Welcomehome!
Bromma/arlanda Welcome about 35 minutes
nynäshamn about 3 hours
Slite There is only one Gotland. home Visby Living here is a privilege. oskarshamn 3 hours Growing up here is a gift. Calling it home comes naturally. Welcome home.
GOTLAND – HAIME
Hemse
www.fl yttatillgotland.nu
omslag engelsk UA.indd 1 2010-02-03 15.40 The doors to our Gotland are open. We don’t live on a mystical island that only exists for a few warm months in the summer. Just under sixty thousand people live here
all year round. Many more call it home in their heart ❤
Concept, TEXT and design: Bild&Reklam Annonsbyrå and Oss Reklambyrå PHOTOS: Marcus L Johnson, Bildvision, Stig Hammarstedt, Gunnar Britse, Kalle Melander, Birger Andersson, Mats Jansson, Roland Hejdström, Åsa Ekedahl, Bildproduktion Gotland, Gotlands kommun, Malin Ericsson, Henrik Reintz, Johnér Bildbyrå, Robert Matton. PRINTER: Alfaprint AB
omslag engelsk UA.indd 2 2010-02-03 15.40 otland is CLOSE. Three hours by sea and 35 minutes by air. You don’t need to G get up an hour early to get the children to school and nursery. Distances are small enough for many to get home for lunch if they want on any normal working day. You’re usually close enough to spontaneously drop in on a friend for coffee.
Most things are close at hand on Gotland.
Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 1 2010-02-03 10.09 fire station airport
Golf course
new apartments
racket hall
visby curtain wall was completed in 1288
norderport visby Good tobogganing slope cathedral visby hospital has sea views
sea front promenadebotanical garden
kruttornet underwater almedalen ledge wisby strand congress & event
kallbadhuset ocean club beach
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 2 2010-02-03 10.09 skarphäll city shopping centre
Östercentrum solbergabadet shopping centre pool Österport
Gutavallen stadium water tower bus station stora torget
theatre söderport
Governor’s university and residence library
Guest harbour
palissaderna park
fishing port small boat harbour
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 3 2010-02-03 10.09 seasons on the island To many of Gotland’s permanent residents, – Gotland all year the island is at its best at the very end of round the summer, when the water is warm and the outdoor bars and cafés are still open. The children tear around on the football pitches and an evening ride on horseback is all it takes to prove that life is great.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 4 2010-02-03 10.09 w We give you the keys to our Gotland.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 6 2010-02-03 10.10 Others insist that Christmas is not Christmas if it isn’t celebrated on Gotland, with the traditional Midnight Mass and a Christmas Day stroll by the sea.
How do we live? We are often asked how we live on Gotland. We live like everyone else. On an old farm or in a new home, in an apartment or a house, in the country or in town, in a renovation project or something newly designed. Close to the sea or inland. How do you live?
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 8 2010-02-03 10.10 Fett stille – dead calm
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 9 2010-02-03 10.10 Our spring – can be your spring ladingen – spring
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Once the fi rst signs of spring are here, things usually move fast, except for the stubborn ‘staräurar’, seven snowy weather fronts that traditionally need to pass from the fi rst arrival of the starlings before winter has completely released its grip on the island.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 14 2010-02-03 10.10 a good time hen the famed Gotland light of life returns, nature explodes in a Wblanket of tender green shoots. Blue and then white carpets of anemones adorn the Gotland meadows. They aren’t protected and can be picked with or without socks and shoes on. This high season for early growth is a time for picking ‘kaiplök’, a kind of wild leek packed with vitamins that is said by Gotlanders to be a great way to banish the winter blues.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 15 2010-02-03 10.10 The limey soil makes our root vegetables sweeter and longer lasting than those grown elsewhere in Sweden. Asparagus, wild garlic, potatoes, carrots, beetroots and parsnips do particularly well. Here on the island we’re spoilt when it comes to eating local produce of the very best quality.
w They can be seen everywhere, the lambs that help to keep the landscape so open.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 16 2010-02-03 10.10 It isn’t long before the outdoor cafés and bars spring up and meetings are more often outside than in. A real sign of spring is having the season’s first ice cream at the classic café down at Visby harbour. If the golf clubs have been packed away at all, they are now quickly dusted off. Baby lambs bleat and the closeness to nature encourages many people to enjoy the great outdoors together. A little stroll w Artistry? Our upper secondary art students have been invited to decorate becomes a major experience. postal drop-boxes in Visby.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 18 2010-02-03 10.10 w Asparagus, one of Gotland’s prime early crops, is harvested by hand.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 19 2010-02-03 10.10 We like to call Gotland the Island of Sport. The broad support for sport is particularly w ‘Staräur’ is a popular clear in the spring when the Kvartersligan Gotland concept used to determine the coming of league starts up – a major football competition spring. The principle is that for local children. At this event, the social the starlings arrive first, usually in January-February. aspect and having fun are more important Then seven low pressure weather systems need to than the actual results. pass, alternating with periods Everyday exercise can be done differently. of high pressure. The low pressure systems may bring Countless people commit themselves to either heavy snowfall or just the odd flurry. Counting the walking around Gotland – a little bit at a staräur is a popular pastime time. Some do it with friends or family, others in spring. There have to be seven before spring is in a more organised form through a club. properly here.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 21 2010-02-03 10.10 w On Gotland sheep don’t have lambs. Here, sheep are called lambs. And their offspring are therefore called baby lambs.
Fagninggblåmmar – wood anemones
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 22 2010-02-03 10.11 On Gotland, May is welcomed with in Sweden at attending study circles. the song Sköna maj (Beautiful May) This may well be an expression of by university students and an amazing Gotland curiosity, a desire to keep number of choir singers. Choirs are learning all the time. It’s that curiosity a prime example of the island’s lively that has led us out into the world tradition of clubs and societies. since Viking times. It may also be an Every parish on Gotland has masses indication of how much the people of of such associations, and the people of Gotland enjoy getting together. the island are traditionally also the best
Gotland in brief Length: 176 km (Fårö-Hoburgen) Width: 52 km Gotland’s coastline: 800 km (incl. Fårö) Province flower: ivy (rindi in the local Gutamål language) Province animal: hedgehog (pinnsvein in Gutamål)
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 23 2010-02-03 10.11 Gotland summer holidays summan – summer
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So not everyone has miles of sandy beaches to choose from on a sundrenched summer’s day? Not everyone can pop down for a dip in the sea after work on a balmy August evening?
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 28 2010-02-03 10.11 Everyone ll those things that other people pay to knows about the travel to and experience are just part Gotland summer. A of our everyday existence. And we For us it’s the promise that we do appreciate the summer. Just not exclusively. definition of a There is a continental feel on Gotland staycation. during the summer months, helped by the nightlife, beach life, entertainment and restaurants on offer. Going to the beach after work is not only fun but quite a luxury.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 29 2010-02-03 10.11 Many people associate Gotland specifically with the summer, and that’s hardly surprising. The island often has the most hours of sun in Sweden and people from around the world make their way here. Some come for peace and quiet, others for the buzz and vibrancy. Others come to be where the news is made during the political meetings of Almedalen Week, and then there are those who travel back in time during Medieval Week.
w We don’t need to put up works of art on Gotland. Nature has already done it for us. The ‘raukar’ along the coast of Gotland are stone pillars carved by wind and water over millennia into fantastical statues. The Hoburg Man on the bottom tip of Gotland is perhaps our most famous ‘rauk’.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 30 2010-02-03 10.11 w Almedalen Week captivates the whole of Sweden.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 31 2010-02-03 10.11 w A bird’s eye view of Furillen. For ornithologists and others.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 32 2010-02-03 10.11 The islands around the island, such as Fårö, Gotska Sandön, Furillen and the Karlsö islands, have all become renowned for their distinctive landscape and unique wildlife. Naturally, many creative types feel a particular affinity with Gotland. The light and the sea also help, of course. Ingmar Bergman is probably the most famous example of the artists who have been inspired by the natural beauty. Bergman’s legacy lives on and in Fårösund there is now a film studio where many big Swedish movies have been made.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 33 2010-02-03 15.48 Many of the island’s businessmen and women are kept at their busiest during the summer and the island attracts not only tourists and summer residents, but also hundreds of seasonal workers. Gotland’s young people often get their first summer job in the tourist industry and in so doing learn to take responsibility and earn their own money.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 34 2010-02-03 10.11 w Try your hand at stone masonry.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 35 2010-02-03 10.11 Bärbaintar – bare-legged
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 36 2010-02-03 10.11 w There are also boats…
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 38 2010-02-03 10.11 w SAFFRON PANCAKE Serves 4 Oven temperature 225ºC, time approx. 1 hour
Ingredients 1 sachet (0.5 g) saffron 1 tbsp warm water 2 eggs 100 ml milk 2 tbsp sugar 1 pinch salt 500 g cooked rice pudding (approx. 500 ml) 2 tbsp raisins 5 almonds, peeled and chopped 2 bitter almonds, peeled and chopped
Accompaniments: 200 ml dewberry or blackberry jam 200 ml whipping cream
Instructions Soak the saffron in a little warm water for around 10 minutes until it softens. Beat together the eggs, milk, sugar, salt and saffron and stir them into the rice pudding. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Pour the batter into a well greased baking tin and bake until the pancake has set, after 20-30 minutes, and formed a lovely golden crust. Serve with the jam and whipped cream.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 39 2010-02-03 10.11 Gotland is a safe place to live. It’s only in the imagination of thriller writers that people are murdered here all the time. Gotland has almost become Sweden’s very own Midsomer, where various authors compete to kill off as much of the Gotland population as possible. Thankfully that is just fiction, but a clear hint that the island inspires creative people.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 40 2010-02-03 10.12 w dewberries, Gotland strawberries, mulberries, walnuts, grapes, peaches, saffron, orchids – exotic berries and plants on an exotic island.
Gotland in brief Gutamål is the distinctive language of Gotland, still spoken by an estimated 2,000-3,000 people. Gotländska on the other hand is a Swedish dialect identifi able by its sentence melody and its diphthongs. The saffron pancake is something of a Gotland speciality.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 41 2010-02-03 10.12 Golden time haustn – autumn
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We have a fi fth season on Gotland. Between high summer and autumn we have an extended summer period of warmth and sun. September is mild, with warm evenings. An evening dip in the sea is a treat all month, before the leaves start to change colour.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Best NY.indd 46 2010-02-03 10.12 A good start utumn is a golden time in many brings a good senses on Gotland, not just because harvest A of the wonderful autumn colours that give life a gilt edge. Early autumn sees the harvest of the Gotland truffle, whose value could almost be measured in carats. Something else that gets to grow in nurturing conditions on Gotland is children. The security and closeness offered by the Gotland community are hard to beat. The countryside is within easy reach and there is a wide range of outdoor activities. Only in the field of alpine sports are we somewhat limited!
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 47 2010-02-03 10.15 Haustlug – autumn break
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 48 2010-02-03 10.15 There is a wide choice of preschools and schools. There are both municipal and private options for preschool, compulsory school and upper secondary. There is also a university and a folk high school on the island. Autumn is a golden opportunity to get out and socialise. Markets, study circles, theatre performances, sports events and concerts come thick and fast. Finding something to do is not usually the problem. The issue is deciding what not to do.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 49 2010-02-03 10.15 November is packed with a variety of regular events. Muck-loving motorcyclists make the pilgrimage from across Sweden and the globe to take part in the world’s largest Enduro competition in Tofta – the Gotland Grand National. Företagardagen is a day for businesspeople on Gotland with a trade fair, lectures and a terrific dinner.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 50 2010-02-03 10.16 Roma is the name of a community in the heart of Gotland. Of course, it’s also a football team in Italy, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. Roma is known for its fantastic summer theatre in the abbey ruins.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 51 2010-02-03 10.16 It’s wonderful that so many people who are born The library is an excellent place to meet other families with small and bred on Gotland choose to move home to children. As well as the reading, it is often a venue for theatre, singing the island to have a family. Wanting their own groups and other activities for children. children to have the same safe childhood that they had is just one of the reasons. It’s also not uncommon for grandparents of new families with no previous links to the island to move here too. On Gotland we’re close to each other. Really.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 53 2010-02-03 10.16 Short distances give you spare time for other things. Park the car and walk – or cycle. Discover the time to do what you love. More time for the family, of course, but also for things that you do just for your own enjoyment. Your favourite leisure pursuit or a course that you always wanted to do. Sounds like a luxury? Here, it’s second nature.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 54 2010-02-03 10.16 w One of Sweden’s best golf courses is located in Västergarn.
Astäuen – neighbour
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 56 2010-02-03 10.16 Självplukk – pick your own
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 57 2010-02-03 10.16 Entrepreneurial Gotland! The people of Gotland are keen entrepreneurs. There are around 7,500 companies on the island, giving us one of the greatest densities of businesses in any county in Sweden. Agriculture and food production dominate along with tourism and the cement, limestone and timber industries. Service companies are flourishing and many small businesses with a focus on quality and design are emerging, especially in furniture-making.
w A thousand businesspeople at Wisby Strand. The place to do business.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 58 2010-02-03 10.16 gotlAnd in brief Visby town centre, surrounded by the curtain wall, is also known as the Hanseatic town of Visby and is one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites, in good company with the pyramids of Egypt and the Galapagos Islands. World Heritage is cultural or natural heritage considered imperative to preserve due to its outstanding value to humanity. The fact that the Hanseatic town of Visby is a lively meeting place all year round is key to the future of the whole island.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 59 2010-02-03 10.16 Embracing winter vintan – winter
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Of course we have winter. It’s just a bit different.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 62 2010-02-03 10.16 Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 63 2010-02-03 10.17 w The islands around the island. The fishing village in Eksta offers superb views of the Karlsö islands.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 64 2010-02-03 10.17 ENJOY TIME alking through Visby on a winter TOGETHER evening enchants even the coldest Wheart. With or without snow, the illuminated windows and the lights adorning the wall and ruins make the World Heritage town an almost magical experience. Living and belonging in this place gives a genuinely wonderful feeling in the stomach. The numerous top quality restaurants are popular every day of the week. Taking the whole family out to eat is just as common as meeting after work to wind down.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 65 2010-02-03 10.17 Jaulljaus – Christmas lights
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 67 2010-02-03 10.17 The mild winters on Gotland make activity levels even greater during the periods when snow lies. Ski trails are prepared in a couple of hours, while Nordergravar next to the curtain wall and other slopes around the island are quickly busy with eager tobogganers. Packing the picnic basket with hot drinks and exploring a snow-clad Gotland is a comfort for the soul and an adventure for children old and young.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 69 2010-02-03 10.17 With tongue firmly in cheek, we sometimes call Gotland Stockholm’s most attractive suburb. The fact is that a number of people choose to live here and work in Stockholm. It takes no more than 35 minutes to get to w The epithet ‘old’ Many locals like to Bromma or Arlanda Airport. use the word ‘old’ when describing a location, which can sometimes cause It is also possible to travel there and amusing misunderstandings. When back by ferry in a day. The ferry trip takes talking about the old fire station in Visby, the older generation means the former just three hours and many enjoy working in fire station on Klinttorget in the town centre, while the younger folk mean the peace and quiet en route. fire station that used to be located at Östercentrum. The ‘new’ fire station is out by the ‘old’ rubbish tip!
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 71 2010-02-03 10.17 Many of those who’ve relocated to the island with their company feel that Gotland has given them an identity that sets them apart in a positive way. The fact is that Gotland has an extremely positive reputation among most Swedes and there is hardly anyone who doesn’t know where the island is or has no relationship to Gotland. Those who haven’t been here want to at some point.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 72 2010-02-03 10.17 Gotland in brief Gotland is a province, a single municipality and a county. Gotland Municipality is responsible for many of the areas that elsewhere are dealt with by the county council, including healthcare and public transport.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 73 2010-02-03 10.17 Open the door to your future. It might be here on Gotland. And not just your future, but your children’s and your grandchildren’s.
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Hela inlaga eng UA Obest NY.indd 74 2010-02-03 10.17 w Study at Gotland University, work for one of our exciting companies. Gotland is a great place to start your career.
w Close to home. Close to school, work and the beach. Close to each other. Gotland provides closeness.
w Time to enjoy life together. Garden, grandchildren, friends, doing things together. Gotland offers all sorts of opportunities.
w You can’t get any safer. Gotland is a great place to grow up.
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