10 Informative Facts About Visby Town Wall

Visby Town Wall is a medieval defensive wall surrounding the Swedish town of Visby on the island of Gotland.
The oldest part of the city wall is a defensive tower, today called the Kruttornet (the Gunpowder Tower), which was erected at the harbor entrance in the 12th century
The wall had 29 big ground-towers, you can still see 27 of the towers today, completed with 22 sadeltowers.
The city wall was restored in 1884 to 1886 by architect Emil Victor Langlet.
In 2012, a 10 meters long section of the outer dressing of the wall collapsed. Restoration of the collapsed section began in 2013
In February 2010, the municipal council approved a statutory detailed conservation plan for the whole World Heritage property.
The wall is about 11m high, built-in different stages it was completed in 1288.
In 1995 the Town Walls was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The wall encloses the old town of Visby which is built on a steep slope facing the Baltic Sea. The west part of the wall nearest the sea is built on land approximately 2 meters above sea level. To the north and south, the wall climbs the slope known as the Klinten, towards the east where the highest elevation reaches about 40 meters.
Construction of city walls was unusual in Nordic countries during the Middle Ages, and so the construction of the city wall testifies to Visby’s commercial importance during this time. In medieval Sweden, only Stockholm, Kalmar, and Visby had city walls.

Facts About Visby Town Wall

Find Out More About The Visby Town Wall with gotland.com (external Link).