The Battle of VisbyThe Battle of Visby

Read this in — Svenska

Discover Visby with an exciting walking tour game

Sigge the cat is worried. He was about to show you a really nice lookout point when something unexpected happened and he lost sight of his master. Usually there is no cause for alarm when that happens, but this time is different. The Danish king Valdemar Atterdag and his soldiers are marching towards Visby. They have already conquered the southern parts of Sweden, and Gotland is next.

Join Sigge to look for his master outside the safety of the city walls. Will you manage to stay clear of the heat of the battle and find him before it is too late?

The Battle of Visby from a cat’s point of view

You meet Sigge close to Skansport, where you climb the city wall to be able to see the signal fires glow through the fog. Sigge takes you to the locations inside, and outside, the city walls where the events of the battle took place. In each location you will be able to take part of the story in different ways. Look for secret passageways through the city wall, and protect Sigge from enemy fire.

As you walk between locations, your four-legged friend tells you everything he knows about Valdemar Atterdag and the legends that sprung from the Danish king’s invasion.

The StoryTourist app will show you the way

To walk this tour, you’ll download the user-friendly StoryTourist app. The app is equipped with a map, GPS, a narrator and digital guide which makes sure you walk in the right direction. Once you have purchased the tour it is yours to keep. You can use it at any time and as many times as you wish.

Through the StoryTourist-app, you’ll hear the story of the battle of Visby. The only thing you need to be able to explore Visby in a brand-new way is a smartphone with headphones.

This StoryTour is written by Kajsa Gillsjö Collin.

Read this in — Svenska

How this tour works:

Your smartphone is your guide on this tour! Once you have purchased a tour, this is what you do:

Download the StoryTourist app from Apple App Store or Google Play, while connected to Wi-Fi.
Log into the app using the same email address you filled in when purchasing the tour. You will create your password the first time you log into the app. The tour you have purchased will be ready to download in the tour library once you have logged in. Make sure you are still connected to Wi-Fi while downloading the tour.
Go to the starting point of the tour, open the app, put your headphones on and head out on your StoryTour adventure!

Important information:

This is a location based experience. You have to be at the tour starting point at Artilleribacken in Visby, Sweden, to start this walking tour.
Once the tour is downloaded to your phone, you can use it offline.
There is a map, GPS and a digital guide in the app, making sure that you’ll walk the right way.
This tour is available in English and Swedish.
Once you have purchased the tour, it is your to keep. You can use it whenever you want and as many times as you would like. You can start, pause and end the tour whenever you would like.
This tour is pet friendly – feel free to bring your dog on this walk!
Public transport is available close to both the tour start point and end point.
This tour is not accessible to wheelchair users due to stairs.
We recommend participants to be at least 9 years old or over, due to the dark theme of the tour.

What to bring:

Your smartphone, with the StoryTourist app and the tour you purchased already downloaded.
Headphones, for the best possible listening experience
Make sure that your smartphone battery is fully charged. If you know that your phone has poor battery capacity, it can be a good idea to bring a powerbank as well.

Tour starting point

This tour starts by the big tree on the corner of Artilleribacken. Sigge the cat is hiding in the tree, but he'll come down and join you for a walk.

Skansport

This passageway through the city wall was opened in 1879, to make it possible for the horse-drawn artillery to exit the city, and to make transport from the city easier.

Söderport

Söderport (South gate) was likely constructed between 1300-1350, when the city wall was elevated. The gate became an important entrance point to the city.

Södertorg

The area around this square was sparsely populated for a long time, there were even pastures and a windmill here in the 1600s. A military exercise field was built here in the 1700s.

Kajsarporten

There was no gate here at the time of the Battle of Visby. This gate was constructed in 1661, when a local farmer wanted to herd her cattle to a pasture outside the city wall.

The Battlefield

This is where the Battle of Visby took place in 1361. Valdemar Atterdag’s Danish army of 2000 soldiers defeated the poorly equipped farmers who were trying to protect Visby.

Korsbetningen

The Battle of Visby is also called the Battle of Korsbetningen (Cross pasture). A mass grave with a stone cross honoring the fallen farmers was established in the pasture after the battle.

Söderport

When the Battle of Visby was over and the Gotlandic farmers had been defeated, Valdemar Atterdag and his army marched into the city through Söderport (the south gate).

Lookout point

From this beautiful lookout point you can see the harbor area, and to the southwest you can see the stone church ruins of St: Per and St: Hans, built in the 1100s and 1200s.

Stora torget

This is the location of the S:ta Karin church ruin, built in the early 1200s. Construction of an addition was halted in the mid 1300s, most likely due to Valdemar Atterdag conquering the city in 1361.

The Wine house

This used to be a lively gathering place during the 1200-1300’s, then called Rolandstorget. The so-called wine house, which housed city hall, was located here.

Dubbens gränd

On the left side of Dubbens gränd (alley) is the Liljehornska house, a grand warehouse built around 1234. This white building is Northern Europe’s tallest warehouse from the 1200s.