Visby visits Edinburgh

Swedish experts from the World Heritage Site of Visby visited EWH on 17 February, as part of a fact-finding trip into Edinburgh’s heritage management.

The group included architects, planners and archaeologists who work with the Swedish National Heritage Board, as well as specialists from the Department of Integrated Conservation at Gotland University. Visby was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 1995, at the same time as the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh.

Visby is a former Viking site on the island of Gotland, and was the main centre of the Hanseatic League in the Baltic from the 12th to the 14th century. Its 13th-century ramparts and more than 200 warehouses and merchants' dwellings from the same period make it the best-preserved fortified commercial city in northern Europe.

Lars Gronberg, architect with the planning department of the Municipality of Gotland said: “We have greatly enjoyed our visit to Edinburgh, and seeing the approach to conservation in your city. It has been particularly good to see the work of another World Heritage organisation, and discuss the challenges we both face. The need to co-ordinate the actions of many different agencies is always key, along with the issue of ensuring funding from local and central government.”