"This photo illustrates why this port is now a favourite for cruise ships with its unobstructed access from the Baltic Sea and short drive or walk into the centre of Visby. This is our favourite cruise ship, the Aurora, because it is a little smaller than some but great facilities and entertainment, excellent food and fantastic staff."
"This is where the shuttle dropped us off and is known as Almedalen Park (Elm Valley park). In medieval times this area, just outside the city walls, was the city harbour. Due to the post-glacial rebound, the port over time grew too shallow and a new one was constructed further away from the city, where the sea is deeper. As recently as the 19th century it was known as Gamle Hamn (Old Port) and when, in 1870, the area was planted with elms the name Almedalen was coined."
"The lovely town of Visby."
"St. Mary's Cathedral: Sankta Maria Domkyrka. The splendour of this cathedral was unexpected and more in keeping with a much larger city. It reflects the past history of this small island as an important and wealthy trading post in Hanseatic times. The breathtaking stained glass windows in the cathedral; the one on the left depicts the Walled City of Visby."
"For such an old construction, the quality of the roof and brickwork, even if it has been restored a bit, is truly excellent." 
"Dramatic spires of St Mary's Cathedral" 
"This is the best preserved part of Drotten Church and the main entrance.St. Lars and Drotten were the smallest churches of Visby and were known as 'The Sister Churches'. St. Lars (or Lawrence) was estabished 1046. The church of Drotten was built in the 13th century. The name Drotten comes from an Old Norse name for ruler or God. The churches are built only 100 meters from the big square (Stora Torget)."
"Remains of Drotten Church"
"A typical Visby house with the ruins of St Lars church in the background." 
"Norderport is one of the oldest towers in the city wall and was the main entrance to the town for people and goods from the north part of the island, and still is!. Originally, there was only a simple gate in the wall and the original slot in the wall for the toll barrier is still visible. Norderport and Österport are the oldest gate towers of the wall, probably built around 1280. Norderport lies on a steep slope and was stoutly built to provide good defensive capacity."
"We visited at the right time of the year with the rhododrendons and other colourful plants in full flower."
"The Gunpowder Tower(formerly the Sheep Tower) or Kruttornet is the oldest tower in the city wall and was built as a defensive tower to protect the medieval harbour, which was located in the part of Visby now known as Almedalen park. It was built in 1160–61, in connection with the conclusion of a trade agreement with the Duke of Saxony as a free-standing defensive tower." 
"Sankt Göransporten. The road from this gate leads from the town towards the now ruined Saint George’s almshouse and church, which was a large medieval complex for lepers. Outside the gate, a bridge spans the Nordergravar (the North Trenches) and would have been a moat as part of the medieval defence system. In old documents, the gate is called the Andre Lång Henrik (the Second Tall Henry) but during the 19th century it was known as the Ödeporten (the Abandoned Gate) and at the beginning of the 20th century it began to be known by its present name."
"The section of wall that we observed was from the Nordeport down as far as the Snäckgärdsporten, which is also the entrance to the botanical gardens and is the last tower on the picture above. The Snäckgärdsporten is one of the oldest gate towers of the wall and has been used for various purposes including a watchtower (it looks over the sea) and even, during Victorian times circa 1840-60, as an establishment serving coffee, tea and punsch. The nearer tower is the Tranhustornet or Fish Oil Tower which lies east of the Lübeckerbräschen or Lübeck Breach (visible between the two towers) thought to be the scene of the assault on the town by the Lübeck forces in 1525."
"It was a lovely walk round the City Wall in glorious sunshine and the flowers out in full early summer bloom. This took us round the north section of the wall from the Nordeport to the edge of the Baltic Sea."
"Lübeckerbräschen is the name of a partially collapsed section of the northern wall. A number of arrowheads have been found here during archaeological excavations which maybe associated with the Lubeck assault that destroyed a significant part of Visby and churches and monasteries plundered many of which were never rebuilt. Recent research indicates that the collapse of the wall was unconnected to the assault and was simply due to the foundation of the wall collapsing, although it is believed to be the location of the attack."
"Cafe Breda Blick built around the turn of the 19th century (1864) - where we stopped for refreshments. This is a very pleasant cafe just next to the botanical gardens."
"The botanical gardens. The statue is of Carl von Linné, a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist who is known as the 'father of modern taxonomy' I'm so glad I know that now!! I've got no idea what the structure lower left is.."
"Fountain and gardens in the centre of town."
Visby, Gotland
(25th May 2018)
Our next port of call was Visby on the island of Gotland which is part of Sweden. This Hanseatic town has become popular with cruise ships probably due to its ease of access and position in the Baltic heading towards St Petersburg. This name (Hanseatic) comes up frequently when visiting this area of the Baltic and refers to the Hanseatic League, which was an organization founded by north German towns and German merchant communities to protect their mutual trading interests. The league dominated commercial activity in northern Europe from the 13th to the 15th century.
The Hanseatic city of Visby
Visby has been described as the 'Pearl of the Baltic' and I can understand why as it was one of my favourite places we visited. The town is surrounded by the remains of the city walls built to protect the occupants back in the 14th century. Although generally in ruins you can still make out the outline of the wall and the North Gate (Norderport) is still the main entrance to the town from the north of the island. The painting shows what this magnificent town would have looked like in its heyday.
The North Gate or Nordeport
Visby Cathedral gives a strong clue as to how rich and important the town was in Hanseatic days. The cathedral was built as a church for German traders and financed by a fee that every German trader arriving in Visby had to pay. Construction finished about 1190 and it gradually developed into one of the most important churches of the city; by the late Middle Ages it was the second largest church in Visby. It is today the only medieval church of Visby still in use, with twelve other churches in the town preserved as ruins only.
We walked through the Norderport and took a leisurely stroll round the north section of the wall towards the sea. The city wall is extensive but we didn't have time to see too much; however, what we did see was impressive and in its day must have been an effective protection for the inhabitants as it would have been surrounded by a moat on three sides patrolled by soldiers with the sea on the remaining side. The final tower on our walk took us into the park and botanical gardens which were good but not great and we stopped for a refreshing drink before eventually returning to the Almedalen Park to catch the shuttle. Originally this park was outside the city walls and would have been where the ships are in the picture above. It's possible to visualise how this city must have been in its heyday and it's also pleasing to see that tourism is becoming more popular due to its location in the Baltic and ease of access for the cruise ships.
