Before that, however, Gotland was independently ruled by Vikings, the Scandinavian groups known for their widespread, violent colonization beginning in the late eighth century. The island is home ...

A former Viking site on the island of Gotland, Visby was the main centre of the Hanseatic League in the Baltic from the 12th to the 14th century. Its 13th-century ramparts and more than 200 warehouses ...