Visby is the main city on the Swedish island of Gotland. The town’s early history is uncertain, but it is believed to have been a trading post since the 9th century. Visby developed rapidly in the 12th century to be an important port for the Hanseatic League, and many Germans lived in the city, which was protected by solid city walls against both landside and the sea in the 13th century. The city obtained privileges and free trade, and the merchants traded all over the Baltic Sea.
The Danish king conquered Visby in 1361, and in 1408 Visby and Gotland became part of the Kalmar Union, and the Danish era started a few decades later. With the Peace of Brömsebro in 1645, Visby was Swedish, but by this time the previously profitable trade had declined significantly. Wars and epidemics slowed new growth, and in 1720 there were approximately 1,200 people living in Visby. The 19th century started with a Russian conquest, but the century also initiated the city’s development of tourism and the preservation of the old town center and its impressive walls.
Today, Visby is a unique city with many attractions in the cozy streets. You can start a stroll on the square Stora Torget, which was laid out in the 14th century. On the square you can see Sankta Katarina Kyrkoruin, which is a beautiful ruin of a Franciscan church that was built from 1233. The church was destroyed after Lübeck’s attack on Visby in 1525. Close to the north of Stora Torget is another of the city’s many church ruins, Drotten’s Kyrkoruin, which is a former church from around 1240.
In the same part of Visby, you can visit Visby Domkyrka, which was originally built as a church for arriving German merchants with consecration in 1225. The building became a cathedral when the seat of Visby was established in 1572. The church’s appearance today comes partly from remodeling in the 18th century, when fires ravaged the towers, which had to be rebuilt in a new style.
The icon of Visby is the walls, that almost stand all the way around the city center. It was constructed with a height up to 11 meters high in the Middle Ages. The wall is the best-preserved city wall in Scandinavia, and it is part of Visby’s inclusion on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The ring wall was built in two stages in the 13th and 15th centuries with a total length of 3.6 kilometers.
There were 29 large towers and 22 so-called saddle towers along the walls. Most of the wall and its towers have been preserved to this day, and you can take a nice walk along the structure to enjoy the large engineering works and its city gates and impressive towers. One detail is that the wall is larger on the land side than towards the sea, which is because, it was erected to defend Visby against Gotland’s farmers as well.
You can also visit the Gotland Museum, which is an archaeological and cultural history museum. The museum has many interesting exhibitions, and this is where you can see the Spillingsskatten. It is a treasure considered the largest archaeological find from the Viking Age, and it was found in 1699 in northern Gotland. The museum also has a department for art, the Konstmuseet, which primarily exhibits contemporary art, handicrafts and design related to Gotland from the 19th century to the present day.
You can also take a walk a short distance from the northern part of the city walls. Here you will arrive at Galgberget, an area where you can see the preserved columns where the city’s gallows used to hang. It is believed that the gallows were in use until 1845, and at that time there was an unobstructed view of the site from the city and the sea, so that everyone could see the executed persons. Today, fortunately, it is quieter on Galgberget, where you can look over the sea and the countryside.
Stora Torget is Visby’s central square and has been the city’s most important trading square since the Middle Ages. The square is located in the older part of the city on the western slope of Domkyrkoberget, where it connects the most important neighborhoods in Visby. Originally, the area was part of the parish boundaries of Sankt Hans and Sankt Per, and the square gradually emerged in the 13th century, when trade moved from the port to the city.
Around the 14th century, Stora Torget developed into a market center, where Gotland farmers and Hanseatic merchants traded in grain, fish, furs and metal goods. The square was surrounded by stone-built merchant’s houses with storage cellars and reception halls on the upper floors. Towards the southern side of the square, the Franciscan Church of St. Catherine was built, giving the square a monumental character. The presence of the church contributed to the square also having a religious function, as processions and sermons by mendicant monks took place here.
After the decline of medieval trade, the square became an administrative center in the 17th and 18th centuries with buildings for the city government and the judiciary, and later private residences. The current square was regulated in the 19th century, when the ruins of St. Catherine’s Church were secured, and the square was equipped with paving and stairs towards the church ruins. Today, Stora Torget is surrounded by buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries, which house restaurants and shops, but the medieval structure has been preserved.
Sankta Katarina kyrka is a church built by the Franciscan order around 1250–1260 as part of a monastery located immediately south of Stora Torget. The church was dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a popular saint among the Franciscans. The building was built in the Gothic style with three naves, a long choir and tall pointed-arched windows, which gave the interior a characteristic light and height.
The architecture of Sankta Katarina kyrka differs from, for example, Dominican churches in its simplicity and height. The central nave rises high above the side aisles, supported by slender columns with profiled capitals, and the style is inspired by northern German churches. After the Reformation, the monastery was closed down, and the building gradually fell into disrepair. In the 17th century, the roof collapsed, and the church remained a ruin. With the restorations of the 19th century, the preserved walls were stabilized, and the area around the ruin was laid out as a public square.
Sankt Lars kyrka is one of Visby’s oldest churches. It was probably built around 1200 and perhaps even earlier. The building was made of local limestone and was one of the city’s few churches that was constructed from the beginning with a cross vault and complex spatial layouts, which indicates influence from Byzantine and southern German architecture. The ground plan is atypical for Gotland with a centrally located transept with four vaulted arms and a raised choir to the east. The church probably served as a parish church for part of the city’s German population and may have been associated with an early hospital or brotherhood.
The masonry is characterized by a compact construction with blind gables and narrow window openings. Inside the church, remains of columns and wall piers with profiled capitals can still be seen, which show that the building had a rich interior expression. In the nave, traces of an original domed vault can be found, which is unique in Swedish medieval architecture. The roof was destroyed during the 16th century, and the church fell into disrepair when the parish was closed after the Reformation.
Sankt Lars is located immediately next to Sankt Drotten, and the two church ruins together form a striking architectural ensemble in this part of Visby. The ruin was stabilized in the 20th century and is today accessible to the public. The combination of domed vault, transept and central plan makes Sankt Lars one of the most distinctive examples of experimental church architecture in Nordic medieval architecture.
Sankt Drotten kyrka, also called Helige Trefaldighets kyrka, was built in the early 13th century and served as one of Visby’s larger parish churches. It was probably associated with the Danish or Nordic population in Visby and was a contrast to the German Sankt Lars kyrka, which is located next to Sankt Drotten. Architecturally, Sankt Drotten was a clear expression of Romanesque transitional architecture with round arches in the lower part and pointed arched windows in the upper walls.
The preserved walls clearly show the medieval construction method with massive walls and narrow openings that served as support for the vaults. Inside, the church had columns with simple capitals and walls decorated with frescoes. After the Reformation in the 1530s, Sankt Drotten was closed down and the roof removed shortly after. The ruin was restored and partially secured in the 19th century, and today it is open as part of Gotlands Museum. Together with Sankt Lars, it constitutes a rare preserved example of two contemporary churches with different national and liturgical affiliations built only a few meters apart.
Domkyrkoberget is the high-lying part of medieval Visby, where Sankta Maria Cathedral is surrounded by remains of former monastery buildings, rectories and administrative buildings. The area has marked the city’s ecclesiastical and administrative center since the 12th century. Topographically, Domkyrkoberget forms a natural elevation in the hilly terrain within the ring wall, and the site was early built with stone buildings that housed the clergy, the cathedral chapter and the German merchant brothers who were behind the construction of the church.
In the Middle Ages, several important buildings were located around the cathedral, such as the cathedral chapter house, the bishop’s seat and the school building, where the clergy were educated. Most of these buildings have disappeared today, but the foundation walls and basements have been preserved under newer construction. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the area was developed with official residences in Baroque and Neoclassical style, several of which still stand along St. Hansgatan and Skeppsbron. Domkyrkoberget was early considered a special urban space, and from the 19th century it was laid out with paths, stone steps and viewpoints to the west, from which one can see over Almedalen and the sea.
Today Domkyrkoberget houses the bishop’s residence, the diocesan administration, parts of the Gotlands Museum’s administration and the offices of the Sankta Maria parish. The area is characterized by a concentration of limestone buildings, where older walls and modern additions are integrated into a single cultural-historical whole.
Sankta Maria domkyrka or simply Visby domkyrka was built between 1180 and 1225 and originally served as a cruciform church for German merchants in Visby. It was consecrated by Bishop Bengt den Gode and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The building was built of Gotland limestone and combined Romanesque basic forms with early Gothic, reflecting the influence of Northern Germany and Denmark. The ground plan consists of a three-aisled nave with a transept and a west tower flanked by two smaller towers to the east.
In the 14th century, the church underwent a major renovation, where the choir was raised and provided with pointed arched windows and ribbed vaults. The walls in the choir are decorated with frescoes from the 15th century, and the original windows had stained glass mosaics with saint motifs and symbols of the city. The interior of the church is characterized by tall columns, a cross vault and the light towards the high altar. Among the furnishings are interior items such as a 15th-century altarpiece with figures of Mary and the apostles, a Baroque pulpit from 1684 by Burchard Precht, and an organ built by Åkerman & Lund in 1892.
The cathedral was badly damaged by storms and decay in the 18th century, but underwent a thorough restoration in 1880–1895 under the direction of architect Emil Victor Langlet, who rebuilt the western tower, reconstructed the window frames, and removed later additions. After the Swedish Church Reform in 1772, Sankta Maria was elevated to the diocesan church of the Visby diocese, and it has since served as the ecclesiastical center of Gotland. Today, the building is the only medieval church in Visby that is still used for services, and it represents a continuous liturgical tradition of over 800 years.
Sankt Gertrud kyrka was one of the youngest churches in Visby, as it was built in the 14th century. It was probably built as a guild chapel for German merchants. The church was located near the current Wallérs plats close to the harbor area, which probably made it affiliated with the Sankt Gertruds gilde, which was a brotherhood for seafarers and merchants. The building was a small single-nave church in Gothic style, built of limestone.
After the Reformation, the church fell into disuse, but its structure remained visible in the cityscape. In the 18th century, parts of the wall were built into surrounding houses, and it was not until the 20th century that the ruin was exposed and secured. Today, only foundations and individual sections of the wall are visible, but the location and orientation of the church can still be read in the street.
Sankt Gertrud represents the last phase in Visby’s medieval church building, where smaller chapels were built for specific guilds and congregations rather than as actual parish churches.
St. Nicolai Church stands as one of Visby’s most striking church ruins. It was built by the Dominican Order around 1230, and the church formed the core of a larger monastery complex located on the north side of the medieval town center. It was dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, reflecting the town’s close connection to trade and the sea. The building was made of limestone and represents the early Gothic style on Gotland with high walls, pointed arched windows and richly profiled portals.
The church was originally a three-nave church with an extended transept and a deep choir, which housed the monastery’s high altar. The facades were decorated with blind gables and round arches, while the interior had ribbed vaults and decorated columns. St. Nicolai served as a preaching and teaching church, where the Dominicans taught the town’s citizens and sailors Christian doctrine. The monastery’s other buildings, such as the chapter house, refectory and dormitories, were located to the north, but they have not been preserved to this day.
After the Reformation in the 1530s, the monastery was dissolved, and the church began to decay. The roof collapsed in the 17th century, but the walls stood at almost full height. In the 19th century, the ruin was secured and restored under Sigurd Curman and Hjalmar Lundbohm, who stabilized the vault and masonry. Today, Sankt Nicolai kyrka stands as one of the best-known of Visby’s many church ruins.
Sankt Clemens kyrka is one of the oldest parish churches in Visby and is first mentioned in sources from the 1190s. It was dedicated to Saint Clement of Rome, who was the patron saint of sailors, which indicates that it served a maritime parish close to the harbor. The church was originally a Romanesque basilica with three naves, round-arched arcades and a semi-circular choir, which was later expanded in the 14th century with a Gothic choir. The building was about 50 meters long and 20 meters wide and made of finely carved limestone.
Inside, the walls were decorated with frescoes, and there were several side altars. Remains of tombstones and inscriptions indicate that the church was used by both Swedish and German citizens. After the Reformation, Sankt Clemens, like most other churches in Visby, was closed down and gradually fell into disrepair. In the 18th century, parts of the masonry were used as a quarry, but the ruin was protected in the 19th century, and in the 1910s, the preserved parts were strengthened under the leadership of Sigurd Curman.
St. Olof’s Church is believed to have been built around 1240 as the parish church for the northern part of Visby. It may have been a replacement for St. Nicolai’s Church, which was transferred to the Dominican Order. According to the oldest sources such as Saxo Grammaticus, an earlier church was founded as early as 1102 by the Danish king Erik Ejegod, but the architectural details and documents show more clearly that the church was built in the mid-13th century.
The church was a three-nave basilica, with the nave higher than the side aisles. It had a portal in the west with a tympanum, which was relatively rare among Visby’s church buildings. After the church was closed down, many of the stones were reused for other buildings in Visby. As early as 1646, St. Olof’s Church is mentioned on maps as a quarry. Today, the ruin lies in the botanical garden in Visby. Fragments of the walls and the remains of the portal have been preserved.
The Botanical Garden in Visby was established in 1855 by the Gotlands Hushållningssällskap as an experimental and ornamental garden for the island’s agriculture and horticulture. The area was laid out on the former cemetery around Sankt Olof’s church, which was already in ruins at that time. From the beginning, the garden was intended as a combination of an experimental station and a public park, and it was designed according to the ideals of the time for botanical gardens with orderly beds, groups of trees and paths. The first plant populations were obtained from both Swedish and foreign nurseries, and the purpose was to investigate which species could thrive in Gotland’s chalky soil and mild coastal climate.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the garden was gradually expanded with greenhouses, gazebos and an arboretum, which today contains over 2,000 plant species. Among the most striking specimens are old walnut, plane and tulip trees, as well as Gotland’s oldest stand of ivy growing on the walls of St. Olof’s Church. The Botanical Garden was transferred to Visby in 1918, and since the 1960s it has been administered by Gotland Municipality as a public park and cultural-historical environment. The site contains both formal flower beds and more natural sections that reflect the Gotland flora.
Almedalen is located in the western part of Visby, immediately outside the city wall, and today the area is the city’s best-known public park. In the Middle Ages, the area served as Visby’s natural harbor, where merchant vessels from Gotland and the northern German region docked. The harbor was a shallow bay protected by a natural sandbar, and it served as a shipping point for goods such as lime, timber, hides and grain. As the harbor gradually silted up in the 16th century, it was replaced by the new harbor further south, and the area remained as grassland.
In the 19th century, the former harbor area was laid out as a recreational facility under the name Almedalen. The name was derived from the almarne, the large elm trees that grew here. The park was designed with walkways, lawns and a pond and became one of the first public green spaces in the city. The current facility dates from 1870–1890, when Visby carried out urban renewal and built a promenade along the coast. The park is surrounded by remains of the harbor walls and the western section of the ring wall, making it an integral part of the historic urban environment.
Since 1968, Almedalen has been known as the setting for the annual Almedalsveckan, which began when Olof Palme spontaneously gave a speech from a truck bed in the park. The event has since developed into one of Sweden’s most important political forums, where parties, organizations and media meet for a week of speeches, debates and cultural activities.
Gotlands Museum in Visby was founded in 1875 under the name Gotlands Fornsal on the initiative of local historian Pehr Arvid Säve, who wanted to preserve the island’s many ancient finds. The museum got its current main building in 1880. It was designed by architect Axel Herman Hägg, and since then the museum has been expanded several times. Today the complex functions as a regional museum for Gotland’s cultural history with extensive collections from prehistoric times, the Viking Age and the Middle Ages.
Among the main attractions are the Gotland picture stones, which date from the 5th to 12th centuries and are unique to the island. The stones show motifs from Norse mythology and seafaring. The museum also houses Viking treasures in silver, medieval frescoes, church art, textiles and archaeological finds from ruins and settlements all over Gotland. Today, Gotlands Museum plays a central role in promoting Visby’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the museum provides a good introduction to the city and the island.
Gotlands Konstmuseum is a museum housed in the building at S:t Hansgatan 21 in Visby, which was originally built in the years 1847–1848 as S:t Hansskolan. The building was Visby’s first elementary school and was built with two full floors and furnished with a classic school structure with classrooms and a schoolyard facing the street. In 1987–88, the house underwent a complete renovation, after which the Konstmuseet moved in and was granted status as an independent institution under Gotlands Museum.
The art museum’s collections focus on modern and contemporary art as well as art related to Gotland from the 19th century to the present day. The museum has presented exhibitions with works by a large number of Gotland artists and continues with projects within contemporary art, crafts and design.
Sankt Hans kyrka was built around 1250 and was one of Visby’s largest parish churches. It was located together with the adjacent Sankt Pers kyrka as a double structure, where two parishes shared common masonry. Sankt Hans kyrka was built in carved limestone in the Gothic style with a considerable size, which made it one of the most monumental churches on Gotland.
After the Reformation in the 1530s, Sankt Hans kyrka, like most of the city’s churches, was closed down and partially demolished. The roof disappeared in the 17th century, but the walls remained standing at full height. Today you can visit the few preserved parts of the ruin, which still lie together with Sankt Pers kyrka, which is also a ruin.
Sankt Pers kyrka is a church located directly opposite Sankt Hans kyrka. It was built around 1200, probably as a predecessor to the larger neighboring church. Architecturally, Sankt Pers kyrka belonged to the Romanesque tradition with a short nave, narrow windows and a semi-circular choir. The building was made of limestone like Visby’s other churches.
After the Reformation, the church fell into disuse, and its stone was partly reused in nearby buildings. In the 19th century, the ruin was documented by archaeologist Hjalmar Stolpe, and in the 1920s, the remains were secured and connected to Sankt Hans kyrka during a major conservation effort. Today, the two churches appear as one continuous ruin landscape, where the Romanesque Sankt Per and the Gothic Sankt Hans could illustrate the architectural development in Visby during the Middle Ages.
Visborg Castle Ruins was built between 1411 and 1430 on a cliff south of Visby harbor by Erik of Pomerania, who at that time was king of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The castle was built as a royal fortress and was intended to secure the crown’s control over Gotland and trade on the Baltic Sea. Its location on the natural hill known as Visborgsberget gave the facility a strategic overview of the harbor and access to the sea route to, not least, Denmark and Germany.
The building was made of limestone and brick with a rectangular ground plan and surrounded by a moat. The outer walls were about 4 meters thick and provided with loopholes and towers in each corner. The main building, the Castle House, was located in the middle of the castle and housed the king’s residence, a chapel, and an arsenal. The castle was one of the most advanced fortifications in the early 15th century in the Nordic countries, and it was equipped with artillery and casemates. During the political turmoil of the Kalmar Union in the 15th and 16th centuries, Visborg repeatedly changed hands between Danish, Swedish and Hanseatic forces.
In 1679, during the reign of Charles XI, the castle was blown up on Swedish orders to prevent Denmark from using it as a stronghold. Today, only ruins remain, where parts of the ring wall, cellars and individual wall sections can be seen. The area has been excavated and secured since the 19th century, and the preserved remains are open to the public. From the castle area, you have a view of the harbor and Almedalen, and the structure is an important monument in the story of Gotland’s military history and the Nordic union period.
Visby Ringmur is Sweden’s most important medieval defense system and one of Northern Europe’s best preserved city wall systems. The wall was begun around 1250 and expanded in several stages until 1350 in line with Visby’s rise as a central trading town in the Hanseatic network. The original ring wall was approximately 3.4 kilometers long, and it framed an area of approximately 36 hectares. The height of the wall varied between 8 and 11 meters, and its thickness reaches up to 3 meters at the base. The construction consists of double-walled shells filled with lime mortar and gravel with a crown passage and a parapet for armed guards.
The function of the wall was both military and symbolic. It marked the city’s economic and legal independence in relation to the Gotland upland. The land wall to the east and south was reinforced with strong towers and gates, while the sea wall to the west had lower sections and functioned as access to the harbor. Among the most characteristic elements are the Norderport, Österport, Söderport and Snäckgärdsporten, all of which are preserved parts of the original drawbridges and gate galleries. During the 14th century, around 44 towers were added, of which 36 still stand. They are both square and round, with examples such as Silverhättan, Jungfrutornet and Kruttornet, which is considered the oldest part of the wall.
The history of the wall reflects Gotland’s changing political conditions. After Valdemar Atterdag’s invasion in 1361, large parts were damaged, but rebuilt soon after. When Visby lost its strategic importance in the 17th century, the wall gradually fell into disrepair, but its structure remained intact. In the 19th century, systematic restorations began under the leadership of architect Emil Victor Langlet and later Sigurd Curman, who consolidated the masonry and recreated missing sections. Today, the ring wall forms the most significant part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Hanseatic City of Visby and is a unique example of medieval engineering and fortification techniques.
Galgberget is located north of the medieval city wall in Visby and is one of Sweden’s best-preserved medieval execution sites. The site was used for executions from the 13th century until the 17th century, and it was located on a high cliff overlooking the Baltic Sea, so that the gallows were visible from the sea when ships approached the city. The preserved stone structure consists of three bricked-up limestone pillars, which once carried three wooden crossbeams to which the ropes were attached. The structure is about six meters in diameter and forms a circular shape, which is known from contemporary execution sites in, for example, Northern Germany and Gotland.
Excavations and archaeological investigations at Galgberget have documented traces of several graves and skeletal remains in the area, confirming that the site was used for executions and burials of criminals and outcasts. Nearby, remains of a small chapel or burial ground have been found, possibly used by the Franciscan order, who were responsible for the care of the souls of those condemned to death. The current stone gallows are believed to date from the late 13th century and are thus the oldest preserved in Scandinavia.
In recent times, Galgberget has been granted the status of a cultural and historical monument and nature reserve. The area was protected in 1914, and is today administered by Region Gotland. The former courthouse now serves as a viewpoint over Visby and the coastline to the north. Galgberget is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Hanseatic City of Visby, as it illustrates part of the legal and social structure of society in the Middle Ages.
Located about 13 kilometers north of Visby, Lummelundagrottan is Gotland’s largest limestone cave and one of Sweden’s most extensive cave formations. The cave was formed in the Silurian limestone that characterizes the island’s geology through millions of years of leaching by water from the Lummelundsån River. The total mapped length exceeds four kilometers, of which about 400 meters are accessible to visitors. The oldest written evidence of the cave dates back to the 17th century, but systematic exploration did not begin until 1948, when three local boys, later known as the Lummelundapojkarna, found access to the inner parts.
Inside the cave are stalactites, stalagmites, stalactites and coral structures that testify to the great age of the formation. The temperature is constant around 7°C year-round, and the cave’s humid environment has preserved unique biological microorganisms and rare species of cave-dwelling crustaceans. Lummelundagrottan is thus both a geological and biological research area, and several sections are still not fully mapped. The oldest deposits in the cave are about 400 million years old from when Gotland was near the equator and covered by a tropical coral sea.
In 1959, Lummelundagrottan was opened to the public with electric lighting and walkways, and in 1989 the area was designated a nature reserve. At the entrance is Lummelundaverken, where a watermill and ironworks were previously operated from the 17th to 19th centuries. Today the area functions as a visitor center with exhibitions about Gotland’s geology and hydrology. Lummelundagrottan is one of Sweden’s most visited natural phenomena and is classified as a national geological interest area.
Kattlunds Gård in Havdhem on southern Gotland is one of the island’s best-preserved medieval farms and an example of Gotland stone farm architecture from the 13th and 14th centuries. The main building of the farm is the so-called Kattlundska gården, and it consists of a two-storey limestone longhouse with vaulted living rooms and open fireplaces. The property originally functioned as a nobleman’s and rectory and was first mentioned in written sources in the 14th century. The complex included barns, a gatehouse and stables, and several of the buildings retained their original medieval style until recent times.
After the Reformation in the 16th century, Kattlunds passed into private ownership and was used as a farm. During the 19th century, the buildings gradually fell into disrepair, but were saved from demolition in the 1930s when Gotlands Fornsal, now called Gotlands Museum, bought the property. A thorough restoration was carried out under the direction of architect Erik Fant, who reconstructed the roof structure and vault according to historical models. The result was a museum and open-air farm that shows the development from the Middle Ages to modern agricultural culture.
Today, Kattlunds Gård is operated as a museum and cultural center under Gotlands Museum. The farm houses permanent exhibitions of tools, textiles and household items from Gotlandian agriculture, as well as changing exhibitions on crafts and building practices. Every year, Kattlundsdagarna is held, which is a historical market with a reconstructed medieval life, crafts and music.
Located west of Klintehamn, Gannarve Skeppssättning is one of Gotland’s largest and most monumental stone circles from the Bronze Age. The structure measures about 45 meters in length and 7 meters in width and consists of 30 raised limestone stones that form the outline of a ship. Ship-shaped stone circles like this one are found in several places in Scandinavia, but Gannarve is considered among the best preserved and most symmetrical. The site has been the subject of archaeological research since the 1910s, and finds of burnt bones, pottery fragments and tools suggest that the structure was used for ritual burials.
The exact function is still the subject of research, but it is believed that ship circles had symbolic significance in the Norse death cult. The ship shape may have represented the journey the soul made after death, and many of the stones appear to have been placed according to astronomical or solar directions. The largest stones at the bow and stern come from rock material in the vicinity and weigh several tons, which shows a high degree of planning.
Today, Gannarve Skeppssättning is a protected ancient monument under the National Board of Antiquities and a popular excursion destination. The area is protected and is part of a larger cultural reserve that also contains Bronze Age mounds and traces of settlements. An information trail and viewpoint provide an overview of the landscape towards the sea, where the original cult site was probably closer to the coastline than today.
Lye kyrka is located in southeastern Gotland and is one of the island’s largest and most richly decorated village churches. The current building was built in the mid-13th century on the site of an older Romanesque church. The choir and transept represent the transition from Romanesque to Gothic style, while the nave was expanded in the 14th century. The church was built of local limestone and has a tall tower with a pointed roof ridge. The architectural expression is influenced by Gotland’s special medieval tradition, where local workshops adapted continental models to the island’s materials and climate.
Inside, Lye Church is particularly known for its extensive frescoes from the 14th century, which cover the walls and vaults. The motifs show scenes from the New Testament, the Last Judgment, images of saints and moralizing stories. The color palette of ochre, reddish brown and blue-gray is typical of Gotland workshops, and the paintings are considered among the best preserved on the island. The baptismal font is a Romanesque work from the 12th century, made by the so-called Byzantius master, while the altarpiece and pulpit date from the 17th century Baroque period.
The church is still a parish church and has been in continuous use since the Middle Ages. It was restored in the 1950s and today stands as one of the most authentic examples of Gotland church architecture. Lye Church is listed and included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Hanseatic City of Visby and Gotland’s Medieval Churches. It functions as both an active parish church and a cultural and historical monument and is a central stop on the pilgrimage routes across Gotland.
Ljugarn on the east coast of Gotland is the island’s oldest seaside resort and one of the earliest tourist destinations in Sweden. The area developed in the second half of the 19th century, when the town’s merchants and officials began to build summer houses and bathing huts along the beach. The first inns opened around 1860, and Ljugarn quickly became a center for summer life on Gotland. Several of the early villas, such as Pensionat Ljugarn and Strandvillan, have been preserved and illustrate early Swedish wooden bathing architecture.
The coastal area also contains significant prehistoric and medieval remains. In the surrounding area there are burial grounds from the Iron Age, remains of Viking-era harbor facilities, and the ruins of old fishing huts. South of the town lies the Folhammar nature reserve with characteristic rauk formations, which are tall limestone columns formed by wave erosion. The area has been protected since the 1960s and is an important geological and recreational landscape.
Today, Ljugarn is an active holiday resort with hotels, a museum and a cultural centre. Ljugarn Museum & Cultural Heritage documents the development of the town from a fishing village to a seaside resort and houses exhibitions about seaside life, local buildings and natural history. The town has preserved its historical structure with narrow streets, a beach promenade and planted summer gardens.
Roma Monastery is a beautiful ruin located in the middle of Gotland about 10 kilometres southeast of Visby. It was founded in the mid-12th century by Cistercian monks from Nydala Monastery in Småland. The monastery was built of local limestone and followed the characteristic Cistercian architecture with a cruciform ground plan, a single choir and a monastery courtyard surrounded by a dormitory, chapter house and refectory. Roma quickly developed into Gotland’s most important monastery and became an economic and spiritual centre for the island. The monks operated extensive agriculture, mills and trade, and the monastery acted as a mediator in disputes between town and country.
After the Danish Reformation in the 1530s, the monastery was dissolved and the lands passed to the crown. The monastery buildings gradually fell into disrepair, and the stone material was reused in new structures. In the 1730s, Roma Kungsgård was built on the monastery grounds as the residence of the Swedish state representative on Gotland. The main building was designed by architect Carl Hårleman in Baroque style and made of limestone with a mansard roof and symmetrical facade. You can still see and visit the fine courtyard that housed the governor until 1832.
Today, Roma Kloster is one of Gotland’s most visited ruin complexes. The ruins of the church and monastery courtyard have been preserved to a height of up to six meters, and the area contains a museum with finds from the monastic period. Every summer, Roma Theatre is held on the grounds of the former monastery, where classic and modern plays are performed in the historical environment. Historically, there is an additional dimension in that this place was the place for everything old on Gotland.
Hoburgen is located on the southern tip of Gotland and is a distinctive limestone cliff that rises steeply above the sea. The name comes from the famous rock Hoburgsgubben, whose profile can resemble a human face when viewed from certain angles. The area has been an important landmark for seafarers since prehistoric times, and in the Middle Ages the rock was used as a navigation point. Hoburgen is also one of Gotland’s most species-rich natural environments with rare orchids and coastal bird colonies, which led to its protection as a nature reserve in 1967.
Geologically, Hoburgen consists of layered Silurian limestone, which has been shaped by wind and waves over millions of years. The erosion process has created high cliff walls and isolated rock outcrops that remain as evidence of former coastlines. Several of the formations bear traces of prehistoric processing, and archaeological finds of stone settings and cremation pits suggest that the area also had ritual significance in the Bronze Age.
Today, Hoburgen is one of Gotland’s most iconic visitor attractions. Viewing platforms and nature trails have been built, and the area is monitored by the County Administrative Board to protect the vegetation from erosion. Near the cliff is Hoburgsgubben Café och Konsthall, which presents local art and natural history.
Lau Church is located in the southeastern part of Gotland and was built in the mid-13th century as the parish church for one of the island’s oldest parishes. The building represents the transition from Romanesque to Gothic style and was made of local limestone with a distinctive tower and strong masonry. The choir and sacristy belong to the oldest phase, while the nave and tower were added in the 14th century. Lau Church is particularly known for its architectural proportions and its almost completely preserved medieval interior.
The church’s frescoes, dating from around 1350, cover both the walls and the vault. The motifs show scenes from the Passion of Christ, the Last Judgment and legends of saints, and the colors have been preserved to a remarkable degree. The baptismal font is one of Gotland’s most detailed Romanesque works and is attributed to the stonemason Sigraf, who was active on the island in the 12th century. The altarpiece and pulpit were added in the 17th century, but are in keeping with the church’s medieval character.
Today, Lau Church stands as one of the best-preserved examples of a Gotland parish church. It has been in continuous use since its construction and underwent careful restoration in the 1960s. The church and its surroundings are part of a cultural and historical area with burial grounds, rune stones and remains of medieval farms.
Blue Lagoon is a lake located in northern Gotland at the former limestone quarry in Bäcks. The site is one of the island’s most popular bathing locations. The artificial lake was created when the limestone quarry was filled with groundwater after operations ceased in the 1980s. The clear, turquoise water is due to the reflection of light from the limestone bed, which gives the place an almost tropical character. The lagoon is surrounded by rocks and sparse pine forests, which form a striking contrast to the blue water and make the place a natural landscape symbol of northern Gotland.
Although the Blue Lagoon is man-made, nature has gradually taken over the area. The water is clean and fresh, and the lake is now home to both fish and aquatic plants. The area is open to the public, but parking and paths have been adapted to protect the surroundings and provide easy access for visitors. Today, the Blue Lagoon represents a rare balance between industrial history and recreational nature, and stands as an example of how abandoned working landscapes can develop into scenic recreational areas.
The Bunge Museum is located north of Fårösund. It is one of Sweden’s oldest open-air museums and was founded in 1907 by the teacher and local historian P.A. Säve. The museum aims to preserve and communicate the traditional Gotland peasant culture and consists of more than 60 buildings that have been moved here from different parts of the island. The collection includes farms, fishermen’s houses, mills, forges and military buildings from the 17th to 19th centuries. Today, they are gathered around a reconstructed village structure.
Among the highlights is Bunge gård, a complete agricultural complex from the 17th century with a farmhouse, barn and bakery, which shows the Gotland building tradition’s characteristic use of limestone and wooden roofs. The museum also has a reconstruction of an Iron Age farm with a longhouse, hearth and tools based on archaeological finds from the area. A special section displays exhibitions about Gotland’s role during World War II and the former Swedish military base in Fårösund.
Gothem kyrka is a church located on the eastern part of Gotland. It stands as one of the island’s best-preserved medieval churches and is an outstanding example of Gotland limestone architecture. The oldest part of the church, the choir and sacristy, was built at the end of the 12th century, while the nave and the high tower date from the 13th and 14th centuries. The building was constructed of finely hewn limestone and has an unusually harmonious proportion, where the Gothic pointed arches are combined with Romanesque details in the portals and window frames.
The church is known for its well-preserved frescoes, which cover both the vault and the walls. The motifs include scenes from the Passion of Christ, symbols of the four evangelists and ornamental bands in red, black and ochre. The altarpiece was made around 1400. It probably comes from Lübeck and shows clear Hanseatic influence in its design. The baptismal font is attributed to the Gotland stonemason Majestatis, one of the most famous masters of 13th-century church art.
Gothem Church stands as a clear testament to Gotland’s prosperity in the Middle Ages, when trade in the Baltic Sea financed the construction of many monumental parish churches. The church is still in use and is surrounded by a medieval cemetery with preserved tombstones and stone crosses. Its architecture and decoration make it one of Gotland’s most studied examples of local Gothic.
Located about 20 kilometers northeast of Visby, Tingstäde Fortress is one of Sweden’s best-preserved military installations from the late 19th century. The fortress was built between 1884 and 1903 as part of a larger defense system to protect Gotland from possible attacks. The complex consists of a massive concrete and limestone fortification and is equipped with casemates, ammunition magazines and defenses by the large lake Tingstäde träsk.
The fortress played an important role during the First World War, when it served as a depot and mobilization point for the Gotland garrison. It was equipped with gun emplacements and shooting ranges, but was never used in combat. After 1920, it lost its military function, but was instead used as a supply depot during the Second World War. The surrounding area is now a cultural reserve, where large parts of the structure have been preserved in their original form, including the underground passages and concrete structures.
Today, close to the fortress, you can visit a museum, Gotlands Försvarsmuseum, which conveys the island’s military history from the Viking Age to modern times. The exhibitions include uniforms, weapons and documents, and visitors can explore the old tunnels and casemates in the fortress itself. Tingstäde fästning is today one of Gotland’s most exciting cultural and historical sites and a rare example of Swedish fortification architecture from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Fårö is an island located northeast of Gotland and separated by the narrow Fårösund. The island is known for its distinctive rock formations, lighting conditions and cultural and historical environments. The island is about 113 km² in size and has been inhabited since the Stone Age. In the Middle Ages, Fårö belonged to Bunge parish and functioned as a fishing village and defense post. The island’s characteristic raukar, which bear witness to the erosion of the limestone cliffs over millennia, are found especially at Digerhuvud and Langhammars, where the limestone columns rise up to ten meters above sea level. The areas are now nature reserves and attract both geologists and photographers from all over the world.
Fårö is also known as the home of film director Ingmar Bergman, who lived on the island from the 1960s until his death in 2007. Several of his films, including Persona, As in a Mirror and Scenes from a Marriage, were shot in the island’s rugged landscapes. Bergman later founded the Bergman Center in the town of Fårö, which today houses exhibitions about his life and work, as well as an archive for film research. The island has therefore developed into an international cultural center with film festivals and artist residencies.
In addition to its cultural history, Fårö offers several preserved farms, fishing villages and churches. Fårö Church was built in the 13th century and expanded in the 17th century, and the surrounding dune landscapes are still used for grazing. The island has retained its open character without major urban development, and its nature and building practices are also interesting to note.
Visby, Sweden
Overview of Visby
Visby is the main city on the Swedish island of Gotland. The town’s early history is uncertain, but it is believed to have been a trading post since the 9th century. Visby developed rapidly in the 12th century to be an important port for the Hanseatic League, and many Germans lived in the city, which was protected by solid city walls against both landside and the sea in the 13th century. The city obtained privileges and free trade, and the merchants traded all over the Baltic Sea.
The Danish king conquered Visby in 1361, and in 1408 Visby and Gotland became part of the Kalmar Union, and the Danish era started a few decades later. With the Peace of Brömsebro in 1645, Visby was Swedish, but by this time the previously profitable trade had declined significantly. Wars and epidemics slowed new growth, and in 1720 there were approximately 1,200 people living in Visby. The 19th century started with a Russian conquest, but the century also initiated the city’s development of tourism and the preservation of the old town center and its impressive walls.
Today, Visby is a unique city with many attractions in the cozy streets. You can start a stroll on the square Stora Torget, which was laid out in the 14th century. On the square you can see Sankta Katarina Kyrkoruin, which is a beautiful ruin of a Franciscan church that was built from 1233. The church was destroyed after Lübeck’s attack on Visby in 1525. Close to the north of Stora Torget is another of the city’s many church ruins, Drotten’s Kyrkoruin, which is a former church from around 1240.
About the Visby travel guide
Contents: Tours in the city + tours in the surrounding area
Published: Released soon
Author: Stig Albeck
Publisher: Vamados.com
Language: English
About the travel guide
The Visby travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the Swedish city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.
Visby is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.
Read more about Visby and Sweden
Sweden Travel Guide: https://vamados.com/sweden
City tourism: https://visitvis-by.se
Main Page: https://www.vamados.com/
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