ROSES AMONG THE RUINS
A rose may be a rose everywhere else, but a rose in Visby is something rather special. The ancient capital of Gotland - Sweden's largest island, situated in the Baltic - is known as the “City of Ruins and Roses” and there is good reason for both attributes.
Flowers flourish throughout Scandinavia in an amazing abundance and because of the long days of sunlight during the summer they attain a size and luxuriance that is uncanny. But the roses of Visby seem to sprout like weeds (though they are orderly in tidy beds) and the red of their petals is a hue scarcely approached anywhere else because of the special composition of the soil.
Many of the ruins are so well preserved that the word might be inappropriate even though Visby's ancient walls and cathedrals date from the 12th century. The city was once one of the most important in the World. It was the seat of a group of wealthy merchants who made Visby a powerful member of the Hanseatic League and dominated the trade between northern and southern Europe.
But Gotland's history goes back even further into the dawn of trade and commerce. Its earth has yielded treasures that show that it was in contact with Minoan, Greek, and Roman cultures at a time when much of Europe and Scandinavia was an unsettled wilderness. But the golden age for Gotland came in the 12th century when Visby's merchants were the commercial powers of the North and their wealth multiplied like the fortunes of Midas.
History's whims wiped most of it away. Trade routes shifted. Invaders came. In 1361 the island and city surrendered to the Danes, and during the next century there were various occupiers from around the Baltic, until Sweden's Gustav Vasa affixed the island to the Swedish crown in 1524.
Most of the money may be gone but the riches of roses and ruins are still there, -- the maze of medieval streets, timber-fronted houses centuries old, and regal old residences - are very much as they were in the days of Visby's glorious past. It is a favourite spot with vacationers from the nearby Baltic countries, but it is unknown to most travellers from the rest of Europe and America.
This summer, however, the Caronia will include a call at Gotland and the passengers may visit Visby, on her North Cape Cruise. The liner's popular cruise will make calls at 23 ports and American Express are offering 50 shore tours from the ports-of-call in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Poland, Germany, Scotland and Ireland.
[Produced for the North Cape Cruise departing New York 29 June 1963]