Visby, Gotland
Our morning was spent in contemplation of two major themes for the Baltic Region: the Vikings and the Hanseatic League. I gave a presentation entitled Scandinavia, the Baltic and Beyond: The Viking Explorers, which brought much discussion. Following this, Sisse Brimberg, one of our National Geographic colleagues, presented a superbly illustrated view on The Hanseatic League. All the time we were in discussion, we had been shadowing the west coast of Gotland approaching our berth in the city of Visby.
As we arrived in the wonderful medieval city, the drizzle of the morning had evaporated and the high limestone defensive walls glistened in bright sunshine once again! Guided walks were undertaken of the medieval city and its walls, which survive for over 3kms in length and in places almost to full height. They surround one of the best preserved medieval towns in Northern Europe. The narrow streets thread between houses with plastered frontages which we now easily recognise as being Hanseatic. Guild Members from Visby actually were responsible for setting up the Hanseatic trading Guilds in Riga and by the 1400s Visby had taken over from Lübeck as headquarters of the powerful merchant league.
Part of the visit to Visby included the fine Gotlands Fornsal (museum). We marvelled at the magnificent displays of Viking picture stones and rune stones, as well as huge quantities of silver, brought to Gotland in the Viking period from dozens of Eastern mints (including Basra, Baghdad as well as mints in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Iran).
700 Viking hoards of silver are known from the island, a new one being found each year through ploughing the fields! The largest find was made at Spillings in the north of Gotland in 1999 and weighed a total of 87 kgs, virtually 200 pounds!! The island was so wealthy in the Viking period because we think it acted as a toll for silver moving to Scandinavia across the Baltic from the silver-rich areas of the East.
Free time to visit the Botanical Gardens and of course the local handicraft shops rounded off this most perfect of days... and the sun was still shining!
