medieval visby

..:: visby, gotland ::..

Visby was once a powerful Hanseatic port and its medieval wall is one of Europe’s best-preserved structures from the middle Ages. It was also put on Unesco’s World Heritage List as a unique cultural treasure. This picture dates from the Medieval Week in August 2001, during my first visit to Gotland, an island in the Baltic Sea situated off the south-east coast of Sweden.

Gotland was first discovered by a man named Tjelvar. At that time the island was bewitched so that it sank into the sea by day and rose again at night. But after Tjelvar brought fire to the island, it never again sank.

This is the account of the Guta Saga, a history of Gotland put down in writing in the 13th century. A visit to this unique place on earth will certainly tempt your mind to cast back in time.