Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Gotland shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Gotland offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Gotland at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Gotland? Wrong! If the Gotland is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Gotland then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Gotland? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Gotland and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Gotland wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Gotland then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Gotland site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Gotland, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Gotland, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
{{Infobox_Landskap|fullname=Gotland|name=Gotland|land=
Sweden|area=3,145.45|flower=[Hedera helix|flower_swe=Murgröna|flower_lat=Hedera helix|animal=Hedgehog, [Provinces of Sweden and Municipalities of Sweden of Sweden and the largest
island in the
Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, it makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area. The region also includes the small islands of
Fårö and
Gotska Sandön to the north, and the tiny
Karlsö Islands to the west. Inhabitants number 57,600 (2004 figure), with about 22,600 living in the primary city
Visby. The main sources of income to the island are tourism and agriculture.
The region is considered by some historians to be the original homeland of the Goths.See
Goths and
Scandza for more information on this matter.
Geography
The island province of Gotland is represented by the current administrative entity, Gotland County. This county consists of the sole municipality (
kommun)
Gotland Municipality.
Visby, with about two fifths of the island's population (approximately 22,600), is the seat of the county and municipal councils.
Gotland is located about 90 km east of the Swedish mainland and about 130 km from the Baltic States. The island Gotland is obviously just one island, but the historical province of Gotland also includes adjacent islands, which are often considered part of the Gotlandic culture:
Geology
complex.Gotland is made up of a sequence of sedimentary rocks of a Silurian age, dipping to the south-east.The main Silurian succession of limestones and
shales comprises thirteen units spanning 200-500 m of stratigraphic thickness, being thickest in the south, and overlies a 75-125 m thick
Ordovician sequence.{{cite book| author = Laufeld, S.
| year = 1974
| title = Silurian Chitinozoa from Gotland
| publisher = Universitetsforlaget
| series = Fossils and Strata
| number=5
--> It was deposited in a shallow, hot and salty sea, on the edge of an equatorial continent.Creer 1973 The water depth never exceeded 175–200 m,Gray, Laufield & Boucot, 1974 and shallowed over time as [bioherm detritus, and terrestrial sediments, filled the basin. Reef growth started in the [Llandovery, when the sea was 50–100 m deep, and reefs continued to dominate the sedimentary record. Some sandstones are present in the youngest rocks towards the south of the island, which represent sand bars deposited very close to the shore line.
The lime rocks have been weathered into characteristic karstic rock formations known as rauks. Fossils, mainly of
rugosa corals and
brachiopods, are abundant throughout the island; palæo-sea stacks are preserved in places.
History
The island is the home of the Gutar (the
Gotlanders) and sites such as
Ajvide show that it has been occupied since
prehistory. Early on Gotland became a commercial center and the town of
Visby was the most important
Hanseatic league city in the Baltic Sea. The island had in late medieval time twenty district courts (
ting (assembly)s), 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
Gutasaga contains legends of how the island was settled by Þjálfi and populated by his descendants. It also tells that a third of the population had to emigrate and settle in southern Europe, a tradition associated with the migration of the Goths, whose name is actually historically identical and has the same origin as
Gutar, the native name of the people of the island. It later tells that the Gotlanders voluntarily submitted to the king of Sweden and asserts that it is based on mutual agreements, and notes the duties and obligations of the Swedish King and Bishop in relationship to Gotland. It is therefore not only an effort to write down the history of Gotland, but also an effort to assert Gotland's independence from Sweden.
It gives Awair Strabain as the man who arranged the mutually beneficial agreement with the king of Sweden, and the event would have taken place before the end of the
9th century, when Wulfstan of Hedeby reported that the island was subject to the Swedes:
Then, after the Bornholm, we had on our left the lands that have been called from the earliest times Blekingey, and
Möre, and Öland, and Gotland, all which territory is subject to the Suiones; and
Wendland was all the way on our right, as far as Vistula-mouth.
The city of Visby and rest of the island were 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 III of Sweden in 1288. In 1361,
Waldemar Atterdag of Denmark invaded the island. The Victual Brothers occupied the island in 1394 to set up a stronghold headquarters on their own in Visby. At last Gotland came as a
fiefdom of the
Teutonic Knights, awarded to them on the condition that they expel the piratical Victual Brothers from their fortified sanctuary. An invasion army of
Teutonic Knights conquered the island in 1398, destroying Visby and driving the Victual Brothers from Gotland.
The number of Arab dirhams discovered on the island of Gotland alone is astoundingly high. In the various
hoards located around the island, there are more of these silver coins than any other site in Western
Eurasia. The total sum is almost as great as the number that has been unearthed in the entire
Muslim world. These coins moved North through trade between
Rus merchants and the
Abbasid Caliphate, along the Silver-Fur Road, and the money made by Scandinavian merchants would help Northern Europe, especially Viking Scandinavia and the
Carolingian Empire, as major commercial centers for the next several centuries.
The authority of the landsting was successively eroded after the island was occupied by the Teutonic Order, then sold to
Eric of Pomerania and after 1449 ruled by
Denmark governors. In late medieval times, the ting consisted of twelve representatives for the farmers, free-holders or tenants. Since the
Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645, the island has remained under Swedish rule.
Heraldry
Gotland was granted its arms in about 1560, even though the island was at the time occupied by
Denmark forces. The coat of arms is represented with a ducal 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."
The Gotlandic flag displays the Gotlandic national coat of arms, white on red ground, known from the 13th century in the shape of the seal of the Gotlandic Republic with the proud ram. It reads: "Gutenses signo xpistus signatur in agno". This can be translated as follows: "I (the ram) am the sign of the Gotlanders, but with the lamb symbolize Christ".
Culture
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 old city, dating from the time of the Hanseatic League.
The inhabitants of Gotland traditionally spoke their own language, known as
Gutnish. Today however, they have adapted a dialect of Swedish that is known as "Gotländska".In the 13th century, a work containing the laws of the island, called "The Gotlandic law" (Guta lagen), was published in the ancient Gutnish language.
Gotland is famous for its 94 medieval Gotland is famous for its 94 medieval churches churches, most of which are restored and in active use. These churches exhibit two major styles of architecture:
Romanesque architecture and
Gothic architecture. The older churches were constructed in the Romanesque style from 1150–1250 A.D. The newer churches were constructed in the Gothic architectural style that prevailed from about 1250 to 1400 A.D. The oldest painting inside one of the churches on Gotland stretches as far back in time as the 12th Century.
Traditional games of skill like
Kubb, Pärk, and
Varpa are played on Gotland. They are part of what has become called "Gutniska Lekar", and are performed preferably on the Midsummer’s Eve celebration on the island, but also throughout the summer months. The games have widespread renown; some of them are played by people as far away as in the United States.
Gotland also has a rich heritage of folklore, including myths about the
bysen, Di sma undar jordi, Hoburgsgubben and the Martebo lights.
Gotland competes in the bi-annual International Island Games Association, which it hosted in 1999.
Notable Gotlanders
- Christopher Polhem (1661–1751), the father of Swedish mechanical physics was born in Visby. He was also called the "Archimedes of the North".
- Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman lived on Fårö, the small island directly north of Gotland Island.
- Former ice hockey player in the NHL Hakan Loob.
- Lennart Eriksson, also known as Fjodor, the old punk star from Ebba Grön moved to Gotland soon after he left the band in 1982.
- Singer Susanne Alfvengren, famous in Sweden during the 1980s.
- Babben Larsson, stand-up comedian
- Tommy "Keno" Wahlgren
Dukes of Gotland
Since 1772, Swedish Princes have been created Dukes of various provinces. This is solely a nominal title.
- Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotland (from his birth in 1859 until his loss of succession rights in 1888)
References in popular culture
The Long Ships, or "Red Orm" (original title: "Röde Orm"), a best-selling
Swedish language novel written by Frans Gunnar Bengtsson, contains a vivid description of Gotland in the Viking period. A section of the book is devoted to a Viking ship setting out to
Russia, stopping on its way at Gotland and engaging a pilot from the island who plays an important part in their voyage. Gotlanders of the Viking Era are depicted as city people, more sophisticated and cosmopolitan than other Scandinavians of their time, and proud of their knowledge and skills.
References
External links
- All about Gotland - travel and accommodation
- Official Gotland Tourist Association
- Select Gotland — complete guide to Gotland!
- Picture pages about life in eastern Gotland — Oestergarnslandet
- Gotland
- Gotland
- Gotland
{{Infobox_Landskap|fullname=Gotland|name=Gotland|land=Sweden|area=3,145.45|flower=[Hedera helix|flower_swe=Murgröna|flower_lat=Hedera helix|animal=
Hedgehog, [Provinces of Sweden and Municipalities of Sweden of
Sweden and the largest
island in the
Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, it makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area. The region also includes the small islands of Fårö and
Gotska Sandön to the north, and the tiny Karlsö Islands to the west. Inhabitants number 57,600 (2004 figure), with about 22,600 living in the primary city
Visby. The main sources of income to the island are tourism and agriculture.
The region is considered by some historians to be the original homeland of the Goths.See
Goths and
Scandza for more information on this matter.
Geography
The island province of Gotland is represented by the current administrative entity, Gotland County. This county consists of the sole municipality (
kommun) Gotland Municipality.
Visby, with about two fifths of the island's population (approximately 22,600), is the seat of the county and municipal councils.
Gotland is located about 90 km east of the Swedish mainland and about 130 km from the Baltic States. The island Gotland is obviously just one island, but the historical province of Gotland also includes adjacent islands, which are often considered part of the Gotlandic culture:
Geology
complex.Gotland is made up of a sequence of
sedimentary rocks of a Silurian age, dipping to the south-east.The main Silurian succession of limestones and shales comprises thirteen units spanning 200-500 m of stratigraphic thickness, being thickest in the south, and overlies a 75-125 m thick
Ordovician sequence.{{cite book| author = Laufeld, S.
| year = 1974
| title = Silurian Chitinozoa from Gotland
| publisher = Universitetsforlaget
| series = Fossils and Strata
| number=5
--> It was deposited in a shallow, hot and salty sea, on the edge of an equatorial continent.Creer 1973 The water depth never exceeded 175–200 m,Gray, Laufield & Boucot, 1974 and shallowed over time as [bioherm detritus, and terrestrial sediments, filled the basin. Reef growth started in the [Llandovery, when the sea was 50–100 m deep, and reefs continued to dominate the sedimentary record. Some sandstones are present in the youngest rocks towards the south of the island, which represent sand bars deposited very close to the shore line.
The lime rocks have been weathered into characteristic karstic rock formations known as rauks. Fossils, mainly of
rugosa corals and brachiopods, are abundant throughout the island; palæo-sea stacks are preserved in places.
History
The island is the home of the Gutar (the
Gotlanders) and sites such as
Ajvide show that it has been occupied since prehistory. Early on Gotland became a commercial center and the town of
Visby was the most important Hanseatic league city in the Baltic Sea. The island had in late medieval time twenty district courts (ting (assembly)s), 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
Gutasaga contains legends of how the island was settled by Þjálfi and populated by his descendants. It also tells that a third of the population had to emigrate and settle in southern Europe, a tradition associated with the migration of the
Goths, whose name is actually historically identical and has the same origin as
Gutar, the native name of the people of the island. It later tells that the Gotlanders voluntarily submitted to the king of Sweden and asserts that it is based on mutual agreements, and notes the duties and obligations of the Swedish King and Bishop in relationship to Gotland. It is therefore not only an effort to write down the history of Gotland, but also an effort to assert Gotland's independence from Sweden.
It gives Awair Strabain as the man who arranged the mutually beneficial agreement with the king of Sweden, and the event would have taken place before the end of the 9th century, when Wulfstan of Hedeby reported that the island was subject to the Swedes:
Then, after the
Bornholm, we had on our left the lands that have been called from the earliest times
Blekingey, and Möre, and Öland, and Gotland, all which territory is subject to the
Suiones; and
Wendland was all the way on our right, as far as Vistula-mouth.
The city of Visby and rest of the island were 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 III of Sweden in 1288. In 1361, Waldemar Atterdag of Denmark invaded the island. The Victual Brothers occupied the island in 1394 to set up a stronghold headquarters on their own in Visby. At last Gotland came as a fiefdom of the Teutonic Knights, awarded to them on the condition that they expel the piratical Victual Brothers from their fortified sanctuary. An invasion army of
Teutonic Knights conquered the island in 1398, destroying Visby and driving the Victual Brothers from Gotland.
The number of Arab dirhams discovered on the island of Gotland alone is astoundingly high. In the various hoards located around the island, there are more of these silver coins than any other site in Western
Eurasia. The total sum is almost as great as the number that has been unearthed in the entire
Muslim world. These coins moved North through trade between Rus merchants and the
Abbasid Caliphate, along the
Silver-Fur Road, and the money made by Scandinavian merchants would help Northern Europe, especially Viking Scandinavia and the
Carolingian Empire, as major commercial centers for the next several centuries.
The authority of the landsting was successively eroded after the island was occupied by the Teutonic Order, then sold to Eric of Pomerania and after 1449 ruled by
Denmark governors. In late medieval times, the ting consisted of twelve representatives for the farmers, free-holders or tenants. Since the Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645, the island has remained under Swedish rule.
Heraldry
Gotland was granted its arms in about 1560, even though the island was at the time occupied by Denmark forces. The coat of arms is represented with a ducal 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."
The Gotlandic flag displays the Gotlandic national coat of arms, white on red ground, known from the 13th century in the shape of the seal of the Gotlandic Republic with the proud ram. It reads: "Gutenses signo xpistus signatur in agno". This can be translated as follows: "I (the ram) am the sign of the Gotlanders, but with the lamb symbolize Christ".
Culture
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 old city, dating from the time of the Hanseatic League.
The inhabitants of Gotland traditionally spoke their own language, known as Gutnish. Today however, they have adapted a dialect of Swedish that is known as "Gotländska".In the 13th century, a work containing the laws of the island, called "The Gotlandic law" (Guta lagen), was published in the ancient Gutnish language.
Gotland is famous for its 94 medieval Gotland is famous for its 94 medieval churches churches, most of which are restored and in active use. These churches exhibit two major styles of architecture:
Romanesque architecture and Gothic architecture. The older churches were constructed in the Romanesque style from 1150–1250 A.D. The newer churches were constructed in the Gothic architectural style that prevailed from about 1250 to 1400 A.D. The oldest painting inside one of the churches on Gotland stretches as far back in time as the 12th Century.
Traditional games of skill like Kubb, Pärk, and
Varpa are played on Gotland. They are part of what has become called "Gutniska Lekar", and are performed preferably on the Midsummer’s Eve celebration on the island, but also throughout the summer months. The games have widespread renown; some of them are played by people as far away as in the United States.
Gotland also has a rich heritage of folklore, including myths about the
bysen, Di sma undar jordi, Hoburgsgubben and the
Martebo lights.
Gotland competes in the bi-annual International Island Games Association, which it hosted in 1999.
Notable Gotlanders
- Christopher Polhem (1661–1751), the father of Swedish mechanical physics was born in Visby. He was also called the "Archimedes of the North".
- Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman lived on Fårö, the small island directly north of Gotland Island.
- Former ice hockey player in the NHL Hakan Loob.
- Lennart Eriksson, also known as Fjodor, the old punk star from Ebba Grön moved to Gotland soon after he left the band in 1982.
- Singer Susanne Alfvengren, famous in Sweden during the 1980s.
- Babben Larsson, stand-up comedian
- Tommy "Keno" Wahlgren
Dukes of Gotland
Since 1772, Swedish Princes have been created Dukes of various provinces. This is solely a nominal title.
References in popular culture
The Long Ships, or "Red Orm" (original title: "Röde Orm"), a best-selling Swedish language novel written by Frans Gunnar Bengtsson, contains a vivid description of Gotland in the Viking period. A section of the book is devoted to a Viking ship setting out to Russia, stopping on its way at Gotland and engaging a pilot from the island who plays an important part in their voyage. Gotlanders of the Viking Era are depicted as city people, more sophisticated and cosmopolitan than other Scandinavians of their time, and proud of their knowledge and skills.
References
External links
- All about Gotland - travel and accommodation
- Official Gotland Tourist Association
- Select Gotland — complete guide to Gotland!
- Picture pages about life in eastern Gotland — Oestergarnslandet
- Gotland
- Gotland
- Gotland
Gotland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gotland (help · info) is a county, province and municipality of Sweden and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, it makes up less than one ...
Gotland class submarine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Gotland class attack submarines of the Swedish Navy are modern diesel-electric submarines. They are the first submarines in the world to feature a Stirling engine air ...
Gotland Island
Education Training Environment Conservation Heritage Economic Community development Employment Children Young people human staff volunteers services care counselling umbrella ...
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Gotland har något för alla och det är ingen myt att det känns som att resa utomlands. Gotlands Turistbyrå på internet
Gotland sheep
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Gotland home page. High suction, waste removal and material handling ...
Gotland Limited supply, install, hire out and service large vacuum machines, suction units, etc. ... A quick word about what we do. Gotland is the market leader in compact high ...
Category:Gotland - Wikimedia Commons
Media in category "Gotland" The following 44 files are in this category, out of 44 total.
West Gotland / Gothenburg cottages. Find and book 2 bedroom holiday ...
West Gotland / Gothenburg cottages. Find and book 2 bedroom holiday apartments in West Gotland / Gothenburg. Your guide to cottages and holiday self catering in West Gotland ...
National Sheep Association - Gotland
National Sheep Association (NSA) - The UK Sheep Farmers Organisation. NSA is an organisation which represents the views and interests of sheep producers throughout the UK. NSA is ...
Gotland
Gotland Photos: Mats Jansson
