18 Facts About Gotland

Gotland, historically spelled Gottland or Gothland, is Sweden's largest island.

Gotland is a fully integrated part of Sweden with no particular autonomy, unlike several other offshore island groups in Europe.

Gotland'storically there was a linguistic difference between the archipelago and the mainland with Gutnish being the native language.

In winter, Gotland usually remains surrounded by ice-free water and has mild weather.

Early on, Gotland became a commercial center, with the town of Visby the most important Hanseatic city in the Baltic Sea.

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At last, Gotland became a fief of the Teutonic Knights, awarded to them on the condition that they expel the piratical Victual Brothers from their fortified sanctuary.

Gotland is Sweden's largest island, and it is the largest island fully encompassed by the Baltic Sea .

The last time the whole passage from the mainland to Gotland froze was in 1987 when icebreakers were used to maintain passenger and goods traffic to the island.

Gotland is made up of a sequence of sedimentary rocks of a Silurian age, dipping to the south-east.

Gotland has the world's northernmost established vineyard and winery, located in Hablingbo.

Gotland occupies a strategic location in the Baltic sea from a defence viewpoint.

The Swedish government decided in March 2015, to begin reestablishing a permanent military presence on Gotland, starting with an initial 150 troop garrison, consisting primarily of elements from the Swedish Army.

Gotland became very popular with socialites at the time through Princess Eugenie who lived in Vasterhejde, in the west part of the island from the 1860s.

Gotland is usually the part of Sweden which receives the most hours of sunlight during a year with Visby statistically the location with the most sunshine in Sweden.

Gotland is noted for its 94 Medieval churches, most of which are restored and in active use.

Knotwork design subsequently named the "Valknut" has the most attested historic instances on picture stones in Gotland, which include being on both the Stora Hammars I and the Tangelgarda stones.

Gotland has a rich heritage of folklore, including myths about the bysen, Di sma undar jordi, Hoburgsgubben and the Martebo lights.

Gotland has two senior women's sport teams playing in the first tiers: basketball team Visby Ladies Basket Club and floorball team Endre IF .