Almedalen (in literal English translation: ''The Elm Valley'') is a park in the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

city of

Visby Visby () is an urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably th ...

on the island of

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...

. It is well known in Sweden as the central site of the annual

Almedalen Week The Almedalen Week (''Almedalsveckan'', also known as Politician's Week in Almedalen, ''Politikerveckan i Almedalen'') is an annual event taking place in week 26 in and around Almedalen, a park in the city of Visby on the Swedish island Gotland. ...

. In medieval times the area, just outside the

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

, was the city harbour. Due to the

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound a ...

, the port over time grew too shallow and a new one had to be constructed further away from the city, where the sea is deeper. In the 19th century the area went by the name ''Gamle Hamn'' (Old Port). When the area was planted with

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

s in the 1870s, the name Almedalen was coined. In Sweden, the name Almedalen is generally associated with the

, an annual event in Visby, which is an important meeting place for everyone involved in Swedish politics. During the week, which takes place during the 27th week of every year, representatives from the major political parties in Sweden take turns giving speeches in the park. The county library of Gotland, the conference centre Visby Strand (opened in April 2007), and

Campus Gotland Uppsala University – Campus Gotland ( sv, Uppsala universitet – Campus Gotland) is a campus of Uppsala University and a former university college (''högskola'') previously known in English as University of Gotland ( sv, Högskolan på Gotland ...

are situated next to the park.

References

External links

Municipality of Gotland: Almedalen
Visby Parks in Sweden Tourist attractions in Gotland County Geography of Gotland County {{Gotland-geo-stub