Stora Karlso, Sweden
Back in Swedish waters, we awoke to fine weather just off shore of the small island of Stora Karlso, a rocky outcrop close to its larger neighbor, Gotland. The island is composed of 400 million year old Silurian limestone, which abounds with fossil corals and mollusks. We landed on the island shortly after breakfast and were met by guides who work on this nature reserve. The island is renowned for its variety of wild flowers, including many rare orchids, and its seabird colony, where impressive numbers of guillemots and razorbills breed. Stora Karlso was the second established protected nature area in the world after Yellowstone National Park and has a fantastic small museum which details local wildlife and geology. The island was first inhabited around 7,000 BC when hunter-gatherers arrived and exploited a wide range of seasonally available food sources. In the early twentieth century a cave on the island, known as Stora Forvar, which translates as ‘Big Store,’ was excavated and yielded a vast amount of artifacts and other material remains which were dated to the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. A most pleasant time was had by all either exploring the cave or hiking up to watch the seabirds on their nests.
Towards late morning the National Geographic Endeavour continued on to Gotland. The afternoon was spent exploring the medieval core of its main town, Visby. This charming town was a vortex of Viking activity in the ninth and tenth centuries and later became an important center of Hanseatic commerce. Because of its strategic position and accumulated wealth, the fourteenth century king of Denmark, Waldemar Atterdag, set his sights on it. In July 1361 he invaded the island with an armada of ships and marched on Visby. A peasant army of 1,800 strong were locked outside the fortified town by their urban compatriots and were left to stand on their own against the onslaught of Atterdag’s forces. The defenders were badly equipped and were utterly annihilated by the massively superior forces of the King of Denmark. The bodies were hastily dumped in huge mass graves which were discovered in the early twentieth century. On our walking tour of Visby we dropped into the local museum which has on display some of the human remains and weapons which were recovered during the excavations in addition to a fantastic collection of prehistoric artifacts. The town boasts an impressive selection of medieval architectural remains including substantial sections of its original fortified walls.
Back in Swedish waters, we awoke to fine weather just off shore of the small island of Stora Karlso, a rocky outcrop close to its larger neighbor, Gotland. The island is composed of 400 million year old Silurian limestone, which abounds with fossil corals and mollusks. We landed on the island shortly after breakfast and were met by guides who work on this nature reserve. The island is renowned for its variety of wild flowers, including many rare orchids, and its seabird colony, where impressive numbers of guillemots and razorbills breed. Stora Karlso was the second established protected nature area in the world after Yellowstone National Park and has a fantastic small museum which details local wildlife and geology. The island was first inhabited around 7,000 BC when hunter-gatherers arrived and exploited a wide range of seasonally available food sources. In the early twentieth century a cave on the island, known as Stora Forvar, which translates as ‘Big Store,’ was excavated and yielded a vast amount of artifacts and other material remains which were dated to the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. A most pleasant time was had by all either exploring the cave or hiking up to watch the seabirds on their nests.
Towards late morning the National Geographic Endeavour continued on to Gotland. The afternoon was spent exploring the medieval core of its main town, Visby. This charming town was a vortex of Viking activity in the ninth and tenth centuries and later became an important center of Hanseatic commerce. Because of its strategic position and accumulated wealth, the fourteenth century king of Denmark, Waldemar Atterdag, set his sights on it. In July 1361 he invaded the island with an armada of ships and marched on Visby. A peasant army of 1,800 strong were locked outside the fortified town by their urban compatriots and were left to stand on their own against the onslaught of Atterdag’s forces. The defenders were badly equipped and were utterly annihilated by the massively superior forces of the King of Denmark. The bodies were hastily dumped in huge mass graves which were discovered in the early twentieth century. On our walking tour of Visby we dropped into the local museum which has on display some of the human remains and weapons which were recovered during the excavations in addition to a fantastic collection of prehistoric artifacts. The town boasts an impressive selection of medieval architectural remains including substantial sections of its original fortified walls.
