Visby City Wall

Visby, Sweden

The City wall of Visby (Swedish: Visby ringmur) is an old medieval defensive wall surrounding the city. The building of ringwall was probably started in the 13th century. Around 1280 it was rebuilt to reach its current height, along with the addition of its characteristic towers (although some towers were not constructed until the 15th century) It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Visby. The war in 1288 between the citizens of Visby and the Danish army gave the citizens of Visby a reason to continue the work with the wall. All together the city wall became 3.4 km, and it was finished in the beginning of the 14th century. At the time, the wall contained 29 towers, 27 of which are remaining today.

During the 1361 Battle of Visby, the main battle was fought within 300 meters of the North Gate of Visby (shown on the right). The peasant forces were ultimately unsuccessful, however, resulting in the citizens of Visby surrendering to the Danish forces.

References:

Comments

Your name



Address

Norra Murgatan, Visby, Sweden
See all sites in Visby

Details

Founded: 13th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Carlos Contreras (14 months ago)
The earliest history of Visby is uncertain, but it is known to have been a centre of merchandise around 900 AD. It was inhabited as early as the Stone Age, probably because of the access to fresh water and a natural harbour. In the 12th century, Visby Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Mary, was constructed.
TheChocolateAnn (14 months ago)
Nice weather. Feel like an outdoor museum, informative narrations provided nearby towers and wall. An amazing combination between the preserved inner town and the shopping malls/ outlets outside the walls.
Z Baghestani (16 months ago)
It's like they build a beautiful European village inside a castle. I loved walking around the alleys and enjoyed local shops and restaurants and cafe and overall vibes.
niloofar hayati (17 months ago)
It is quite an impressive wall and should see place!
Vadim Solodukhin (19 months ago)
The walls are in great shape. Once a year Visby hosts an excellent medieval fair within these walls, one of the largest I ever seen.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

La Hougue Bie

La Hougue Bie is a Neolithic ritual site which was in use around 3500 BC. Hougue is a Jèrriais/Norman language word meaning a \'mound\' and comes from the Old Norse word haugr. The site consists of 18.6m long passage chamber covered by a 12.2m high mound. The site was first excavated in 1925 by the Société Jersiaise. Fragments of twenty vase supports were found along with the scattered remains of at least eight individuals. Gravegoods, mostly pottery, were also present. At some time in the past, the site had evidently been entered and ransacked.

In Western Europe, it is one of the largest and best preserved passage graves and the most impressive and best preserved monument of Armorican Passage Grave group. Although they are termed \'passage graves\', they were ceremonial sites, whose function was more similar to churches or cathedrals, where burials were incidental.