SWEDEN – Gotland (Visby) - only where you have walked have you been

Sweden – Gotland (Visby) July 29, 2019

On Monday, July 29, 2019, I went to Gotland, my 7^th new NM region in 9 days. Starting in Finland’s Lapland, Sweden Lapland, North Norway, Lofoten, Trondheim, Norway, Norrland East and Jämtland, Sweden and finally ending in Stockholm. After 2 days seeing the sights in Stockholm, I decided to go to Gotland on a Monday when most museums are closed.

FERRY TO GOTLAND
Gotland is 3 hours by ferry or 30 minutes by air from Stockholm. Most people travel to Gotland by ferry and Destination Gotland operates two mainland ports, Nynashamn south of Stockholm and Oskarshamn in Småland. Regardless of your choice the crossing takes approximately three hours.
Book on www.destinationgotland.se. This is a very easy website to navigate. Cost SEK 864 (303 out and 531 return) for a seat in the forward lounge – all seats are assigned.

I drove to Nynäshamn, about 75kms south of Stockholm the night before and slept in a free (for 24 hours) parking lot by the ferry terminal. I almost slept in, woke up at 04:30 and had a big rush to have breakfast, make a sandwich and boarded at the last moment. Simply give your booking number at the ticket entrance of the ferry.
My ferry times were 05:10 – 08:25 and return 16:00 – 19:25, giving me 7 hours to explore Gotland. The only slightly cheaper economy seats had been booked for some time, but I ended with a great window seat. All seats have electrical plugs, seat-back tables, a light and recline.

Sea Stacks. Called “raukar”, these limestone sculptures are along the entire coast from Fårö in the north to Hoburgen in the south. The largest area of stacks is along a 3.5km stretch of coast on the northwest part of Fårö at Digerhuvud. There are 100 stacks here on the edge of the ocean. The sea stack most seen on postcards is known as “the dog” or “the coffee pot” is at Gamle Hamn on Fårö.

VISBY (pop 24,330, inner city population 3883)
Visby is the main city on the island of Gotland. Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably the best-preserved medieval city in Scandinavia and since 1995, it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage site list. Among the most notable historical remains are the 3.4 km long town wall that encircles the town center, and a number of church ruins.
Visby is a popular vacation destination for Scandinavians during the summer and receives thousands of tourists every year. It is by far the most populated locality outside the Swedish mainland. Visby is also the sole county seat in Sweden only accessible by boat and air.

Etymology. The name “Visby” comes from the Old Norse Vis, (genitive singular of Vi) meaning “(pagan) place of sacrifices”, and by, meaning “village”. In the Gutasagan (mid 14th century) the place is referred to as just Wi meaning “holy place, place of worship”. Visby is sometimes called “The City of Roses” or “The City of Ruins”.
History
The earliest history of Visby is uncertain, but it is known to have been a centre of merchandise around 900 AD. It was inhabited as early as the Stone Age, probably because of the access to fresh water and a natural harbour.
In the 12th century, Visby Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Mary, was constructed. It was reshaped in the 13th century to its current appearance, and was officially opened in 1225, by the bishop of the Swedish city of Linköping. Several other churches were also constructed in the ensuing centuries. The city flourished, thanks to the German Hanseatic League.
The work on the ring wall was likely begun in the 12th century. Around 1300, it was rebuilt to reach its current height, acquiring the characteristic towers, although some towers were not constructed until the 15th century. The ringwall is still largely intact.
In the first half of the fourteenth century (1300-1350) Visby was at the height of its wealth and influence, and it was during this time that Laws of Wisbuy, a set of maritime laws that had broad influence in the Baltic and beyond, were probably promulgated.
In 1361, Gotland was conquered by Valdemar IV of Denmark. 1,800 Gotlanders were killed in battle in front of the city. Valdemar tore down part of the wall, set up three huge beer barrels and threatened to turn his men loose to pillage the town unless they were filled with silver and gold. The Visby city fathers fulfilled the demand, with churches stripped of their valuables. Valdemar added “King of Gotland” to his title list. His treatment of Visby, a member of the Hanseatic League, precipitated that League into war with Denmark; however, though Valdemar was forced into various concessions, he retained Visby as a Danish city.
In 1391, 1394 and 1398, it was taken and plundered by the Victual Brothers, pirates who sailed the Baltic Sea. An invading army of Teutonic Knights conquered Gotland in 1398, destroyed Visby and expelled the Victual Brothers. In 1409, Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen of the Teutonic Knights guaranteed peace with the Kalmar Union of Scandinavia by selling the island of Gotland to Queen Margaret of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
In 1411, the Norwegian, Danish and Swedish King Eric of Pomerania had the castle of Visborg constructed, and settled himself there for twelve years, during which the city virtually became a pirates’ nest, and the commerce halted. As of 1470, the Hanseatic League rescinded Visby’s status as a Hanseatic town.
In 1525, the final blow came. In the Danish throne quarrel, the Lübeck, a Free City of the Holy Roman Empire and a leading member of the Hanseatic League, supported Frederick I, while Søren Norby the Danish governor of Gotland fought for Christian II, even after Christian’s official resignation in 1523. While Norby fought a military action in Sweden, the Lübeckers successfully attacked Visby and set the city on fire from four sites. But unlike widespread belief, several churches survived at first. The churches of St. James (which already had been closed before), St. Nicholas and St. Gertrude were sacked by Lübeck’s army. With the reformation, all churches except St. John, which became the city parish, were closed. In 1528, the citizens of Visby sacked the church of the Holy Trinity, or the church of Our Lord in revenge for the plundering of their town. In 1533–34, the new Danish governor, Henrik Nielsen Rosenkrantz, demolished St. John’s and St. Peter’s churches to improve the defence of his castle Visborgs slott. St. Mary’s Cathedral remained the last functional church and became the new city parish.
Gotland was again taken into Sweden’s possession in 1645, by the Treaty of Brömsebro, after 300 years of Danish rule. The city developed slowly as things were left as they were. In the mid 18th century, after a plague had reduced Visby’s population, some attempts were made by Swedish government officials to improve living standards, but little was accomplished. Not until the early 19th century did Visby once again attract commerce and a harbour industry. At the same time – 1808 – Gotland was conquered by Russia, but was peacefully taken back by the Swedes after only a couple of months.
Geography. Visby is situated on the central west coast of Gotland, on the rather steep slopes of limestone cliffs surrounding the first natural harbor. The town has evolved around the medieval harbor that now constitutes the Almedalen park. Long streets run parallel with the old shoreline with shorter alleys at a straight angle from these, lead from the harbor and up the slope up to the eastern higher part of town known as Klinten.
The old, original part of Visby is more or less enclosed by the city wall to the north, east and south, with the old harbor and the Baltic Sea in the west. The more modern parts of the town expand mostly east and inland from the wall. Along the shore south of the wall is the modern harbor with its ferry terminals and further south is a green recreational area called Södra Hällarna. Just inside the north part of the wall as well as along the north coast outside the wall, are several beaches: Kallbadhuset, Norderstrand, Snäckgärdsbaden (or simply Snäck) and Gustavsvik.
Visby and Tallinn are the only two North-European towns in which the city’s medieval grid plan has been fully preserved into present day.
One of the asteroids in the asteroid belt, 6102 Visby, is named after this place.
Climate. It has an oceanic climate. This renders cooler summers and milder winters than most of mainland Sweden. However, in spite of its marine position the climate is very much influenced by continental airflows. The precipitation amount is quite moderated, especially for an oceanic climate, but is relatively consistent throughout the year.
Transport. Visby is linked to the mainland of Sweden by ferry and by plane. Ferries arrive from both Oskarshamn in Småland and Nynäshamn, near Stockholm, each taking about three hours. The ferries are run by Destination Gotland and subsidized by the Swedish government. Destination Gotland is the only ferry operator.
Visby Airport is located about 5 km north of the city and offers connections to the Swedish mainland. With 467,857 passengers in 2018, it is the 9th largest airport in Sweden. Daily flights to Stockholm Arlanda Airport is a common way to reach or depart from the island.
There are also city buses in Visby as well as buses to other parts of Gotland.
Sights and Events. During the first week of July, Visby is the scene of the Almedalen Week, an important forum for everyone involved in Swedish politics. During the week, representatives from the major political parties in Sweden take turns giving speeches in the Almedalen park.
In August, the tourist season is at its peak. During week 32, from Sunday to Sunday, the annual Medieval Week on Gotland is held. During this week regularly dressed tourists are outnumbered by people dressed in Medieval costumes. The festival started in 1984. There are a variety of events: music, jesters, theatre, a medieval market, jousting tournaments and much more.

Town Wall. Northern Europe’s best-preserved town wall, it is 3.44kms long and has 27 remaining towers of the original 29. Start at the Fisherman’s Gate on the north and walk as much wall as you want. It takes 45-60 minutes to see it all. The wall itself cannot be walked. Instead follow the path on the outside of the wall.
The highlights of the wall are the Maiden Tower, Silver Cap (the youngest tower it was built in 1398-1408 by the Teutonic Knights), Lübeck Breach (where Lübeck and Hansen broke through the wall and drove away pirate Sören Horrby from Visborg), Tall Lisa (with 6 stories, it is the tallest tower), North Gate (one of the oldest towers dating to 1280), Well Gate, Dalmen Tower (17m high, it was used for navigation), East Gate (5-story tower was built over the gate and two 25m parallel walls built out on angles, that together with the moat, provided effective protection), Kajsar Tower (the first full-length tower, it is square and outside the wall. Served as a prison and now a prison museum).

Church Ruins. Most of the 9 ruins date to the beginning of the 13^th century when Visby was a powerful medieval city.

St Katarina

St Clemens
Gotland Museum. Housed in the ancient building Fornsalen, it has 4 farm museums, the art museum, and the history of Gotland from the Stone Age to the present day. The highlights are the Iron Age picture stones and the Spillings Hoard, the world’s largest Viking silver treasure. SEK 150, no reduction
St. Mary’s Cathedral. Built by German traders in the 12^th and 13^th centuries, it is a 3-aisled rectangular basilica with two narrow towers in the east and a larger tower in the west and made of fine-grained limestone sourced from a quarry just outside Visby. Called “The Church of Our Lady” in medieval times, the highlights are the Baroque altar depicting Adam and Eve being run out of paradise, the 1682 high altar made of painted sandstone and the 1240 baptismal font in red and grey Gotland limestone.

FÅRÖ
As I had 7 hours on Gotland, I had time to take the bus to Fårö. It left the Visby Bus Station at 10:50, cost SEK 80 one-way. There was great free wi-fi on the bus.
The drive though the main island to Fårösund on the north tip takes about 1 hour. The landscape is flat rural country with rugged pine trees, farms, dry stone walls and stone houses with thatch roofs. The Bungemuseet, an open-air museum with log and stone houses is just south of Fårösund.
At Fårösund board the 5-minute free ferry to Fårö.
Fårö is even more rural than the main island. It really is like being on a tropical island, with azure waters lapping the shoreline, sand dunes and mile upon mile of beach.
Sudersand Beach. One of Sweden’s best beaches, this is the major bus stop on Fårö. Most of the full bus got off for I assume to spend several days. I sat with three very pleasant university students who were camping near Sudersand and had rented bicycles to cycle around the island for 4 or 5 days.
From Sudersand, the bus makes a short loop to the north tip of the island returning to Sudersand where the bus became full again.
Ingmar Bergman. If you are a movie buff you’ll love Fårö as it is the former home of world famous Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman.
Digerhuvud Sea Stacks (Rauks). The largest area of stacks is along a 3.5km stretch of coast on the northwest part of Fårö, Here the stacks are giant natural limestone pillars dotitng the coastline.
Gotska Sandön National Park
Vikings. Gotland was a major Viking trading settlement and a visit to Tofta Viking Village and its 10th century Viking village tells the Viking story wonderfully. You also get to throw axes, bake Viking bread and shoot bows and arrows etc.

I stayed on the bus and returned to Visby arriving at 15:08 and had a quick walk through the town entering at the Dalmen Tower just above the church. There are some great church ruins.
The ferry with 1500 passengers arrived back on the mainland at 19:20, I visited the Lidl store and drove to Skogskyrkogården, a WHS listed cemetery in south Stockholm. There was a McDonalds near and I slept there hoping for a good night as I have a huge day in Stockholm.

NOMAD MANIA Sweden – Gotland (Visby)
World Heritage Sites: Hanseatic Town of Visby
Islands
Farö
Gotland
Borders: Sweden (sea border/port)
XL: Gotska Sandön
Museums: Vibble: Bilmuseum Gotland
House Museums/Plantations: Burgsvik: Museum Lars Jonsson
Festivals
Medieval Week on Gotland
Visby: Almedalsveckan
Experiences
Play Brännboll
Play/hear drejelire/nyckelharpa
Beaches: Sudersand (Faro)
Caves: Lummelunda Cave
Open-Air Museums: Farosund: Bungemuseet

Villages and Small Towns:
VISBY
Airports: Visby (VBY)
Museums: Gotland Museum
Religious Temples: St. Mary’s Cathedral
Botanical Gardens: DBW’s Botanical Garden

GOTLAND
Gotland is a province, county, municipality, and diocese of Sweden. It is Sweden’s largest island. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the north, as well as the Karlsö Islands (Lilla and Stora) to the west. The population is 58,595, of which about 23,600 live in Visby, the main town. The island of Gotland and the other areas of the province of Gotland make up less than one percent of Sweden’s total land area.
The island’s main sources of income are agriculture along with food processing, tourism, information technology services, design, and some heavy industry such as concrete production from locally mined limestone. From a military viewpoint, it occupies a strategic location in the Baltic sea. As of 2018 the Gotland Regiment has been re-raised and is the first time since World War II that a new regiment has been established in Sweden.
HISTORY
Prehistoric time to Viking Age. The island is the home of the Gutes, and sites such as the Ajvide Settlement show that it has been occupied since prehistory. A DNA study conducted on the 5,000-year-old skeletal remains of three Middle Neolithic seal hunters from Gotland showed that they were related to modern-day Finns, while a farmer from Gökhem parish in Västergötland on the mainland was found to be more closely related to modern-day Mediterraneans. This is consistent with the spread of agricultural peoples from the Middle East at about that time.
The number of Arab dirhams discovered on the island of Gotland alone is astoundingly high. In the various hoards located around the island, there are more of these silver coins than at any other site in Western Eurasia. The total sum is almost as great as the number that has been unearthed in the entire Muslim world. These coins moved north through trade between Rus merchants and the Abbasid Caliphate, along the Silver-Fur Road, and the money made by Scandinavian merchants would help northern Europe, especially Viking Scandinavia and the Carolingian Empire, as major commercial centers for the next several centuries.
The Berezan’ Runestone, discovered in 1905 in Ukraine, was made by a Varangian (Viking) trader named Grani in memory of his business partner Karl. It is assumed that they were from Gotland.
The Mästermyr chest, an important artefact from the Viking Age, was found in Gotland.
Spillings Hoard. On 16 July 1999, the world’s largest Viking silver treasure, the Spillings Hoard, was found in a field at Spillings farm northwest of Slite. The silver treasure was divided into two parts weighing a total of 67 kg (148 lb) and consisted mostly of coins, about 14,000, from foreign countries, mostly Islamic. It also contained about 20 kg of bronze objects along with numerous everyday objects such as nails, glass beads, parts of tools, pottery, iron bands and clasps. The treasure was found by using a metal detector, and the finders fee, given to the farmer who owned the land, was over 2 million kronor (about US$308,000). The treasure was found almost by accident while filming a news report for TV4 about illegal treasure hunting on Gotland.
Middle Ages. Early on, Gotland became a commercial center, with the town of Visby the most important Hanseatic city in the Baltic Sea.
The city of Visby and rest of the island were governed separately, and a civil war caused by conflicts between the German merchants in Visby and the peasants they traded with in the countryside had to be put down by King Magnus III of Sweden in 1288. In 1361, Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark invaded the island. About 1,500 Gotlandic farmers were killed by the Danish invaders after massing for battle at Mästerby. The Victual Brothers occupied the island in 1394 to set up a stronghold as a headquarters of their own in Visby. At last, Gotland became a fief of the Teutonic Knights, awarded to them on the condition that they expel the piratical Victual Brothers from their fortified sanctuary. An invading army of Teutonic Knights conquered the island in 1398, destroying Visby and driving the Victual Brothers from Gotland. In 1409, Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen of the Teutonic Knights guaranteed peace with the Kalmar Union of Scandinavia by selling the island of Gotland to Queen Margaret of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
The authority of the landsting was successively eroded after the island was occupied by the Teutonic Order, then sold to Eric of Pomerania and after 1449 ruled by Danish governors. Early modern period. Since the Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645, the island has remained under Swedish rule.
On 19 September 1806, the Swedish government offered sovereignty of Gotland to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, who had been expelled from Malta in 1798, but the Order rejected the offer since it would have meant renouncing their claim to Malta. The Order never regained its territory, and eventually it reestablished itself in Rome as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
On 22 April 1808, during the Finnish War between Sweden and Russia, a Russian army landed on the southeastern shores of Gotland near Grötlingbo. Under command of Nikolai Andreevich Bodisko 1,800 Russians took the city of Visby without any combat or engagement, and occupied the island. A Swedish naval force rescue expedition was sent from Karlskrona under the command of admiral Rudolf Cederström with 2,000 men; the island was liberated and the Russians capitulated. Russian forces left the island on 18 May 1808.
GEOGRAPHY
Gotland is Sweden’s largest island, and it is the largest island fully encompassed by the Baltic Sea (with Denmark’s Zealand at the Baltic’s edge). With its total area of 3,183.7 km2, the island of Gotland and the other areas of the province of Gotland make up 0.8% of Sweden’s total land area. The province includes the small islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the north, as well as the Karlsö Islands, (Lilla and Stora) to the west, which are even smaller. The island of Gotland has an area of 2,994 km2
Gotland is located about 90 km east of the Swedish mainland and about 130 km from the Baltic states, Latvia being the nearest. Gotland is the name of the main island, but the adjacent islands are generally considered part of Gotland and the Gotlandic culture.
There are several shallow lakes located near the shores of the island. The biggest is Lake Bästeträsk, located near Fleringe in the northern part of Gotland.
The Hoburg Shoal bird reserve is situated on the southern tip of the island.
The highest point of the island is Lojsta Hed which stands 82 m (269 ft) above sea level.
Climate. Gotland has a semi-continental variety of a marine climate. This results in larger seasonal differences than typical of marine climates in spite of it being surrounded by the Baltic Sea for large distances in all directions. This is due to strong continental winds travelling over the sea from surrounding great landmasses.
Geology. Gotland is made up of a sequence of sedimentary rocks of a Silurian age, dipping to the south-east. The main Silurian succession of limestones and shales comprises thirteen units spanning 200 to 500 m of stratigraphic thickness, being thickest in the south, and overlies a 75 to 125 m thick Ordovician sequence.
It was deposited in a shallow, hot and salty sea, on the edge of an equatorial continent. The water depth never exceeded 175 to 200 m and shallowed over time as bioherm detritus, and terrestrial sediments, filled the basin. Reef growth started in the Llandovery, when the sea was 50 to 100 m, and reefs continued to dominate the sedimentary record. Some sandstones are present in the youngest rocks towards the south of the island, which represent sand bars deposited very close to the shore line.
The lime rocks have been weathered into characteristic karstic rock formations known as rauks. Fossils, mainly of crinoids, rugose corals and brachiopods, are abundant throughout the island; palæo-sea-stacks are preserved in places.
ECONOMY
The island’s main sources of income are agriculture along with food processing, tourism, IT solutions, design and some heavy industry such as concrete production from locally mined limestone. Most of Gotland’s economy is based on small scale production. In 2012, there were over 7,500 registered companies on Gotland. 1,500 of these had more than one employee. Gotland has the world’s northernmost established vineyard and winery, located in Hablingbo.
Tourism. The first modern day tourists came to Gotland during the 19th century and were known as “bathers”. Gotland became very popular with socialites at the time through Princess Eugenie who lived in Västerhejde, in the west part of the island from the 1860s.
When a new law ensuring two weeks vacation for all employees in Sweden was passed in 1938, camping became a popular pastime among the Swedes, and in 1955, Gotland was visited by 80,000 people. In the 1970s mostly young people were attracted to Gotland. Since 2010 the island has become a more versatile vacation spot visited by people from all over the world, in all manner of ways.
In 2001 it was the fifth largest tourist destination in Sweden based on the total number of guest nights. Gotland is usually the part of Sweden which receives the most hours of sunlight during a year with Visby statistically the location with the most sunshine in Sweden. In 2007 approximately 750,000 people visited Gotland.
In 1996, for the first time, ferries between Gotland and mainland Sweden carried more than 1 million passengers in a year. In 2007, the number of passengers exceeded 1.5 million. In 2012, the ferries had 1,590,271 passengers and the airlines 327,255 passengers.
The main port of call on Gotland is Visby. The city is visited by a number of cruise ships every year. About 40 cruise lines frequent the Baltic sea with Visby as one of their destinations. In 2005, 147 ships docked at Visby, in 2010 the number was 69. In 2014, 62 ships are scheduled to visit Visby. The decrease in visiting ships is due to the fact that the modern cruise ships are too large to enter Visby harbor. Ships must anchor a fair distance from shore whereupon passengers are shuttled to shore in small boats, which is not possible during bad weather. In 2007, the first proposition for building a new pier at Visby harbor, large enough to serve the modern cruise ships, was made.
CULTURE
A number of stones with grooves exist on Gotland. Archaeologists interpret these grooves as traces of an unknown industrial process in the High Middle Ages. There are approximately 3,700 grinding grooves, of which about 750 occur in the solid limestone outcrop and the rest in other rock formations,
The Medieval town of Visby has been entered as a site of the UNESCO World heritage program. An impressive feature of Visby is the fortress wall that surrounds the old city, dating from the 13th century.
The inhabitants of Gotland traditionally spoke their own language, known as Old Gutnish. Today however, that language has become a Swedish dialect known as Gutnish. In the 13th century, a work containing the laws of the island, called “the Gotlandic law” (Gutalagen), was published in Old Gutnish, as well as the Gutasaga.
Gotland is noted for its 94 Medieval churches, most of which are restored and in active use. These churches exhibit two major styles of architecture: Romanesque and Gothic. The older churches were constructed in the Romanesque style from 1150–1250. The newer churches were constructed in the Gothic architectural style that prevailed from about 1250–1400. The oldest painting inside one of the churches on Gotland stretches as far back in time as the 12th century.
Traditional games of skill like Kubb, Pärk, and Varpa are played on Gotland. They are part of what has become called “Gutniska Lekar”, and are performed preferably on the Midsummer’s Eve celebration on the island, but also throughout the summer months. The games have widespread renown; some of them are played by people as far away as in the United States.
The knotwork design subsequently named the “Valknut” has the most attested historic instances on picture stones in Gotland, which include being on both the Stora Hammars I and the Tängelgårda stones. Gotland also has a rich heritage of folklore, including myths about the bysen, Di sma undar jordi, Hoburgsgubben and the Martebo lights.
Gotland gives its name to the traditional farmhouse ale Gotlandsdricka, a turbid beer with much in common with Finnish sahti, and related beers from the Baltic states.

SWEDEN – Gotland (Visby)

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