Trojaborg, Visby, Innerstaden, Sweden

The island of Gotland has many stone labyrinths, but the most famous is Trojaborg in Visby. It may have its origins in a pagan cult, but in more recent times it has been used for games and festivities.

User Reviews

Alex Pietrow (4 years ago)

Simon Grönlund (4 years ago)
En urgammal labyrint norr om Visby lasarett. Liknande trojaborgar finns på många platser, både i Sverige och andra länder och kontinenter. Se Wikipedia för mer info. Sommaren 2018 är Trojaborg utgångspunkten för en konstorientering på drygt 2 kilometer med 10 konstverk utplacerade i naturen. Följ kartan noga och undersök terrängen. Skanna QR-koden på kartan för lite tips om vad du letar efter. Inte handikappvänlig och passar inte för barnvagn och liknande. Barn som gillar att klättra och undersöka kommer att ha kul.

oscar knekta (5 years ago)

Xenodike 82 (5 years ago)

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright mike catalonian

Historic Site of the week

Arles Amphitheatre

The two-tiered Roman amphitheatre is probably the most prominent tourist attraction in the city of Arles, which thrived in Roman times. Built in 90 AD, the amphitheatre was capable of seating over 20,000 spectators, and was built to provide entertainment in the form of chariot races and bloody hand-to-hand battles. Today, it draws large crowds for bullfighting as well as plays and concerts in summer.

The building measures 136 m in length and 109 m wide, and features 120 arches. It has an oval arena surrounded by terraces, arcades on two levels (60 in all), bleachers, a system of galleries, drainage system in many corridors of access and staircases for a quick exit from the crowd. It was obviously inspired by the Colosseum in Rome (in 72-80), being built slightly later (in 90).

With the fall of the Empire in the 5th century, the amphitheatre became a shelter for the population and was transformed into a fortress with four towers (the southern tower is not restored). The structure encircled more than 200 houses, becoming a real town, with its public square built in the centre of the arena and two chapels, one in the centre of the building, and another one at the base of the west tower.

This new residential role continued until the late 18th century, and in 1825 through the initiative of the writer Prosper Mérimée, the change to national historical monument began. In 1826, expropriation began of the houses built within the building, which ended by 1830 when the first event was organized in the arena - a race of the bulls to celebrate the taking of Algiers.

Arles Amphitheatre is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with other Roman buildings of the city, as part of the Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments group.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Trojaborg, Visby

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Rhodes, The Island of Knights

Great Spa Towns of Europe

History of Guernsey & Jersey

Historic Site of the week

Arles Amphitheatre

Looks like you are a history fan!