Powder Tower

Visby, Sweden

The so-called Powder Tower (Kruttornet) is the oldest monument in Visby. It was built in the 12th century to protect the harbour. There was initially no door in the tower, but only a small entrance in 10 meters high. Defenders used ladders to climb up to the entrance. Today 25 meter high tower is open to the public in summer season.

References:

Address

Fiskarplan 1, Visby, Sweden

See all sites in Visby

Details

Founded: 12th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

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User Reviews

steve (2 years ago)
Wonderful place to visit. So much architecture, a few ruins, very photographic town.

Robert Wagstaff (2 years ago)
Nice place to visit but to see it all, hire a taxi or bike so you can stop where you want not a tour bus like we did

Giovanni Andres Moya Avendaño (2 years ago)
A beautiful place with a rich historical and cultural heritage.

Juyin Inamdar (2 years ago)
It’s amazing how the town wall is still preserved and you can feel the town within preserved in the medieval era too. It’s a nice stroll around the town wall and it is really lovely to see all the houses well preserved along the way. Surely there are places where you can see some houses have their backyards attached to this wall. But is impressive to see how well it is still standing.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Infomastern

Historic Site of the week

Visby Cathedral

Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.

Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.

There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.