Island of Ruins and Roses

The people of Gotland are proud of the rich legacy that sets their island culture apart from that of Mainland Sweden

As you watch on a summer day from the upper deck of the ferry approaching the island of Gotland, about fifty nautical miles off the southeast coast of Sweden, the city of Visby emerges like a dream. First you'll see the rambling medieval walls that still surround this ancient city; next, the red-tiled roofs of its quaint old buildings rising on the horizon; and last, you'll spot the green lawns and flower gardens that are Visby's pride. As the giant ferry docks and its passengers disembark, it seems that an invasion of the island might be taking place--and indeed it is. Because Gotland's climate is milder than the rest of Scandinavia's, the island attracts approximately two hundred thousand tourists every year, virtually quadrupling the island's population of fifty-four thousand. They come to see the roses that bloom in great profusion, especially in Visby, and their ruins that hark back to the medieval splendor of the city. Or, they leave the narrow, winding streets for the white sand beaches and campgrounds all around the island. Gotlanders look upon the summer invasion with the same good-natured humor that has kept their land prosperous throughout most of its history--they know that visitors bring trade and that ultimately, when summer is over, the "invaders" will leave, and the natives can return to their quiet life.

Although the island has belonged to Sweden for the past two hundred years, its people have never quite felt a part of mainland culture. The Gotlander's language is a dialect of Swedish. Their public and religious holidays, like May Day and Christmas, are the same as the rest of the country's but certain events, like the summer Gotland Games and the annual Rose Parade, are unique to the island. Their history, although intertwined with that of Sweden, is also quite distinct from the mainland's and goes back to a time from which only legend has survived.

A merchant past goes way back

Six gravesites dating from the Stone Age (10,000 to 3,000 B.C.) give evidence of early Gotlanders' ways of life. Theo people seemed to have had a flourishing sea-merchant economy in the Bronze Age (circa 1,500 to 500 B.C.), in an area extending from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean, Arabia, and Asia Minor. With stones imported from the mainland, they built their remarkable skeppsattningar or ship-graves. Among the most interesting archeological features of Gotland, 350 of the large ship like burial sites have survived to this day.

Centuries later, the cries of men, women, and children filled their air as names were drawn in the most unusual lottery in Europe. The lottery is said to have taken place on Gotland sometime between the first and fifth centuries. The story is told in the Gutasaga or "Guta Legend," dating from the thirteenth century. The reason for the lottery was overpopulation: In order to survive, some had to leave.

According to the Gutasaga, a legendary thirteenth-century recounting of Gotland's early history that forms part of a larger body of work, the Guta Lag, or "Gotland law," the first man to come to Gotland was called Tjelvar. At that time Gotland was under a spell that made it sink by day and rise only at night. Once Tjelvar brought fire to the island, Gotland never sank again. Tjelvar had a son called Havde, whose wife's name was Vita Stjarna, meaning "White Star." This young couple was the first to live on the island of Gotland. The first night Havde and Vita slept together, she dreamt that three snakes were twisted together between her breasts but then crawled away. In the morning she told her dream to Havde, who interpreted it in this way:

Everything is bound by rings
This land shall be cultivated
And we will have three sons.

Havde divided Gotland among his sons before they were born. Grajper, the oldest, got the north; the second son, Gute, received the middle; and Gunfjaun, the third son, got the south.

The Gutasaga goes on to say that the three sons' descendants multiplied until, sometime between the first and fifth century, the land cold no longer feed them all. In order to survive, some had to depart; a lottery was held and every third person had to take all his belongings and leave the island. The Gutasaga records that the people did not want to go and retreated instead to Tors borg, a high eastern plateau (called Torsburgen today). Apparently, the locals did not want the new comers to stay and drove them away. They then went to live on the island of Faro, the northernmost part of Gotland. But since they could not support themselves, they traveled up to the waters called Duna, and up through "Ryssland" (Russia).

How much of this legend is true is hard to say. But Gotlanders even today tell this story, and early records show that some Swedes, and likely Gotlanders among them, did settle in different parts of Europe during the great "folk-wanderings" of the eighth and ninth centuries.

Treaties and Vikings

Prosperity during the fifth and sixth centuries brought frequent attacks from neighboring kings who coveted the riches of the islanders. To stop the constant raids, informs the Gutasaga, sometime during the sixth century Gotlanders offered to pay the Swedish king sixty silver marks a year for his protection and reciprocal free trade. Thus safe from invasions, by the ninth century, at the rise of the Viking age, Gotlanders were ready to participate in the Viking merchant-warrior exploits. The Viking era lasted about 250 years, and contemporary records show that Gotland traded with Byzantium, the Arab world, and the Orient, exporting furs, weapons, and slaves in exchange for gold and silver.

In this early period, the Vikings and Gotlanders were still not Christianized, and because in Christina countries the Church forbade the slave trade, these non-Christian merchants were able to develop a brisk business supplying slaves to an insatiable Muslim world. When clashes between Muslims and Christians blocked the Mediterranean trade routes, the Vikings switched to the northern European passages, which stopped at the conveniently situated island of Gotland. Thus, thanks to its strategic location in the Baltic, the island became an important commercial center.

Christianity comes to Gotland

It was during the eleventh century that Gotlanders converted to Christianity. Their original religion is described in some detail in the Gutasaga, which says that in the fifth century, groves of trees on small hills were considered as holy places, which were enclosed. Here, sons and daughters, cattle, food, and drink were all sacrificed. The saga, which was informed by a knowledge of Christianity, states, however, that it was done out of misguided belief. Human sacrifices were only made at the greatest ceremonies that involved the whole land. Additionally, each of the three regions of Gotland had its own ritual offerings that did not involve human sacrifice. Members of groups that sacrificed together were called Sacrifice Brethren.

Another passage tells how Gotlanders became familiar with Christianity through contact with pilgrims going to or coming form the Holy Land. In fact, one of the chapter headings Do Gotland var station for jerusalemsfararna roughly translated means, "When Gotland was a stop for travelers to Jerusalem." The chronicler goes onto explain that "At that time one traveled to the East through Russia and Greece to reach Jerusalem." Evidently, the route from Russia included Gotland.

Christianity became the religion of Gotlanders when, in 1092, King Olaf II of Norway landed on the northeast coast at Akergarn, (renamed St. Olofshavn after the conversion), accompanied by an army of crusaders on their way to Russia. Christianity during this period existed side by side with the Gotlander's ancient religious practices, since prior to the time Olaf landed, there were already two churches at Wi (Visby), Kulstade and Stenkyrka (meaning "stone church").

From about the 1100s, Gotland was a peasant republic ruled by rich farmer-merchants who were associated with but not subject to Sweden. In their newly acquired Christian fervor, Gotlanders built ninety-one churches around the island between the twelfth and the fourteenth century. All have survived to this day.

During this period of economic growth, the independent peasant republic of Gotland developed its seal--a ram carrying a flag, circled by an inscription that reads: "I am the sign of the Gotlanders." The lamb, which even today is one of the key farm animals on the island, also signifies Christ.

The rise of the golden age of Visby

Documents from this time indicate that Gotland had two major harbors, Visby and Vastergarn: Through these ports, Gotland dominated trade in Northern Europe. But in 1143, the energetic and ambitious German ruler, Duke Henry of Saxony, created troublesome competition for Gotland by granting the "most honorable charter of town rights" to Lubeck in north Germany. Lubeck was an already prosperous city in an excellent location. This privileged status gave it an advantage that worried Gotland traders. To protect themselves, in 1163 they signed a treaty with Duke Henry that allowed free, unhindered trade to Gotlanders in Lubeck in exchange for the same rights to German merchants on their island. As a result Visby became a free port, and visiting Russian, Danish, and German merchants established factories and their own community churches there. Eventually the German merchants' presence became so powerful that the city had to have two mayors, one German and one Gotlander, and all legal documents described the inhabitants as "the Gotlanders and Germans in Visby."

The Germans brought more modern and efficient methods of trade that eventually led to a conflict with the traditional-minded peasant-merchants of Gotland. But for several decades the association was a constructive one, in which Visby was the headquarters for a newly formed organization, the Universitas Mercatorum Romani Imperii Gotlandiam Frequentatium, or the Company of Merchants of the Roman Empire Visiting Gotland. This association was the seed of the powerful Hansa (Hanseatic League), and while for a time it brought hitherto-unknown prosperity to Visby, it also led to the city's eventual decline.

Before being accepted for merchant status in the Hansa, apprentices had to serve a seven-to-ten-year term and attain various ranks. Apprentices lived communally, sworn to celibacy, and at the end of their service, underwent a harrowing initiation ceremony, such as inhaling smoke, bathing naked in ice-cold water, or being thrashed. These severe tests were intended to prepare merchants to defend themselves against the very real dangers of travel by road or sea, but once the initiates became successful merchants, they could live in luxury.

During Visby's Golden Age marriage was considered a serious matter. Families agreed to betroth their sons and daughters so their fortunes and businesses cold be merged. According to proper procedure, the families discussed the properties that would go with the young couple. Once the marriage conditions had been listed before witnesses, the engagement took place. It was followed by the actual wedding ceremony in church and then a round of festivities that would last, depending on the means of he host, from a night to a week. Some of these traditions have been slow to change. It was not until recently that Swedish laws rescinded the obligatory banns, the announcement of an impending marriage in church three weeks in a row.

Today, some Gotlanders tend to frown on formal weddings. To save the expense of a traditional wedding; they practice samvetsaktenskap, meaning a free union, or "marriage of conscience." Many modern couples do not bother with church weddings, even after they have children.

While merchants in medieval Visby enjoyed life, problems brewed on the rest of the island. The farmer-merchants were rankled by the city's increasing monopoly over trade. Aware of this resentment, the burghers constructed a two and one-half mile long protective wall enclosing Visby, complete with thirty-eight watchtowers. This wall has remained almost completely intact. In 1288 a civil war broke out. Although the farmer-merchants were defeated, the event drew the Swedish king's attention to Gotland. He recalled his ancient rights to the island, fined Visby for fortifying the city without his permission, and raised taxes on all the islanders.

In the period following the civil war, advances in shipbuilding and the ever-expanding European trade territory no longer made it essential for all to stop at Visby. In 1293 the Hansa decided to move its headquarters to Lubeck, and thus Visby lost its leadership status in the association. But it remained a prosperous and important city despite the move, wealthy enough to attract the Danish King Valdemar Atterdag's attention. He decided to invade Gotland in 1361.

A popular legend tells that the year before the invasion, Valdemar came to Visby pretending to be a poor student. Being as handsome as he was cunning, he secured the love of a burgher's daughter, who opened the city gate for him when he returned to Visby with his army. Only thus was he able to conquer the city. After the conquest the irate burghers walled the girls alive in a tower, known ever since as the "Maiden's Tower."

In actuality, Valdemar's powerful army landed on the southwest coast of Gotland. The farmer-merchant population was ill-prepared and easily defeated. The Danes massacred about two thousand people, most of whom desperately tried to flee to Visby, while the burghers of the town watched helplessly from their ramparts, not opening their gates or coming out to help their fellow Gotlanders. However, the city was sacked as well, and Valdemar made its wealthy inhabitants pay a large sum as tribute. Soon after, Valdemar left, taking with him several ships full of booty.

Four hundred years of backwaters

In the four centuries that followed, Gotland had its share of misfortunes. Trade declined, due to the opening of new routes, until Visby was no wealthier than other northern European cities. The city was devastated by fire and raided several times by the pirated Victual Brothers, who for a time headquarter there. Later still, Gotland was ruled alternately by Denmark and Sweden, until finally the Swedes got it back again as an afterthought to the Peace Treaty of Bromsebro in 1645. It has remained Swedish since.

During the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Gotland became a quiet place with a rather uneventful history, except in times history, except in time of war. Its Swedish governors, landshovdingar, built a network of roads that still exists, and despite great resistance by the conservative and obstinate farmers, introduced the cultivation of the potatoes and sugar beets that to this day are the prime agricultural produced of the island.

In 1808 the Russians invaded Finland and, as a precaution, Gotlanders prepared to defend themselves. As anticipated, on April 22, 1808, Admiral Bodisko landed with two thousand men to confront an inferior Gotland defense force on the same historical spot where King Valdemar's army had invaded 440 years before. This time the Gotlanders tried a different tactic. Recognizing the superior force of the Russians, they allowed them to march on to Visby without a fight. There, the admiral was welcomed as though he and his troops were just paying a social call. While the Swedish king sent his fleet to Gotland's defense, the Russians were the toast of the town. On May 16 the Swedish troops landed on the island and the admiral capitulated without resistance. As a result of this incident, the Gotland militia was formed, the first territorial army in Sweden.

During the Crimean War of 1854-55, Gotland became politically significant once again. Although Sweden declared neutrality, this did not extend to Gotland's Faro Sound, which became a base for the French and British fleets. For the duration of the war, their presence brought a great economic boom to Faro.

The lessons of the Russian invasion and Gotland's strategic position in the Baltic during the Crimean War were not lost on the Swedish government. Today, a major military base exists at the northernmost tip of Gotland and Faro is off-limits to foreigners.

Gotland games and annual traditions

A typical Gotland tradition, the Stangaspelen, or Gotland Games, is still going strong. Held at Stanga annually during the second week in July, the games consist of different types of sports, several of which have been practiced on the island since before the Vikings. The best known games are: Stangstorning, or tossing the caber, in which the contestant must balance and toss a log that is nearly fifteen feet long and weighs about sixty-two pounds.

Another important traditional game Park, is a rather complicated ball game, played on a court with seven players on each team. The court consists of two lines, approximately thirty feet apart, with one line called the back line, and the other the front line. Near the back line is a square into which the ball is to be served. The purpose of the game is to move the front line as close as possible to the back line by occupying enemy territory. The game starts with a serve of the ball into the square. After hitting the ball back and froth between the teams using either bare hands or kicks, the ball might fall and roll to a deadpoint. Since after the first bounce the ball must be kept "alive" without further bouncing, when it starts rolling, it might be stopped by an opposite team player at a more favorable deadpoint. When that happens, new borders are drawn between the grounds of the teams and points are given that will give more "occupied land" to a team. This will make it easier to defend the team's territory when at some point the teams change sides.

The third, and oldest, Gotland game is the Varpa, or stone-throwing. The game seems to have originated on the island, where limestone rocks must have been used initially against invaders and later for sport. Playing stones dating form the Viking era have been found on Gotland. Many islanders still use a natural stone and a stick, but since the sport has spread to the rest of Sweden and beyond, it has become fashionable to use an aluminum. With indentations for the fingers, weighs five to ten pounds or more. The purpose of the game is to throw the varpa while taking a step forward with one's left foot, and to dislodge the opponent's stone on the ground, in order to advance one's own position.

Another, lesser known game is Dra hank, a tug-of-war game in which teams try to pull each other up from a lying into a standing position. The one who rises first is the loser. Rovrok is a wrestling match in which contestants lie on the ground side by side with one leg hooked. The object is to roll the opponent over. The participants in all these games are amateurs, usually farmers from local parishes.

In 1922 the annual roundup of the Russ ponies was started. These animals are similar to Shetland ponies and are used for pleasure riding. There are two kinds of ponies, those that belong to owners and those that run free on a reserve. The animals are judged by year of birth, and the owners of the best-looking one get a prize. Even the wild ponies are brought together on this occasion for a head count.

There is also an annual sheep-shearing event, in which prizes are given to the person who can do the fastest and best job of parting the famous Gotland sheep from its wool. Fur-covered pillows, lambs' wool sweaters and blankets, and rugs are among the island's products sold to tourists and locals alike.

The shift to modern times

General economic recovery came to the island when in the nineteenth-century when England's industrial revolution finally reached the Baltic shores. As Sweden itself began to prosper, there was a larger market for the meat, produce, and timber of Gotland. Also around this time, cement factories were established on the island. Today, Gotland is a major supplier of food to greater Stockholm and of lime and cement to Sweden as a whole. Economic interdependence has lessened the feeling of autonomy Gotland used to have in its association with Sweden.

Although some Gotlanders to this day may feel apart, in reality, over the centuries the island has become increasingly Swedish in character. An accelerated impetus for this integration was provided by the establishment of regular steamship traffic between Gotland and the mainland, started in 1829. Visby became a "romantic" destination, and artists and ordinary tourists discovered its mild summers and well preserved medieval architecture, features that have made it a favorite summer residence of mainlanders for the past century.

Although most visitors are from Scandinavian countries, Germans are once again "invading" Gotland's many campgrounds. But most people try to stay in Visby, the City of Ruins and Roses. Indeed, there are so many roses on the island that it has become an annual tradition to hold a Rose Ball in late summer at the fashionable resort hotel, the Snack-gardsbaden, complete with Rose Queen, dancing, and champagne.

Although champagne and aquavit flow at the Rose Ball, dragol, the traditional beer of Gotland, is still the favored drink of the countryside. It is a strong, bitter brew, prepared from malt, hops, and barely in special brewing houses adjacent to the main farmhouse.

On warm summer nights of late July and early August, Visby's ruined St. Nicholas Church is filled with music. Perhaps nothing ties past and present together as poignantly as the ruinspel or ruins play, performed here every summer since 1929, which tells the story of the thirteenth-century monk, Petrus de Dacia, and the love of his life Kristina. Born on Gotland, no doubt of a wealthy family, Petrus went to study in Cologne, Germany, where he met the pious young girl. A spiritual love developed between her and the brilliant scholar. Petrus eventually returned to Gotland but corresponded with Kristina throughout his life. She became a nun while Petrus de Dacia served, until the end of his life, as the prior of the Dominican Monastery of St. Nicholas.

To add to the international character of this romance, the twentieth-century German composer Friedrich Mehler turned the ruinspel into an opera, Petrus de Dacia, and brought it to Visby, where he came to live himself.

Through adversity and prosperity, the islanders have endured. Their spirit is summed up in their own tongue, closer to the old medieval language than to modern Swedish, as they sing the second verse of their summer song:

Vackert kan vara mossan pa en gammal sprucken sten
Vackert kan vara att klara sig fast skorden var klen
Vackert kan vara sadant som kallas fult nagon annanstans visst skulle det vara trakigt om det skulle vara sa att Gotland inte fans.

Beautiful can be the moss on an old cracked rock
Beautiful can be to manage although harvest was meager
Beautiful can be something that is called ugly elsewhere,
To be sure, it would be tragic if Gotland was not here.