Visby, Gotland
The island of Gotland, strategically situated in the middle of the Baltic Sea, is an enchanting place. According to the thirteenth century Gutasaga, the island was once so bewitched that it sank into the sea by day and only to rise above the surface at night. Certainly, its shores have had a magnetic attraction for the diverse peoples of the Baltic down the centuries. The Kontsmuseum, center-piece of our morning walking tour of the island's capital city of Visby, has a wonderful archaeological collection, drawn from the hundreds of prehistoric sites on the island, the richest such area in Sweden. In the Viking Age Gotland was at the heart of a trading network that stretched from the Black Sea to Dublin, from Novgorod to Iceland. A glimpse of the huge fortunes amassed by the Viking traders of Gotland could be caught from hoards of gold and silver displayed in this extraordinary museum.
Outside, the narrow streets had wonderfully preserved buildings from the Hanseatic period, for Gotland continued to prosper as the Vikings were succeeded by this highly-organized association of Germanic traders for the first half of the second millennium. Narrow cobbled streets lined with timber-framed houses crowd between the sea front and the city walls, the latter dating from Hanseatic times and earning the town a place in the Unesco World Heritage listing. The town walls, some 3 miles long and 30 feet high, are second longest in Europe. Built to protest the city from the Danes, King Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark nevertheless succeeded in conquering the island in 1361, finally ending a long period of Baltic supremacy.
Today Visby is a delightfully civilized university town, its new library shared amicably between town and gown. Well-stocked cycle racks outside the library entrance testify to its popularity. During the afternoon, an underground tour of the Lummelunde caves was offered. The caves are a magnificent expression of the island's limestone scenery, providing a striking contrast with the granite scenery of Bornholm the previous day. For those who opted to explore Visby further in the afternoon, there was the reward of an impromptu organ recital in St Mary's Cathedral.
The island of Gotland, strategically situated in the middle of the Baltic Sea, is an enchanting place. According to the thirteenth century Gutasaga, the island was once so bewitched that it sank into the sea by day and only to rise above the surface at night. Certainly, its shores have had a magnetic attraction for the diverse peoples of the Baltic down the centuries. The Kontsmuseum, center-piece of our morning walking tour of the island's capital city of Visby, has a wonderful archaeological collection, drawn from the hundreds of prehistoric sites on the island, the richest such area in Sweden. In the Viking Age Gotland was at the heart of a trading network that stretched from the Black Sea to Dublin, from Novgorod to Iceland. A glimpse of the huge fortunes amassed by the Viking traders of Gotland could be caught from hoards of gold and silver displayed in this extraordinary museum.
Outside, the narrow streets had wonderfully preserved buildings from the Hanseatic period, for Gotland continued to prosper as the Vikings were succeeded by this highly-organized association of Germanic traders for the first half of the second millennium. Narrow cobbled streets lined with timber-framed houses crowd between the sea front and the city walls, the latter dating from Hanseatic times and earning the town a place in the Unesco World Heritage listing. The town walls, some 3 miles long and 30 feet high, are second longest in Europe. Built to protest the city from the Danes, King Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark nevertheless succeeded in conquering the island in 1361, finally ending a long period of Baltic supremacy.
Today Visby is a delightfully civilized university town, its new library shared amicably between town and gown. Well-stocked cycle racks outside the library entrance testify to its popularity. During the afternoon, an underground tour of the Lummelunde caves was offered. The caves are a magnificent expression of the island's limestone scenery, providing a striking contrast with the granite scenery of Bornholm the previous day. For those who opted to explore Visby further in the afternoon, there was the reward of an impromptu organ recital in St Mary's Cathedral.
