Medeltidsveckan
The Medieval Week ( Swedish Medeltidsveckan ) is an event on the Swedish island of Gotland . The island's inhabitants regard it as part of a (revived) folklore or as a culture of remembrance , as a historicizing medieval market and tourist spectacle.
The Medeltidsveckan has been held every year since 1984 in August in the 32nd calendar week. The organizer is the Stiftelsen Medeltidsveckan . It includes Gotlands Bildningsförbund, Gotlands Fornvänner, Gotlands kommun , Gotlands Hembygdsförbund, Gotlands Turistförening and the Medeltidsgillet, the Gotland medieval guild. The historical background is the conquest of Gotland by Valdemar IV Atterdag , King of Denmark, in 1361.
At Medeltidsveckan , the island's capital Visby is transformed into a 14th century Hanseatic city . There is a lot of activity on the medieval streets and markets.
Many of the around 40,000 visitors come in medieval clothing. The Gotlänningar in particular place great value on the authenticity of their clothing and equipment. The Medeltidsveckan program covers the entire island. Numerous markets and concerts as well as a number of cultural events on historical topics take place in places steeped in history such as the Visby Cathedral . The jousting tournaments are one of the highlights of the week. In addition to the fighting knights, archers present themselves in competition. The tournaments are enjoying so popular that some are held in the country and in the city of Visby in July.
A musical, Jungfru-sägnen ("The Jungfrau Sage") by Josephine Alfredson Agnestig , was also performed in 2012 in Sankta Karin's ruins . Bengt Sprowede from Sproge played Valdemar Atterdag and Jonas Larsson Grönström from Hemse (later Visby) played his son, Crown Prince Christoffer of Denmark .
Re-enacted entry of Waldemar Atterdag's troops into Visby