Visby, Gotland
Gotland—the island of a hundred churches! No, we didn’t see all of them! Many were built on Gotland, a part of Sweden, during the Middle Ages due to the prosperity of the island. Visby was the centre of the Hanseatic League from the 12th to the 14th centuries. It also has a well-preserved town wall, almost completely surrounding the city. We entered one of the defensive towers which served as a jail. The ram is the symbol of Gotland island.
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- city wall – originally this was next to the sea
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- tower
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- old jail in tower
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- narrow street
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- ram shaped barrier
Narrow streets and lovely old houses. St Lars (Lawrence) Church, built in the 13th century resembles the Byzantine style. St Clements Church was also built in the 13th century.
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- narrow street
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- old 18th century house
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- flowers
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- St Lars
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- St Lars
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- stone arches
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- St Clements
We visited a museum which showed what the town was like during the Hanseatic League period. But it also had some rune stones from the Viking age.
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- model of Hanseatic Visby
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- Viking rune
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- rune stone
On our own, we visited a lovely botanical garden and St Maria Cathedral, built 1225 but still active today. Near the altar was a stone shaped boat ready to carry our joys, our sorrows, and our wishes.
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- more flowers
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- among the flowers
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- steeples of St Maria
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- ship as a symbol
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- aisle chapel
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- stone boat waiting for our thoughts
Off to Gdansk, Poland. We had a visit to the bridge with the captain of the ship. Fascinating.
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- tiles of Visby
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- leaving port
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- captain on bridge
