page_title: Kilkenny
section_title: Landmarks
hierarchical_section_title: Kilkenny / Landmarks
caption_attribution_description: English: The New Parade in Kilkenny City, viewed from outside the Castle.
context_page_description: Kilkenny is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512.
  Kilkenny is a tourist destination, and its environs include historic buildings such as Kilkenny Castle, St Canice's Cathedral and round tower, Rothe House, Shee Alms House, Black Abbey, St. Mary's Cathedral, Kilkenny Town Hall, St. Francis Abbey, Grace's Castle, and St. John's Priory. Kilkenny is also known for its craft and design workshops, the Watergate Theatre, public gardens and museums. Annual events include Kilkenny Arts Festival, the Cat Laughs comedy festival and music at the Kilkenny Roots Festival.
  Kilkenny began with an early sixth century ecclesiastical foundation within the kingdom of Ossory. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, Kilkenny Castle and a series of walls were built to protect the burghers of what became a Norman merchant town. William Marshall, Lord of Leinster, gave Kilkenny a charter as a town in 1207. By the late thirteenth century, Kilkenny was under Hiberno-Norman control.
context_section_description: The Landmarks of Kilkenny show Kilkenny's heritage through the historical buildings. Kilkenny is a well-preserved medieval town and is dominated by both Kilkenny Castle and St. Canice's Cathedral and round tower.
  Kilkenny Castle and some important historical architecture of the medieval city survive, like parts of the Kilkenny City Walls. They define the extent, layout and status of the medieval town. The town grew from a monastic settlement to a thriving Norman merchant town in the Middle Ages. Saint Canice's Cathedral and round tower are an example of the monastic settlement. Rothe House on Parliament Street is an example of an Elizabethan merchant townhouse located on the only completely surviving burgage plot in Ireland. It also features a restored 17th century garden on an area of half an acre behind the house, complete with herbs, vegetables and an orchard.
  The black stone with decorative white fossils that forms the backbone of many of Kilkenny's fine buildings was quarried locally, particularly from the quarry located 1.6 km south of the town on the R700. Kilkenny Marble was used for the plinth of the new tomb of Richard III in Leicester Cathedral in England.
  Visitor attractions in Kilkenny and its environs include Kilkenny Castle and Gardens including the Butler Gallery, St. Canice's Cathedral and round tower, Rothe House and Garden, Shee Alms House, Kilkenny Courthouse, St. Mary's Cathedral, Kilkenny City Hall, the Dominican Black Abbey, St. John's Church, Butler House, Kilkenny 'Slips' and St. Francis Abbey Brewery. Smithwick's Experience Castle Park. Gardens include the Castle Rose Garden, Rothe House Garden, the Famine Memorial Garden and the garden of Butler House.
  In the county other attractions include Kells Priory, Jerpoint Abbey, Dunmore Caves, Woodstock Estate and Jenkinstown Park.
  Local Kilkenny Marble or Black Marble was used to decorate many of the city's buildings, and Kilkenny referred to the "Marble City" for this reason.
caption: The New Parade, Kilkenny City, leading from the Castle to High Street
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