Gibraltar to Orkney

Ferries operate throughout the year from the harbour in Visby, to Sweden. There are also regular domestic daily air flights with direct connections to Stockholm with additional flights to Gothenburg, Malmo and Helsinki in the summer.

Gotland’s population is about 58,000, with 21,000 inhabitants in Visby, 2,000 of whom live within the well preserved city wall. In 1995 Visby, with its impressive walls, medieval town plan, buildings and ruins, was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

More than 1,000 farmhouses from the Viking and Medieval periods are still inhabited. In 1645 Gotland became Swedish. Today, the island is an administrative province, a municipality with county council responsibilities as well as a Diocese and a military presence.

The second biggest branch of industry is the food industry with its slaughterhouse, dairies, mills, tinned vegetable plants and fishing product refineries. There are also timber and cement industries.

The single largest employer is the Municipality of Gotland with around 7,000 employees but the cutbacks in the public sector is a fact. The future for Gotland lies in developing the private service sector. Gotland continues to increase its contacts and exchanges with the rest of the world. Approximately 600,000 people visit the island each year and tourism is of great importance.

Gotlanders have their own dialect and cultural heritage. Almost every Parish has its own choir, dance groups and folk musicians, and all year round concerts and musical events are popular and well supported. Artists of all kinds have found inspiration on Gotland, and there are numerous studios, workshops and art galleries.

Living in Gotland, the travel distances are short. With more free time, sport plays a large and important part in the daily life of the Gotlandic people. Around 170 sports centres and other facilities are spread around the island. Football and ice-hockey, together with horse riding, are the most popular sports.

Many Gotlanders also like cross-country and orienteering. Gotland has its own ancient sports, namely varpa throwing and park (a ball game). Every summer the Stanga Games (or the Gotlandic Olympics) are held. One of the events is of the Gotlandic pentathlon, which includes tossing the caber, another ancient sport which has also survived in Scotland.

Medals in 2007 Games in Rhodes

Gold: 23
Silver: 21
Bronze: 10
Total: 54

Medals in 2005 Games in Shetland

Gold: 12
Silver: 6
Bronze: 12
Total: 30

Medals in 2003 Games in Guernsey

Gold: 11
Silver: 12
Bronze: 9
Total: 32