Historically Charming Cities on the Baltic Sea

Northern Europe has several cities steeped in old world elegance dating back to the Middle Ages and even long before that. Tallinn, the capital of independent Estonia and Visby, on the island of Gotland are the most visited, mainly by Scandinavian tourists and until a short time ago, vacationing Russians. The first is one of the world's most authentic Hanseatic cities with a large central square, cobblestone streets, lively cafés, and well-preserved architecture including the Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral built around 1900. In sharp contrast, the new section of the city is home to what is sometimes dubbed “Europe’s Silicon Valley.”  Estonia is ranked first in the development of digital public services and among the European top 10 countries overall, according to Estonian minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology, Andres Sutt.

In earlier history, Tallinn, already a major economic hub, was in the hands of the Kingdom of Denmark and to further enhance his influence on the Baltic coast, Danish King Valdemar IV set his eyes on another successful trading center. Visby is the capital of the island of Gotland located northeast of Tallinn near the Swedish coast. After a long siege in the year 1361 his troops blasted a hole in the city wall, killed 1,800 islanders and demanded ransom not to pillage all of Visby. According to history two huge vats were placed at the hole in the wall and the people of Visby were given two days to fill them up with gold and silver. The king returned to Tallinn with his spoils and the city took its place as the reigning Hanseatic trading center in the Baltic. Moving forward another almost 400 years, Peter The Great, Tzar of Russia occupied Tallinn. The Russian Empire was replaced by the Russian Republic and Germany alternatively. This continued till the end of WWI when Tallinn was the capital of an independent Estonia only to be taken over once again by the USSR as a satellite state in 1940. After many years of suffering under Soviet rule, Estonia was one of three small countries, including Lithuania and Latvia, to become independent from Russia in 1991 as a result of the “Glasnost” in Russia. Today all three countries have fully turned to the west, governed by democratic governments. All three are members of NATO and the Euro Zone. However, in view of Russia’s action in the Ukraine, and despite protection promised by Europe, the situation is fragile as its proximity to Russia is worrisome. Presently, all three countries have closed their borders to Russians in defiance of the Russian war with Ukraine. All that is almost forgotten when one walks through the famous 14th century Viru Gate in the city wall and is surrounded by the beautiful ancient buildings and squares that have justly been added to part of the UNESCO Heritage list in 1997. The freedom of the country is celebrated every five years with the Estonian Song and Dance Festival including a choir that has grown to 30,000 members.

In contrast, much smaller Visby, Gotland seems a relaxed laid-back charming town where the Pippi Longstocking movies were filmed. Both Tallinn and Visby are the only cities in northern Europe where the Medieval Grid plan is preserved and both are encircled by the old defensive walls, but that is where the similarity ends. We walked from the harbor entering through the impressive two-mile old wall encircling the city of Visby. The first people we encountered on the cobblestone street that is aligned with homes and commercial buildings dating back to the 12th century, were all dressed in medieval costumes. Everyone was tending to their daily business as if it were the norm. It was as if we had been transported thousands of years back in history. We stopped a gentleman and asked what was going on and were rewarded with a bright smile as he informed us in perfect English that we were fortunate enough to have arrived in the middle of the yearly “Medeltidsveckan,” or “Medieval Week,” an annual reenactment festival celebrating the cities origins. 

Gotland is the largest island in Sweden. With roughly 50,000 inhabitants occupying the 100 by 33-mile island, and half of those living in the capital, Visby, it is sparsely populated. In fact, much of the island was occupied by the Swedish military. But in 2005 the Swedish government transferred a majority of its forces back to the mainland. However, most recent developments between the Scandinavian countries and Russia reversed that decision as Gotland occupies a strategic location in the Baltic Sea just three hours by ferry boat from the mainland or a 50-minute flight from the Swedish capital, Stockholm.

Visby is a well-preserved medieval city and was justly recognized in 1995 when honored with its inclusion to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. We walked easily from one end of town to the other on the ancient cobblestone streets all crisscrossing through the main square. There are many buildings dating back to the Middle Ages, including numerous churches interspersed by whimsical shops, cafes, lovely wooden homes, and lots of yarn stores featuring wool from the island’s prodigious sheep population. The most famous church is the 12th century Visby Cathedral dedicated in the year 1225 to St. Mary by the Bishop of the city of Linkoping on the mainland of Sweden, an imposing structure of medieval German combined with French gothic architecture

During the Medieval Week Festival held every year since 1984, the history of Danish King Valdemar IV’s attack on the island is re-enacted by locals outside the city walls with the assistance of historical volunteer groups from as far away as the United States. 

Daily jousting contests, jesters and theater performances are supplemented by market stalls selling medieval jewelry, costumes, beautiful pewter housewares and replica weapons as well as local food and drink. 

But the most startling experience we will remember from strolling through the entire city of Visby during the time of this festival is that almost all the Gotlanders dressed in medieval costumes. Wherever we looked in Visby, only the tourists, mostly Swedish, were the exception. This colorful merry event proved to be an exceptional bonus at the end of an already captivating day.