Cranes cry somewhere out there over the golden fields. I can see all the way to the horizon and the sky above is vast and infinite blue. I’m on the Swedish island of Gotland for Medeltidsveckan, a yearly festival about all things Medieval. This is my third year and this year I’m a co-creator, offering an event in the programme.
We have rented a cottage half an hour north east of Visby where the festival takes place. My introvert side appreciates the time away from the crowds. Not that you can’t find a quiet side street or calm spot at the beach in Visby. But up here it is nice too. A cafe with delicious crepes made from scratch. The medieval church which like all the 100 hundred churches on Gotland is special in its own way and well worth a visit. A scenic harbour with a fish shop, a sandy beach, and a spectacular sunset over the sea from the top of the limestone cliffs.
Travelling is easier when you travel to a place you have been to before. Except this year I had an inflammation in my elbow and spend most of our first day here in the emergency room. The service here is good. Gotland is well prepared for receiving its one million visitors yearly. I get fixed up and can join the fun with a neat little bandage added to this year’s outfit.
Gotlandia
I’m running Gotlandia with my oldest twice. Gotlandia is a boardgame about Medieval Gotland that my son and I created over the last three years. Well tested and polished by now, I’m looking forward to present it to the festival guests. Two afternoons at Frimis, we sit in their walled garden playing boardgames while other guests enjoy lunch and drinks in the sun. On a small stage, performers come and go, and people enjoy themselves.
Monday we get three players, experienced boardgamers who also dabble into game design. They are quick to get the hang of the game and compliments me on design elements. Wednesday we get seven players, a different crowd. At one point one exclaims: This is better than Settlers! Two others need a beer before they get up to speed with how the game plays. The Wednesday players also have fun. Two ask where they can buy the game.
Gotlandia is not for sale. The design is done and I would love to see it on the shelves of the local game store here but I hesitate to take the next step. Running a crowdfunding campaign is not fun. Pitching to publishers is not fun. And I’m doing this for fun. So I’m touring festivals and conventions with Gotlandia instead. LinCon in the spring. And now Medeltidsveckan in August.
My son and I both get co-creator wristbands, these are high status indicators here especially when you are 14. It was also a pleasant experience to get Gotlandia on the programme, I reached out to the organisers about six months ago.
I’m charging the lowest per seat ticket price. It has the effect that the people who sign up show up. It is not possible to have players come and go for this type of event. I’m asking people to take three hours out of their festival time. This year ten players did so and had a great time. Will we come back and run Gotlandia again next year? Time will tell but the balance between work and fun felt right.
Next step for Gotlandia is to 3d print playing pieces. Instead of using churches from Settlers of Catan, we want churches that look like Gotland churches.
The Medieval Market
The heart of Medeltidsveckan is the market place. Between the Botanical Garden, the sea front and the city wall, it’s a sprawling tapestry of booths offering food and drink, clothes and jewellery, bagpipes and tattoos. Plastic and modern conveniences are frowned upon except when it comes to paying. What is cool to see is that here are not seasoned traders but also people with passion projects; a young woman selling her self published historical novel next to an aspiring fantasy author.
This year I particular enjoyed listening in at Forum Vulgaris, the open stage near the food stalls where performers promote their evening shows.
Danish tourists
One thing I noticed this year is people speaking Danish. Danes have discovered Gotland as a holiday destination it seems. I spoke with several, none were aware of Medeltidsveckan before coming here. Some came here to bike around Gotland. Gotland is flat once you get up from the coast and even if the island is large, you can cover a lot of distance on a day trip on an electric bike. Others by car with plans to continue to Stockholm later.
One asked if they could see a local church. My wife laughed when I told her; the first year here with a car, we stopped at two or three churches per day. I suggested my fellow Dane to visit Bro and Dalhem both close to Visby, and then to download the app describing all of Gotlands 100 churches. Volunteers help make each church accessible daily during the summer from nine morning to late afternoon.
Gotland is a little out of the way for most Danes, but still a better option for many than driving down to the hot and crowded cities of southern Europe. You can spend a week here and still want to come back again for more. More of the same and to explore more. Even after this my fifth visit, there is plenty I haven’t seen yet. Gotland is the size of the Danish island Fyn with only a quarter of the population.
Gotland Museum
On our final day I visited Gotland Museum. I wanted to see what was new since last time I visited, and I wanted to take more pictures of the Gotland picture stones to use for projects.
This year they offer an exhibit on Vikings. They sure do know their audience. People from Gotland sailed and traded and pillaged well before a group of Danes or Norwegians raided Lindisfarne, but you will find rune stones and buried vikings and silver here too. My only compliant is a display showing Stockholm on a map of 12th century trade routes in the Baltic. Stockholm was founded in 1250. But of course soon became an important trade node with its deep water harbour at the gate into the prosperous lands of Lake Mälaren.
Visby by night
One evening I drove my wife and oldest to see a concert with a Swedish band playing medieval rock. Not attending myself as I didn’t want to risk bumping my arm in a dancing crowd, I instead walked the streets of Visby as the night fell. Music and cheering crowds spread into the streets and mixed with the those more quiet of us meditating over the late summer sunset. Here too I felt the soul of a city that has greeted and welcomed travellers for a thousand years.
