- Briefly the history of Gotland and Visby
- Visby as a holiday town
- The Medieval Week
- The Port of Visby
- Almedalen
- The alleys
- S:ta Maria Domkyrka
- The Grand Square
- The ruins
- The Botanical Garden
- The ring wall and three tower gates
- Visborg Castle
- Visby Prison
Visby as a holiday town
Gotland is ninety kilometers off the Swedish coast and one can only be charmed by the island with the beautiful little medieval town with its nearly 800 year old, but still oh-so stately, ring wall. A confirmation of its historical value was received in 1995 when UNESCO added the town to the World Heritage List. Visby is also called the Town of Roses and Ruins, and it’s no wonder as it really blooms in the spring. However, Visby has something to offer even in seasons other than summer, so take the opportunity to see the town when there are fewer tourists here. What we enjoy most in Visby is walking in the alleys and looking into small shops or just sit down to eat or drink something tasty while watching tourists stroll by.
The Medieval Week
Annually since 1984, with interruption only for Covid-19, the Medieval Week has been held in Visby and other places on Gotland during week 32 in August. It’s truly a trip back in time and many visitors come dressed in medieval clothes and can give vent to fantasies about being a jester or a knight. While some appreciate that history is highlighted a little extra during this week, others think it’s too touristy.
The Port of Visby
There’s an airport just outside Visby, but the majority of visitors and residents of Gotland come to the island by ferry from the mainland. We start from the harbour area, which is adjacent to the old town, and depending on the season, it can be a cooling place or a blow hole with freezing winds.
Almedalen
Not so far from the current harbour is Almedalen (The Elm Valley), which actually was the medieval harbour in Visby. Then the seawater went all the way to the sea wall which today can be seen along the northeastern side of Almedalen. From the 16th century, the old harbour became shallower and for larger boats the area at the current harbour was beginning to be built instead. Almedalen was drained in the middle of the 19th century and thereafter only the current harbour was used. Around Almedalen, it’s mostly quiet to stroll around the small artificial lake, with exceptions however, when people gather here, for example, to celebrate Walpurgis Night or when it’s the Politicians’ Week in Visby.
The alleys
Inside the ring wall of Visby there are countless alleys, that are more or less easily accessible as most of them are paved with cobblestones and there’s a significant difference in level from the harbour to the ring wall. During the 18th century, the house owners were forced to wall in their plots and when you walk in the alleys you’ll see that the majority of these walls are still there today. In the 1860s, some buildings were demolished to create wider streets and more open spaces with more greenery. Below we’ll walk the most popular alleys, which are more like small cobbled streets. Keep in mind that in Visby there’re many small charming hidden alleys that you’ve to see to really experience the medieval feel of the town.
Hamngatan, Hästgatan and Adelsgatan
Most people who come to Visby take their first steps from the harbour toward east on Hamngatan (Harbour Street) and further up the hill on Hästgatan (Horse Street) that leads to Österport (East Gate). Another main street is Adelsgatan (Noble Street), which runs through the upper part of the city between Hästgatan and Södertorg (South Square), next to Söderport (South Gate). Adelsgatan meets Hästgatan in the middle of the cobbled town at the same place where Vårdklockegatan (Care Mountain Heel Street) meets Hästgatan. Just above that place on Adelsgatan is Bodega, which is one of our favorite restaurants. From the Bodega outdoor dining area or if you walk on Vårdklockegatan you get a wonderful view of the rooftops in the lower part of Visby.
S:t Hansgatan
Right through the lower part of the town runs S:t Hansgatan (S:t Hans Street), which passes most of the church ruins that still remain as a reminder of Visby’s Golden Middle Ages. In addition to old church ruins, which you can read more about further down, there are some of Visby’s most charming neighborhoods along S:t Hansgatan. Where S:t Hansgatan crosses Hästgatan perhaps the most popular café in Visby is found, with the same name as the street, S:t Hans Cafe. Further away on St Hansgatan, almost before you get to the Botanic Garden, is the Gotland’s Brewery, which is well worth a tour. A real favorite in Visby is a few houses away, the Black Sheep Arms, a pub with a wonderfully wooden British feel.
Norra Murgatan
Between Österport (East Gate) and Norrport (North Gate) is Norra Murgatan (Northern Wall Street), which for many is the most charming alley in the town. It was here on Norra Murgatan, between the low medieval houses with lots along the ring wall, that Pippi Longstocking rode her horse during her visit in Visby. Look into the small yards along the ring wall and don’t miss the charming old fire station at Klinttorget (Cliff Square).
Strandgatan
Strandgatan (Shore Street) was the main street that in the Middle Ages ran along, exactly, the shore and closest to the old harbour at Almedalen. Even today, the street has been allowed to retain its history and it is mainly visible in the houses that stand along this wonderful street. At the crossing to Lybska gränd (Lübeck Alley) stands Gamla apoteket (the Old Pharmacy) and at Bremergränd (Bremer Alley) stands Liljehornska huset (the Liljehorn House). The half-timbered house, or the so-called Gottvaldska huset (the Gottvald House), was built in the 16th century on S:t Hansgatan. It’s been saved by being moved from the place where Riksbankens hus (the National Bank’s House) was built in the early 20th century.
S:ta Maria Domkyrka
S:ta Maria Domkyrka (S:t Mary’s Cathedral) is the only church in Visby that survived the winds of the Reformation that blew over the Nordic countries at the beginning of the 16th century. Lucky it is, as the church is a magnificent building that is visible from the ferry when you arrive and that you regularly return to when you walk around the alleys. The church was built for the German and Gutnian population in the town and was then called Vår kära frus kyrka (Our Dear Lady’s Church). Although the church was consecrated in 1225, it was expanded in several stages over the following 200 years. It was only in 1572 that the church was designated as the cathedral for Visby diocese. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the towers were ravaged by fire and rebuilt to their present appearance, while the roof, floor and interior have been renovated in various stages during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Stora Torget
Finally, we must also visit Stora Torget (The Grand Square), which is only a few stones’ throw from S:ta Maria Domkyrka and next to Stora Torget stands the ruin of S:ta Karina. In almost every house around the square there are some of the most popular restaurants in Visby, so you just have to choose according to your taste. One of our favorite restaurants in Visby can be found here, and if you want a nice atmosphere with good food or purely Greek flavors on your holiday, we can recommend Nunnan (The Nun).
The ruins
In Wittenberg, Martin Luther had in the mid-1510s begun to question the Catholic Rome and the power of the Pope. The ideas of the Reformation came to the Nordic countries and the Nordic kings saw their chance to weaken the power of the church. The Reformation meant that the Nordic Churches broke away from Rome and had to hand over church silver and other riches to the government. All the churches in Visby, except the still stately S:ta Maria Domkyrka, were therefore abandoned during the 1530s. When the church buildings fell into disrepair, they also began to be used as warehouses and storage places for animals. In the 18th century the citizens also began to loot the ruins for stone to be used as building material for new constructions in the town, but fortunately this was stopped in the 19th century. Therefor, inside Visby’s ring wall there are a dozen ruins of medieval churches. All church ruins can be seen from the outside and several can also be seen from the inside, while some are locked for various reasons. Remember to go by at dawn or dusk when light and shadows around the ruins create a very special atmosphere.
S:ta Karina
S:ta Karina’s ruin by Stora Torget, was formerly called S:ta Katarina after the saint Catherine of Alexandria, who was martyred when she had refused the courtship of the Roman Emperor Maxentius. The church was built in the first half of the 13th century by the Franciscan monks or Gray monks, although they called themselves brothers and the nuns sisters. Soon the monks realized that the church was big enough, so at the beginning of the 14th century they began to expand the church to the exterior that we can see today. However, the construction would be delayed by almost 100 years when the plague hit Visby around 1350 and the town was occupied 11 years later by the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag and a vault collapse occurred in 1402. During the 1540s another collapse occurred which led to the church being abandoned and falling into disrepair during the next 300 years before the ruin was cleaned up and opened to the public in the late 19th century. On the west side at Katarinagatan (the Katarina Street), there’s a gate to the church’s backyard with a vaulted stone slab with a majuscule script, ancient capitals in Latin. No one has definitely succeeded in deciphering what’s written there.
S:t Nicolai
S:t Nicolai was destroyed by a fire in about 1220 during its construction. What was subsequently restored was only used as a convent building, corresponding to an open monastery church, for Dominican monks. During the attack of the Lübeckers in 1525, the S:t Nicolai was burned. Since 2012 the ruin is no longer open to the public, but is used as a concert and event venue, see more at Kultudralen.
Helgeand
The ruin after the church of Helgeand, or Helige Ande (Church of the Holy Spirit), was different as the nave was octagonal, an octagon, and had two floors. There are several question marks surrounding background of the church, but it was probably used as a hospital church for the poor and old. Probably it was the Livonia Brothers of the Sword from nowadays Latvia, led by Bishop Albert of Riga, who started the construction, and the Teutonic Order that completed the work in the middle of the 13th century.
S:t Hans and S:t Per
At the ruins of S:t Hans’s church today there is S:t Hans Café, probably Visby’s most popular café, and there you can also enjoy simpler meals. If you sit in the garden, you can look out over what remains of the ruins after the churches of S:t Hans and S:t Per. As early as 1060, the first stone church at S:t Hans had been built and approximately 100 years later S:t Per was built. During the 13th and 14th centuries, S:t Hans was expanded and the church eventually also got a common wall with S:t Per. During the 1530s, there were concerns that the enemy could raise cannons in the church towers and from there shell the Visborg Castle, which was located 300 meters to the south. Therefore, it was decided to tear down the church towers so that only the houses remained. Later in the 16th century, stone from the ruins began to be used for new buildings in Visby, and from the 1650s the church ruins are no longer on maps of Visby. It isn’t until the beginning of the 20th century that people start to take an interest in excavating what remains of the ruins, which then were beneath centuries of rubble, rubbish and animal excrement. Thank God they did it, so that we can rest our feet in this green oasis while enjoying the historical surroundings.
Drotten and S:t Lars
Could discord between two sisters be the reason why there are two church ruins on each side of Syskongatan (Siblings Street) in Visby? According to legend, it is so because they didn’t want to go to church services in the same church. What’s known is that S:t Lars has also been called S:t Anna and was completed around 1220. Drotten (The God or the King) has also been called S:t Trinitatis or the Trinity Church and was built around 1240. Next to Drotten stands a statue of Christopher Polman, who was born on the northern part of Gotland and whose parents had a home near Drotten. He’s known for a lot of inventions and works that he undertook and perhaps best known for the Polhem lock at the Old Town in Stockholm, which was completed in 1755 or almost 4 years after his death.
S:t Clemens
Next to the Botanical Garden in Visby stands the magnificent church ruin of S:t Clemens, which dates from the middle of the 13th century, but there was already a wooden church on the site about 200 years earlier. The church was named after Pope Clement I, who had been sentenced to penal servitude on the Crimean peninsula. His legend has it that he, in the year 99, was tied to an anchor and sunk into the Black Sea, were he met his death and subsequently became the patron saint of sailors. The ruin has been managed for many years by the S:t Clemens Hotel, which is right next door. The ruin can be visited via the hotel’s garden and is also used through the hotel’s facilities for events such as weddings and concerts.
S:t Olof
The ruins of S:t Olof’s church are located within the area that is the Botanical Garden in Visby. It’s said that the Norwegian king Olof II, also known as Olof the Holy, came to Gotland with Christianity in 1030s. In his honor, the stone church S:t Olof was built 200 years later and today you can only see the ruins of a tower. In contrast, almost 800 years ago, S:t Olof’s church was one of the largest and most lavish in Visby. After all, the ruin’s worth a stop where it stands with flamboyant greenery and ivy.
The Botanical Garden
If you want to see more plants and greenery, you’re in the right place as DBW’s Botaniska trädgård (Botanical Garden) was established here in 1855 and is still today a green oasis for Visby residents as well as for tourists. In the garden there’s Solvisarplan (Solar Visor Place), an arc-shaped plan with stone pillars shaped like a sundial. The Rosary also begins here and stretches across terraces with roses up to a gazebo on a small hill where you can enjoy the garden from above and in the shade of the gazebo.
The ring wall and three tower gates
Until the 14th century, Gotland was its own republic but felt the threat of invasion from other countries and was also threatened by raids by pirates, who then ravaged the Baltic Sea. In addition, the citizens of Visby were in conflict with the rural population, who had been displaced from their old trading places after trade agreements with the Hanseatic League. These must have been reasons to why the citizens of Visby started building the ring wall and the first part that was built was the wall on the sea side. The sea wall was completed around 1260 and retains its original height of around 5 meters although nowadays only about three meters of the wall is visible. The sea wall’s most clearly visible along the northeastern part of Almedalen and if you continue the promenade north. About 10 years later, they began to build the wall on the land side, which was completed in about 1288, which then was as high as the Sea wall. At the beginning of the 14th century, the citizens of Visby decided to raise the land wall to about 10-11 meters. The reinforced ring wall was completed around 1350 and then had 29 ground towers, of which 27 remain, and 22 saddle towers, of which only 9 remain. The ring wall of Visby has three main gates, Söderport (South Gate), Österport (East Gate) and Norderport (North Gate) through three larger towers, as well as a number of smaller gates through the wall. The different parts of the wall have similarly been named after the proximity to the sea, Sjömuren (the Sea Wall) and Strandmuren (the Shore Wall), and the different directions Nordermur (North Wall), Östermur (East Wall) and Södermur (South Wall).
Kruttornet
The oldest known building in Visby is Kruttornet (the Gunpowder Tower), which’s located where the old harbour used to be next to Almedalen, and was built in the 1150s. Then Krutornet stood on the northern side and defended the old harbour and another tower stood on the southern side, by Visborg Castle. The tower has had several different names, for example Lammtornet (the Lamb Tower), and during the 17th century also functioned as a prison and then under the name Fängelsetornet (the Prison Tower). It was during the 18th century, when gunpowder was stored in this tower, that it was named Kruttornet.
Sjömuren and Strandmuren
Sjömuren (The Sea Wall) was the first part of the wall to be built in the early 13th century, but the southern part of this wall, closest to the harbour, no longer exists. Along the sea wall in the Middle Ages there were piers and to get to the piers and the boats there were pier gates in the wall. From Stora strandporten (Great Shore Gate) next to Donnersplatsen (The Donner’s Place), you can follow Sjömuren northwards past Kruttornet (The Gunpowder Tower) and continue the promenade along the shore and the wall there, is called Strandmuren (The Shore Wall).
Kärleksporten
Here along Strandmuren you’ll pass by Kärleksporten (The Love Gate), which was originally a demolished part of the wall that the town’s fishermen used to get to their boats. DBW (De Badande Wännerna or The Bathing Friends), who had laid out the Botanical Garden, transformed the razed part into a beautiful portal towards the promenade and the sea. The fishermen had previously tarred ropes on the inside of the wall, which is why the hole then was called Tjärporten (the Tar Gate), which later got, in Swedish similar but, the more romantic name Kärleksporten.
Jungfrutornet
Jungfrutornet (the Maiden Tower) got its name from a legend about a young woman who allegedly betrayed the people of Visby to the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag in 1361. As punishment it’s said, she was walled up alive in the tower when it was built, and you can still hear her wailing at night. There’s also a legend about a nun who had difficulty keeping herself from the lusts of life and as punishment was walled up in the tower. Or could there be two walled in maidens?
Silverhättan and Snäckgärdstornet
When you reach the end of Strandmuren, you’ve the Silverhättan (the Silver Hood) in the corner where the wall changes its name to Nordermur and there you can continue to Snäckgärdstornet (the Shell Fence Tower). The wall along the sea only had a few towers when it was built, but in the 15th century these two towers were built, as well as Sprundflaskan (the Slit Bottle), which is a little south of Silverhättan. Here, they’ve reconstructed how the wall may once have looked when it was a defensive structure for the medival town. If you wish, you can also go up and enjoy the view north towards the other towers.
Nordermur
Nordermur (North Wall) with Nordergravarna (the North moats) is appreciated in the summer as a green and leafy oasis, but the hills are also appreciated by children of Visby and even the elderly as sledding hills in the winter. There are several demolished parts of the wall between Snäckgärdsporten and Långa Lisa (Tall Lisa), the tower before Norderport. They were probably caused by saddle towers that collapsed and took the upper part of the wall with them. This part of the wall also holds an exciting history as Lübeckerbräschen (the Lübecker Breach), a demolished part of the ring wall, is located closest to Snäckgärdsporten. It’s said that the Lübeckers attacked Visby through that breach and you can read more about it here Briefly the history of Gotland and Visby.
S:t Göransporten and S:t Görans kyrkoruin
From the end of the 13th century, S:t Göransporten (S:t George’s Gate) led out to S:t Göran’s sjukhus (S:t George’s Hospital) and S:t Görans kyrka (S:t George’s Church), the town’s hospital and church for leprous sick, which of course had been placed with some distance outside the ring wall. The hospital was used until the 16th century, while the adjacent cemetery was also used to bury victims of plague and cholera that the town suffered during the 18th and 19th centuries. Only the church ruins remain together with some tombstones of cholera victims in the 19th century, but nothing remains of the old hospital. The upper part of the wall on either side of S:t Göranstornet (S:t George’s Tower) has collapsed when the saddle towers, that were here until the first half of the 19th century, fell down. Today there’s a beautiful little stone bridge outside S:t Göransporten that leads over Nordergrav (North Moat) and on to a modern hospital, that was built about 100 meters from the old church ruin.
Norderport
Through Norderport is the only road on the north side where you can drive into the old town and the gate also marks the end of Nordermur. Between the tower at Norderport and a tower to the southeast (to the left if you stand on the outside of Norderport) you can see a small part of the old wall with the original height. That part of the wall was in risk of collapsing at the beginning of the 20th century, which is why it was saved by removing the elevated part.
Dalmanstornet
A 17 meter high tower was built on the Östermuren in the 14th century to monitor Östergravarna (East Moats). However, it was only in 1784 that the tower got a gable roof. It was in connection with crop failure on Gotland due to long and cold winters that the tower was converted into a granary. The deputy governor of the time, L R Dalman, took the initiative and the tower has since been called Dalmanstornet (the Dalman’s Tower). There’s a gate through the tower and outside the tower there’s a wooden bridge that allows you to cross Östergraven.
Saddle tower
Of the original 22 saddle towers on the ring wall, only 9 remain and in several places where saddle towers have been there are now gaping holes in the wall. Over time, the load on the wall has increased as a saddle tower has begun to tilt and eventually collapse, each time taking an upper half of the wall with it. In 1867, it was close to another saddle tower collapsing, but thanks to the initiative of prudent people, iron supports were put down, which can still be seen today at Östergravar.
Österport och Östergravar
Österport (East Gate) was the road to Visby that merchants from the countryside during the Middle Ages usually used. Nowadays Österport is used to get to Östercentrum (East Centre) where modern shopkeepers have their shops and even Systembolaget (the Liquor store) has its shop here outside the ring wall. There’s something special about walking in Östergravar (East moat), the shallow moat on the eastern side of the wall, when the morning sun from the illuminates the outside of the wall.
Kvarntornet
All the towers in the ring wall are angular except Kvarntornet (the Mill Tower) which has a unique rounded shape on the outside. The tower was used as a mill from at least the 17th century and the next two centuries thereafter. In the 18th century, a gabled roof was built on the tower, but in 1849 the upper part of the wall next to the tower collapsed. In 1888, instead, an opening was created in the wall by removing the rest of the razed part of the wall as well as the stairs that led to the door higher up in the tower.
Tjärkokeriet
Many of the ships that came to Visby from the 15th century to the 20th century have certainly been moored at Visby harbour with ropes that have been impregnated with tar from Tjärkokeriet (the Tar Boiler’s House), that was in the small house next to the tower of Stor Christin. The rectangular house was here before and became a natural part of the ring wall when it was built in the 14th century.
Kajsarn
Kajsartornet (the Emperor Tower), or Kajsarn (the Emperor) as it’s more commonly known as, is the second oldest tower in the ring wall and is truly imperial. When the Danish conquerors left Visby for the last time in 1679, they blew up the Castle of Visborg and thus also the town’s prison. Therefore, in 1681, Kajsarn was converted into a prison tower and prisoners were held here for the following 200 years. Today there’s a small prison museum here that recalls the tower’s dark history.
Buildings in the wall
After Kajsarn and before you get to Söderport (South Gate), you pass a ground tower whose back side is more interesting. At the end of the 1790s, a barn with an attic storage was built there, which is attached to the wall, and nowadays the building is a restaurant. Then you come to a part of the wall where it bulge out and it’s the wall of a stone house that was built together with the wall in the 1280s. It’s the Muntheska huset (the Munthe House) or Huset med målningar (the House with Paintings), which can’t be visited, but it’s said to be a house with beautiful paintings from the 16th century. There have been plans to open up the building and its paintings to visitors, but so far it remains completely silent and anonymous. The last piece of the wall before Söderport is also interesting as it’s completely different from the rest of the ring wall. It’s said that it was outside this part of the wall that the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag in 1381 defeated and killed 1800 farmers outside the locked gate. After that, the citizens inside the wall capitulated and and paid a ransom so that the city would not be plundered. Atterdag also ordered that the original wall at the place to be torn down as a sign of defeat and then rebuilt according to his will.
Söderport
Östermur (East Wall) ends at Söderport (South Gate) and here begins Södermur (South Wall), the last part of the wall that was built down to the harbour, and then the ring wall was completed. Söderport is an important road in and out of the town and the adjacent Adelsgatan, which is the true tourist street with shops and businesses in almost every building. From the 1720s and a little over 150 years onwards, the Swedish Army used Södertorg (South Square), the area inside Söderport, as an exercise ground. When you walk from Söderport down along Artillerigatan (Artillery Street) and further towards the harbour, you pass the slightly more exclusive quarters of Visby.
Skansport och skansen Hafsfrun
Until the early 18th century, some believed in the ring wall’s defensive capabilities. Skansen Hafsfrun (Bastion Mermaid) was therefor built, where Skansport (Bastion Gate) is today, in 1712 when a Russian attack was feared after Charles XII’s setbacks in the war against our eastern neighbour. Next to the site of Skansen Hafsfrun, Mynttornet (the Coin Tower) had previously stood until 1679, when it was destroyed with the Visborg Castle.
Visborg Castle
Yes, but where’s the castle, many think who have heard of Visborg Castle. In fact, you can’t see much of the once so stately castle. The castle stood at the southern end of the ring wall overlooking the harbour and was probably started to be built by the Teutonic Order in the 15th century. The castle was then expanded by the exiled Union King Erik of Pomerania and Ivar Axelsson Tott, a Danish Council. They and other Danish Councils lived in the castle for more than the next 200 years and at the same time were engaged in piracy against merchant ships in the Baltic Sea. The castle with the associated chapel and Mynttornet (the Coin Tower) were blown up in 1679 when the Danes finally lost Gotland to Sweden, as the Danes didn’t want to hand over a defensive work to the enemy.
Visby Prison
At the end of the 1850s, the new prison of Visby was completed down by the harbour and the building was also called Sjumastarn (the Seven Masts), as its seven tall chimneys were visible upon arrival at the port. The prison was in operation until 1998 and has since been a hostel under the name Visby Fängelse (Visby Prison).
Few can leave Visby without a captivating feeling that entices you to come back again and again to the small medieval town…
