The History of Gotland

On the island of Gotland, the Middle Ages unite with the present to create an atmosphere that's truly unique. The special island countryside is as lovely as it's unusual, and the local culture is very much alive.

It is a place encrusted with runestones which are much older than the ones found in the Mälar Valley. The Swedish area with the highest concentration of runestones. The most renowned one is the Kylver-stone from Stånga, which is believed to be from the 4th century and depicts the first runic alphabet.

Quite early in history Gotland became a strategic place for merchants as well as a stronghold for pirates.
During early medieval times the island became relatively independent from the centralised power of Sweden but did in fact pay tribute to it. It was the divided into small parishes with a joint court for the entire area.
Later medieval times would instead bring rivalry between the influential German merchants of the city of Visby and domestic merchant peasants, which lead to civil war, which in turn was monitored by king Magnus Ladulås in 1288.

In 1361 Gotland was seized by the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag. It was not until 1645, at the peace of Brömsebro, that the island again became Swedish only to again be invaded by Danish forces in 1676.
This last siege only lasted for three years however when Gotland was finally recaptured by the Swedes after the Danish forces blew up Visborg castle before departure.

One of the main cities of Gotland has for the longest time been Visby, which is an extremely well-preserved medieval city with a network of narrow, cobbled streets with many ruins of old churches that give the city a wonderfully unique charm.
Five centuries ago the town of Visby was the centre of the Hanseatic League which was the most prominent network of trade cities of the time, with a list of about thirty independent cities cooperating. Visby port then became crucial in the routs to and from Scandinavia and one of the most prominent towns in the Baltic region.
It was therefore defended by a surrounding wall that featured no less than 50 towers. The defence wall was built to a length of 3.5 kilometers and still stands 11 meters tall. Within it the ruins of 23 churches and abbeys still stand.

For the lovers that visit the area the city also offers an amazing botanical garden which houses numerous domestic as well as imported flowers and trees.

In 1995 the city was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage for keeping its unique cultural ideals intact. It was believed to be "…an outstanding example of a Northern European walled Hanseatic town which has in a unique way preserved its townscape and its extremely valuable buildings, which in form and function clearly reflect this significant human settlement."


The Churches of Gotland

Gotland has a total of 92 churches and abbeys.
One of the most renowned ones is St Mary’s Cathedral which was originally built by German traders.

Another that is located in a particularly interesting area is the church of Tingstäde.
Built in about 1200 by master Calcarius, it is a piece of outstanding architectural engineering. Its tower has a stately Romanesque portal and galleries that were erected around the 1350’s, with upper storeys that were constructed in the following century.

The altar piece was finally added by Johan Weller in 1780 by Johan Weller, who later painted parapets, now hanging on the nave walls.




Bulverket in Tingstäde Marsh

Tingstäde Marsh is the one Swedish lake in which a great settlement has been found.
Bulverket, as it is called, is a massive wood construction found in the middle of the lake.
It consists of four long and rather narrow wooden platforms, which have a width of between 30 and 40 meters and a length of about 170 meters.
They have been placed in such a way that they form a square with only one corner open, for passage, while the entire construction is surrounded by poles that have been raised on the lake floor to act as protection from invaders.
Inside the square an open area is found, where smaller boats are believed to have been docked.

The platforms were held up, above water level, by a massive amount of log chests. Each one made of logs with a length of between five and eight meters.
In each end rectangular holes were carved out to fit through poles that would hold the chest together.

Dendrochronological dating, tree-ring dating, has established that Bulverket was built in a fairly short period. The oldest log found dates back to 1120 and the youngest is from 1129.