Gotlandia
\n
Gotlandia, or
Gotland, a historical
Province or
landskap, of
Sweden. It consists of the islands of
Gotland,
Fårö and a few smaller islands located in the
Baltic Sea to the east of
Öland.
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County
\nFor current affairs see: Gotland County
The island province of Gotlandia is represented by the current administrative entity, Gotland County. The island is also a single municipality.
History
\nMain article: History of Gotland
Early on Gotland became a commercial center and the town of Visby was a the most important
Hanseatic city in the Baltic Sea. The island had in late medieval time twenty tings, each represented at the island-ting, called
landsting, by its elected judge. New laws were decided at the landsting, which also took other decisions regarding the island as a whole. The city of Visby and rest of the island was governed separately and a civil war caused by conflicts between the German merchants in Visby and the trading peasants on the countryside had to be put down by King
Magnus I of Sweden in
1288. In
1361,
Waldemar Atterdag of Denmark invaded the island. The authority of the landsting was successively eroded after the island was occupied by the
Teutonic Order in 1398, then sold to
Eric of Pomerania and after 1449 ruled by
Danish governors. In late medieval time the ting consisted of twelve representatives for the farmers, free-holders or tenants. Since the
Treaty of Brömsebro in
1645 the island remains under Swedish rule.
Geography
\nMain article: Geography of Gotland
The province of Gotland consists of the islands of Gotland,
Fårö, the
Karlsö Islands and
Gotska Sandön. The main island is located some 90 km off the Swedish mainland.
Visby, founded approximately around the year
1000, was the only chartered
city of Gotland.
Culture
\nMain article: Culture of Gotland
The medieval town of
Visby has been entered as a site of the
UNESCO World heritage program. An impressive feature of Visby is the fortress wall that surrounds the city, dating from the time of the Hanseatic League.
Christopher Polhem (
1661-
1751), the father of Swedish mechanical physics was born in Visby. He was also called the
Archimedes of the north. The inhabitants of Gotland traditionally speak a distinct dialect of Swedish, known as Gutnish.
Traditional games of skill like
Kubb and
Varpa are still played in Gotlandia.
Heraldry
\nMain article: Heraldry of Gotlandia
Gotland was granted its arms in 1560, even though the island was at the time occupied by
Danish forces. The coat of arms is represented with a dukal coronet. Blazon: "Azure a ram statant Argent armed Or holding on a cross-staff of the same a banner Gules bordered and with five tails of the third."
Dukes of Gotlandia
\nSince 1772, Swedish Princes have been created Dukes of various provinces. This is solely a nominal title.\n*
Prince Oscar (from his birth in
1859 until his loss of succession rights in
1888)
External links
\n*Gotland Tourist Site
Category:Provinces of Sweden\nCategory:Gotland\n\n\n
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