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 (2 years 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 (2 years 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 (2 years 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 (2 years ago)
It is quite an impressive wall and should see place!
Vadim Solodukhin (2 years 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

Linderhof Palace

Linderhof is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed.

Ludwig II, who was crowned king in 1864, began his building activities in 1867-1868 by redesigning his rooms in the Munich Residenz and laying the foundation stone of Neuschwanstein Castle. In 1868 he was already making his first plans for Linderhof. However, neither the palace modelled on Versailles that was to be sited on the floor of the valley nor the large Byzantine palace envisaged by Ludwig II were ever built.

Instead, the new building developed around the forester's house belonging to his father Maximilian II, which was located in the open space in front of the present palace and was used by the king when crown prince on hunting expeditions with his father.