Visby Old Town

The town of Visby in Sweden was in 1995 chosen by UNESCO as one of the World Heritage Sites. The town has a city wall that is 3.4 kilometers long which was built from the 12th-14th century. It was the trading center in The Baltic sea, and a lot of mainly Germans and also people from other countries moved to Visby to be a part of this modern and wealthy and rich town. Visby had two mayors during the Medieval Times, one Gotlandic and one German, independent of the country of Sweden. Even the country side was really rich with its 91 medieval churches that are still in use. 3 churches on the countryside desert churches. An example is is the church of Eskelhem that was commissioned and built by only 6 rich farmers. And many churches hired stonemasons from Germany and painters from Italy. It is worse with the churches in Visby. King Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark invaded Gotland 1361 and plundered especially Visby. And the Danes stayed here for nearly 300 years. But before it happened Lübeck had taken over the role as the trading center. Many of the big churches are ruins today, because the peole in the town couldn't maintain them during the 15th-18th centuries, but many of the churches' roof arches are still there. Tody they are used for concerts, weddings and other things. It's only the German Dome church St. Maria that remains. The town is called 'the city of roses and ruins'. And we have of course our city wall. Gotland became a part of Sweden in 1645.

A lot of tourists visit Gotland, especially Visby, during the summer period. And they are several times more than the population of Gotland. Tourists from other parts of Sweden use to say that it's like coming to another country. The pubs and restaurants are crowded. Visby has most restaurants and pubs per capita in Sweden.

References:

• Göran Smitterlau

Address

Tage Cervins gata 5, Visby, Sweden

Details

Founded: 12th century to 14th century
Category: Historic city squares, old towns and villages in Sweden
Historical period: Viking Age (Sweden)