Galgberget (the Gallow Hill) is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

just north 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 ...

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 ...

, Sweden. The area is bounded to the west by the

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

edge, in the east by County Road 149, and in the south by the town of Visby. Galgberget is named after the still remaining

gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...

, built during the 13th century, where local criminals used to be executed. It was claimed to be the only preserved

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the State (polity), state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to ...

site in Europe however there is another one near Furtner Teich, Austria. The gallows consist of a low, circular stone wall with three pillars of stone rising from it. Wooden beams rested on the pillars, and criminals were

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...

from these using ropes and hooks. It is believed that the gallows were in use until 1845. The gallows were situated so that there was a clear view of them in Visby and from the sea, so that everyone could view those who had been executed. In July 2008, archaeologists from the

Gotland Museum The Gotland Museum ( sv, Gotlands museum) (previously known as ''Länsmuseet på Gotland'' or ''Gotlands Fornsal'') in Visby, Sweden, is the county museum of Gotland. It was founded by the Friends of Gotland's Antiquity society in 1875, at the in ...

found the bones of some 30 people who had been executed, presumably on the spot, in an archaeological trench inside the stone circle of the gallows. The area has barren vegetation due to its

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

constitution, the most common plant being ''

Prunus spinosa ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, ...

'', commonly called the blackthorn or sloe. It is a popular hiking area. Galgberget also has the ruin of a

lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime (material), lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this chemical reaction, reaction is :Calcium carbonate, Ca ...

and a disused motor stadium. , there are also a number of recently built apartment houses. During the Medieval Week reenactment of the

Battle of Visby The Battle of Visby was fought in 1361 near the town of Visby on the island of Gotland, between the forces of the Danish king and the Gutnish country yeomen. The Danish force was victorious. Background On 22July 1361, King Valdemar IV of Denmark ...

in 2008, the local branch of the

Society for Creative Anachronism The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. A quip often used within the SCA describes ...

organized a medieval tent camp at Galgberget.

References

External links

Summer's archaeological survey of Galgberget
- Interview with archaeologist Per Widerström {{Gotland County, state=collapsed Visby Nature reserves in Gotland County Execution sites