The Town of Visby

**Valus** · August 14, 2005, 02:50 PM

The town of Visby is situated on the island of Gotland and it is perhaps the most fantastic city in Sweden when it comes to beauty and historical importance, at least according to me.
It has one of the biggest city walls in Europe and has over 17 medieval churches which are still in a fairly good state and are open for visitorsm other than that there are many buildings from the middleages preserved through the centuries.
The town of Visby was 'founded' in the 12th century but it was on its peak of power in the 13th century when it was the leading member of Hansan trading Federation and probably the greatest city in the Baltic area during the first half of the 13th century.
The wall was built in the closing years of the 13th century and is about 3,4 km long.
Gotland was a part of the Swedish realm but acted as an independent trading republic with its own laws and tax system, the swedish king received almost no taxes from the island of Gotland since the inhabitants there paid very little in taxes.
As the 13th century drew on the relations between the burgers of Visby and all those outside of the city wall grew more tense due to the burgers unwillingness to let the peasents do their own trade inside the city.
This resulted in a civil war in 1288 and after some fighting peace was concluded whereas no side was the winner since the fighting had resulted in a stalemate.
In 1361 the danish king Valdemar Atterdag conquered the town of Visby after having fought his way through several hard battles against the peasents of Gotland and when he reached the walls the city surrendered due to their unwillingness to act without Hansans orders, by this time the city of Visby was in decline and it had lost much of its power to Lübeck and Riga.
It was held by the danes for about 300 years with some 'pauses' during the Kalmar Union and while it is now Swedish
some differences remains, mostly in dialect and the feeling of being somewhat of an outsider..
Kalmar Union

On a side note: Every summer, in the second week of august, Visby hosts a medieval week with tournaments and markets where most are dressed in medieval clothes. Medieval Week

More pictures of Visby!

**Odovacar** · December 21, 2005, 02:17 PM

Thid city is terribly beautifull...oh those lucky ones living in Visby!

**Valus** · December 21, 2005, 03:54 PM

A response!
I did not think such an event would be possible!
I thank you Odovacar for your reply...
Visby during the winter is wonderfull sight especially when one can watch the great city wall from your window while the snow is falling...

Unfortunently you cant see the wall in this photo but it is still beatifull in my opinion

**RZZZA** · December 21, 2005, 03:58 PM

Visby? Looks beautiful...but where is Visby? Is it, by any chance, South of Sweden and East of Denmark? The province was called Scania in MTW BKB, I believe...is that the general area of where Visby is located?

**Odovacar** · December 21, 2005, 04:00 PM

Oh, stop posting these pictures, I am already sick of envy.

I assume you live there....

**Valus** · December 21, 2005, 04:02 PM

Take a look at this map:

Gotland is the island to east, the fatter one..

Edit: Odovacar at the moment I am not living there but we are planning to move there in a couple of years from now... Most of my relatives on my fathers side comes from there and I have always felt a strong connection with that island and I visit it of course frequently..

**RZZZA** · December 21, 2005, 04:08 PM

I have always felt a strong draw towards islands, Ive wanted to visit Hawaii, Jamaica and the Bahamas ever since I could remember. But what is the climate like in Visby? I bet its awfully cold a lot...

**Valus** · December 21, 2005, 04:13 PM

It is of course cold during the winter, or more presiously oktober-may, and since it is right by the Baltic Sea it can get rather chilly..
But during the summer it can get rather hot, atleast to my standards, and then the 'chilly' winds from the sea will provide the highly wanted coolness ..
Trust me you dont want to miss visit the island of Gotland just because it can get cold sometimes..

**Joar** · December 21, 2005, 04:21 PM

The most fantastic city in Sweden is, of course, Gothenburg.

**Odovacar** · December 21, 2005, 04:21 PM

I was in Sweden somewhere under Stockholm. The place was named after Vikings...a village, but there are some place there named after vikings...
Almost everyone was blond there, and the bycicles were not locked. A safe village...We have brought honey from Hungary to that village. And there was a great lake before we reached that place, and we saw a single stonekeep, standing on the shore. Some notability, a noblesse lived there in the XVII century. I like that country very much, although in summer Sweden is hotter than you might expect.

**RZZZA** · December 21, 2005, 04:53 PM

Heh...Okay I want to visit sweden now. First Jamaica...then Sweden...then the Bahamas. Then maybe...Japan. I have a feeling that suddenly, I'd seem a lot more interesting and exotic in a place where the population is mostly black, or mostly all blonde haired. Suddenly my black hair or white skin looks pretty damn good in contrast, eh?

But Stockholm has to be one of the oldest and most famous cities in Europe. Ask the average guy on an American street what city they know exists in the baltics and many will say Stockholm first...its pretty famous...certainly much more famous than Copenhagen or Oslo.

**Legio XX Valeria Victrix** · December 21, 2005, 06:40 PM

Nice looking place!

**Joar** · December 22, 2005, 01:30 AM

No, actually Stockholm is a very young town, historically speaking not even close to the oldest ones in Sweden such as Lund, Skara and Uppsala etc. And it is a myth that Sweden has a lot of blonde people. Nowadays, with the MASSIVE immigration from the arab/persian parts of the world and Africa it is more rare to find a truly blond Scandinavian.

**Odovacar** · December 22, 2005, 06:22 AM

But what's about the original inhabitants?
Don't misunderstand me, it is not really important someone's hair color...
Ann Zacharias was so beautifull though

I'll bet there are plenty of gorgeous maiden there, so anyone hesitating to travel, shouldn't hesitate.

**Savage_Swede** · December 22, 2005, 06:40 AM

Originally Posted by RZZZA

Heh...Okay I want to visit sweden now. First Jamaica...then Sweden...then the Bahamas. Then maybe...Japan. I have a feeling that suddenly, I'd seem a lot more interesting and exotic in a place where the population is mostly black, or mostly all blonde haired. Suddenly my black hair or white skin looks pretty damn good in contrast, eh?

But Stockholm has to be one of the oldest and most famous cities in Europe. Ask the average guy on an American street what city they know exists in the baltics and many will say Stockholm first...its pretty famous...certainly much more famous than Copenhagen or Oslo.

Well dont come here for the weather...

If you do want to visit sweden you should visit in midsommer. Im not sure what other countries do in midsommer, but my family and relatives always celebrate with alot of booze

(mostly shnaps) and eat crayfish and wear funny hats.

**Samariten** · August 23, 2006, 04:15 AM

Visby is great been there 4 or 5 times really great in the summer to spend some vacation in

**Cavalier** · August 28, 2006, 09:13 AM

It's an amazing city, I live around 50 km from Gothenburg so it takes alot of travel for me to get there, but it was worth it.

**Bwaho** · August 28, 2006, 09:19 AM

I've visited visby several times, it's a really cosy town.

It's a summer city, meaning that a lot of people from the inland go there during the summers to drink and screw

**Hansa** · August 29, 2006, 02:23 PM

Why the fortifications? The city walls are very untypical for medieval Scandinavia. If I remember correctly Visby was the only Hanseatic league town outside the HRE, but still, great stone walls. Was the city often under attack, and if so from whom? Has it something to do with the Baltic crusades?

Great pics, very beautiful place

Mycket snygg stad.