Gotland Province, Sweden Genealogy

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Sweden

Provinces

Gotland

History

Gotland was a province before becoming Gotland County. The name of the province dates back to Medieval times.

The island was formed after the Ice Age due to post-glacial rebound. Skeletal remains found there turned out to be about 8000 years old. DNA analysis revealed relationship to both modern-day Finns and Mediterraneans. According to Gutasaga, the inhabitants called Gutes voluntarily gave government into the hands of the Swedish king.

Very early in time, Gotland became a commercial center of that area, with with the town of Visby the most important Hanseatic city in the Baltic Sea, causing Visby to have a different government than the rest of the island in that time.

Main events in Gotland history are:

• 1288: King Magnus III of Sweden puts down a civil war, caused by the German merchants in Visby.
• 1361: Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark invaded the island.
• 1394: The piratical Victual Brothers occupied the island.
• 1398: An invading army of Teutonic Knights conquered the island destroyed Visby and drove the Victual Brothers from Gotland.
• 1409: Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen of the Teutonic Knights sold the island of Gotland to Queen Margaret of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
• 1449: Danish governors in Gotland.
• 1645: Gotland remains under Swedish rule since the Treaty of Brömsebro that year.
• 1808: During the Finnish War between Sweden and Russia, a Russian Army took Visby and occupied the island, but Gotland was liberated after about 1 month.

Many remainders from Viking time were found in Gotland, but also huge amounts of Arab dirhams testifying from merchandise with Russia and he Abbasid Caliphate, along the Silver-Fur Road.

The population of Gotland was roughly 58,000 people in 2016.

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