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Jura e8

Sorry, due to website restrictions we are unable to display the requested page. The Hochwald is a mountain of the Swabian Jura near Gosheim in the Jura e8 county of Tuttlingen.

It is part of the Region of the 10 Thousanders. Not to be confused with Jura. Inner Hebrides of Scotland, adjacent to and northeast of Islay. The main settlement is the east coast village of Craighouse.

The Jura distillery, producing Isle of Jura single malt whisky, is in the village, as is the island’s rum distillery which was opened on 2021. Between Jura’s northern tip and the island of Scarba lies the Gulf of Corryvreckan, where a whirlpool makes passage dangerous at certain states of the tide. The modern name Jura dates from the Norse-Gael era. Dyrøy meaning ‘deer island’ is the generally accepted derivation. Jurøy, meaning ‘udder island’, in reference to the Paps of Jura. The name was recorded in 678 as Doraid Eilinn, possibly meaning “Doraid’s Island”. Jura is composed largely of Dalradian quartzite, a hard metamorphic rock that provides the jagged surface of the Paps.

A view making clear how the Paps acquired their name, “paps” being an informal English word for breasts or teats. The Paps dominate the landscape in the region and are visible from the Mull of Kintyre and, on a clear day, from the Isle of Skye and Northern Ireland. Evidence of settlements on Jura dating from the Mesolithic period was first uncovered by the English archaeologist John Mercer in the 1960s. Jura is closer to Ireland’s northern province of Ulster than it is to Glasgow, so it should not be unexpected that Irish people crossed the Straits of Moyle and established the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata. The kingdom thrived for a few centuries, and formed a springboard for Christianisation of the mainland.

It is believed that Jura may have been Hinba, the island to which the 6th-century missionary, Columba, retreated from the monastic community he founded on Iona, when he wished for a more contemplative life. Dál Riata was ultimately destroyed when Vikings invaded, and established their own domain, spreading more extensively over the islands north and west of the mainland, including Jura. Half a century later, however, Somerled, the husband of Godred Crovan’s granddaughter, led a successful revolt against Norway, transforming Suðreyjar into an independent kingdom. After his death, nominal Norwegian authority was re-established, but de facto authority was split between Somerled’s sons and the Crovan dynasty. In the mid 13th century, increased tension between Norway and Scotland led to a series of Battles, culminating in the Battle of Largs, shortly after which the Norwegian king died. At the end of the 13th century, king John Balliol was challenged for the throne by Robert de Bruys.

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