unofficial marketplace for Dutch herring fleets in the 17th century. Its illegal status led to a struggling economy. It was demolished on a court order in 1615, the Dutch burnt its fort in 1673 and the French set fire to it in 1702.
Most of the sandstone buildings on the waterfront date from the 18th century and the narrow main street still follows the old shoreline. Up beyond the Hillhead, Victorian architects laid out a "new town" of spacious houses and public parks, dominated by Lerwick Town Hall.
Video about the Up Helly Aa festival in the Shetland Isles:
Additional Information:
scotland.org