18 Facts About Gotland

1.

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

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2.

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

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3.

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

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4.

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

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5.

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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6.

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.

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7.

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

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8.

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.

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9.

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

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10.

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

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11.

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

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12.

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.

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13.

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.

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14.

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.

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15.

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

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16.

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.

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17.

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

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18.

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

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