Visby
© Roy Digital Design
Visby is an old Hanseatic city on the Swedish island of Gotland. There are more than 40 towers, as well as the remains of churches and palaces. Visby is surrounded by medieval walls and most of the streets in the center have cobbled stones. Visby declined in the late Middle Ages and there was no money to upgrade the city's buildings. As a result most have been preserved in their original state.
It is the best preserved medieval city in Scandinavia and it was inscribed into the UNESCO list of world heritage sites in 1995.
Some of the most interesting sites in Visby include:
- The city walls.
- The Main Square and Södra Kyrkogatan.
- Visby Cathedral.
- The Ruins of St. Carin.
- The Ruins of St. Drotten's Church.
- The Ruins of St. Lars.
- The Ruins of St. Nicholas' Church.
- The old cathedral of St. Maria is still in use. It was built in the 13th century.
- The old pharmacy is located in Strandgatan.
- The Liljehornska house is also in Strandgatan.
- The Hultgrenska house can be found in St. Hansgatan.
- Norra Murgatan.
More history can be seen at the Gotlands Fornsal historical museum. It has a nice collection of pre-Viking Gotland picture stones.
During the first week of July the annual political event of Almedalen Week is held. Every year in the second week of August, most of the town's inhabitants dress up in medieval style to commemorate the past. It is a very colorful week of celebrations and festivities. The port town of Visby is 200 km south of Stockholm. There are several hotels and restaurants in town. Visby has air and ferry connections with the mainland of Sweden.
Images
Visby ©Michael Odelberth
Visby ©Casper van Battum
Visby ©Oleh Holodyshyn
Visby ©Magnus Jonasson
Visby ©Magnus Jonasson
Visby ©Oleh Holodyshyn
Visby ©Ivan Alleksy
Visby ©Tony Hanks
Visby ©Adam Mechedal
Visby ©Casper van Battum
Visby ©Magnus Jonasson
Medieval pharmacy ©Magnus Jonasson
Visby ©Magnus Jonasson
Visby ©Adam Mechedal
Visby ©Sedki Alimam
Visby ©Michael Odelberth
