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GOTLAND

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Originally appearing in Volume V12, Page 277 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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GOTLAND , an See also:

island in the Baltic See also:Sea belonging to See also:Sweden, lying between 57° and 58° N., and having a length from S. S. W. to N.N.E. of 75 m., a breadth not exceeding 30 m., and an See also:area of 1142 sq. m. The nearest point on the mainland is 5o M. from the westernmost point of the island. With the island F$ro, off the See also:northern extremity; the Karlsoe, off the See also:west See also:coast, and Gotska Sando, 25 M. N. by E., Gotland forms the administrative See also:district (lan) of Gotland. The island is a level See also:plateau of See also:Silurian See also:limestone, rising gently eastward, of an See also:average height of 8o to too ft., with steep coasts fringed with tapering, See also:free-See also:standing columns of limestone (raukar). A few See also:low isolated hills rise inland. The See also:climate is temperate, and the See also:soil, although in parts dry and sterile, is mostly fertile. Former marshy See also:moors have been largely drained and cultivated. There are extensive See also:sand-See also:dunes in the See also:north. As usual in a limestone formation, some of the streams have their courses partly below the See also:surface, and caverns are not infrequent.

Less than See also:

half the See also:total area is under See also:forest, the extent of which was formerly much greater. See also:Barley, See also:rye, See also:wheat and oats are grown, especially the first, which is exported to the breweries on the mainland. The See also:sugar-See also:beet is also produced and exported, and there are beet-sugar See also:works on the island. See also:Sheep and See also:cattle are kept; there is a See also:government sheep See also:farm at See also:Roma, and the cattle may be noted as belonging principally to an old native breed, yellow and horned. Some See also:lime-burning, See also:cement-making and sea-fishing are carried on. The See also:capital of the island is See also:Visby, on the west coast. There are over 8o m. of See also:railways. Lines run from Visby N.E. to Tingstade and S. to Hofdhem, with branches from Roma to Klintehamn, a small watering-See also:place on the west coast, and to Slitehamn on the See also:east. Excepting along the coast the island has no scenic attraction, but it is of the highest archaeological See also:interest. Nearly every See also:village has its ruined See also:church, and others occur where no villages remain. The shrunken walled See also:town of Visby was one of the richest commercial centres of the Baltic from the 11th to the 14th See also:century, and its prosperity wa's shared by the, whole island. It retains ten churches besides the See also:cathedral.

The massive towers of the village churches are often detached, and doubtless served purposes of See also:

defence. The churches of Roma, Hemse, with remarkable mural paintings, Othen and Larbo may be specially noted. Some contain See also:fine stained See also:glass, as at Dalhem near Visby. The natives of Gotland speak a See also:dialect distinguished from that of any See also:part of the See also:Swedish mainland. .Pop. of lan (1900) 52,781. Gotland was subject to Sweden before 890, and in 1030 was christianized by St See also:Olaf, See also:king of See also:Norway, when returning from his See also:exile at See also:Kiev. He dedicated the first church in the island to St See also:Peter at Visby. At that See also:time Visby had See also:long been one of the most important trading towns in the Baltic, and the See also:chief distributing centre of the See also:oriental See also:commerce which came to See also:Europe along the See also:rivers of See also:Russia. In the See also:early years of the Hanseatic See also:League, or about the See also:middle of the 13th century, it became the chief See also:depot for the produce of the eastern Baltic countries, including, in a commercial sense, its daughter See also:colony (ISth century or earlier) of See also:Novgorod the See also:Great. Although Visby was an See also:independent member of the Hanseatic League, the See also:influence of Ltibeck was See also:paramount in the See also:city, and half its governing See also:body were men of See also:German descent. Indeed, Bjorkander endeavours to prove that the city was a German (Hanseatic) See also:foundation, dating principally from the middle of the 12th century. However that may be, the importance of Visby in the sea See also:trade of the North is conclusively attested by the famous See also:code of maritime See also:law which bears its name.

This Waterrecht dat de Kooplude en de Schippers gemakt hebben to Visby (" sea-law which the merchants and See also:

seamen have made at Visby ") was a compilation based upon the Ltibeck code, the See also:Oleron code and the See also:Amsterdam code, and was first printed in Low German in 1505, but in all See also:probability had its origin about 1240, or not much later (see SEA See also:LAWS). By the middle of the 14th century the reputation of the See also:wealth of the city was so great that, according to an old ballad, " the Gotlanders weighed out See also:gold with See also:stone weights and played with the choicest jewels. The See also:swine See also:ate out of See also:silver troughs, and the See also:women spun with distaffs of gold." This fabled wealth was too strong a temptation for the energetic Valdemar Atterdag of See also:Denmark.. In 1361 he invaded the island, routed the defenders of Visby under the city walls (a monolithic See also:cross marks the See also:burial-place of the islanders who See also:fell) and plundered the city. From this See also:blow it never recovered, its decay being, however, materially helped by the fact that for the greater part of the next 150 years it was the stronghold of successive freebooters or sea-rovers-first, of the Hanseatic privateers called Vitalienbrodre or Viktualienbriider, who made it their stronghold during the last eight years of the 14th century; then of the See also:Teutonic Knights, whose See also:Grand See also:Master drove out the " Victuals See also:Brothers," and kept the island until it was redeemed by See also:Queen See also:Margaret. There too Erik XIII. (the Pomeranian), after being driven out of Denmark by his own subjects, established himself in 1437, and for a dozen years waged piracy upon Danes and Swedes alike. After him came Olaf and Ivar Thott, two Danish lords, who down to the See also:year 1487 terrorized the seas from their pirates' stronghold of Visby. Lastly, the Danish See also:admiral Soren Norrby, the last supporter of See also:Christian I. of Denmark, when his master's cause was lost, waged a See also:guerrilla See also:war upon the Danish See also:merchant See also:ships and others from the same convenient See also:base. But this led to an expedition by the men of See also:Lubeck, who partly destroyed Visby in 1525. By the See also:peace of See also:Stettin (1570) Gotland was confirmed to the Danish See also:crown, to which it had been given by Queen Margaret. But at the peace of Bromsebro in 1645 it was at length restored to Sweden, to which it has since belonged, except for the three years.1676-1679, when it was forcibly occupied by the Danes, and a few See also:weeks in 18o8, when the Russians landed a force.

The extreme wealth of the Gotlanders naturally fostered a spirit of See also:

independence, and their relations with Sweden were curious. The island at one See also:period paid an See also:annual See also:tribute of 6o marks of silver to Sweden, but it was clearly recognized that it was paid by the See also:desire of the Gotlanders, and not enforced by Sweden. The See also:pope recognized their independence, and it was by their own free will that they came under the spiritual See also:charge of the See also:bishop of See also:Linkoping. Their See also:local government was republican in See also:form, and a popular See also:assembly is indicated in the written Gotland Law, which See also:dates not later than the middle of the 13th century. Sweden had no rights of objection to the See also:measures adopted by this body, and there was no Swedish See also:judge or other See also:official in the island. Visby had a See also:system of government and rights independent of, and in some measure opposed to, that of the See also:rest of the island. It seems clear that there were at one time two See also:separate corporations, for the native Gotlanders and the See also:foreign traders respectively, and that these were subsequently fused. The rights and status of native Gotlanders were not enjoyed by foreigners as a whole-even intermarriage was illegal—but Germans, on See also:account of their commercial pre-See also:eminence in the island, were excepted. See C. H. See also:Bergman, Gotlands geografi och historic (See also:Stockholm, 1898) and Gotlandska skildringar och minnen (Visby, 1902) ; A. T.

Snobohm, Gotlands See also:

land och folk (Visby, 1897 et seq.) ; W. Moler, Bidrag till en Gotlandsk bibliografi (Stockholm, 1890) ; Hans See also:Hildebrand, Visby och Bess Minnesmarken (Stockholm, 1892 et seq.); A. Bjorkander, Till Visby Stads Aeldsta Historia (1898), where most of the literature dealing with the subject is mentioned; but some of the author's arguments require See also:criticism. For local government and rights see K. See also:Hegel, Stadter and Gilden See also:im Mittelalter (See also:book iii. ch. iii., See also:Leipzig, 1891).

End of Article: GOTLAND

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