Gotland & Visby

The island of Gotland — Sweden's largest island (3,140 km²) — lies in the middle of the Baltic Sea and is a world of its own: The UNESCO World Heritage city of Visby with its fully preserved medieval ring wall, the mysterious Raukar (limestone pillars) on the coast, the beaches, the rose city, and the traces of director Ingmar Bergman on the small neighboring island of Fårö.

★★★ Visby — The City of Roses and Ruins

Visby is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1995. The 3.4-kilometer-long ring wall (13th century) with 44 defensive towers almost completely encloses the old town — you can walk around it entirely (about 1 hour on foot). Within the walls: cobbled streets, half-timbered houses, rose hedges (Visby is also called the "City of Roses" — wild roses bloom everywhere), and the ruins of 13 medieval churches, abandoned after the Reformation and never demolished. The silhouette of the church ruins at sunset is one of the most romantic images in Scandinavia.

Visby's history: In the 12th–14th centuries, the town was a powerful Hanseatic trading post — one of the most important hubs of the Baltic Sea. Richer than Stockholm, more powerful than some kingdoms. In 1361, Danish King Valdemar Atterdag conquered the town, in 1525 Lübeck mercenaries plundered Visby, and thereafter began the decline, which paradoxically preserved the town: Because Visby was poor, nothing was demolished and nothing modernized. Today, it benefits from this.

Every year in August, the Medeltidsveckan (Medieval Week) takes place — Scandinavia's largest medieval festival: jousting, medieval markets, music, theater, and thousands of visitors in historical costumes. For a week, Visby becomes the 13th century.

★★ Fårö — Bergman's Island

The small island of Fårö (north of Gotland, reachable by ferry in 8 minutes — free!) is known as the chosen home of the legendary director Ingmar Bergman (1918–2007). Bergman lived and worked on Fårö for decades — "Persona," "Scenes from a Marriage," and "Through a Glass Darkly" were filmed here. His house is private, but the Bergmancenter in the Fårö Museum shows exhibitions about his work, and an annual Bergman Week (end of June) attracts filmmakers from around the world.

Fårö's landscape is hypnotic: Raukar — bizarre, up to 8-meter-high limestone pillars formed by erosion — stand like sculptures on the beach. The most impressive are at Langhammars and Digerhuvud. In summer, the sandy beaches of Sudersand are paradisiacal.

Getting There

Destination Gotland operates ferries from Nynäshamn (south of Stockholm) and Oskarshamn (Småland) to Visby. The crossing takes 3–4 hours (fast ferry from 2 hours). From 250 SEK (22 €) per person, car from 600 SEK (52 €). Book early in summer — Gotland is one of the most popular holiday destinations for Swedes. Alternatively: Flights from Stockholm (45 min., SAS and BRA).