Torsburgen

Ruined walls are all that remain of Torsburgen

Torsburgen was an ancient fortress on the Baltic Sea island of Gotland belonging to Sweden. It was originally constructed at the beginning of the 1st century AD. Reinforced during the 4th century, it was in use until c. 1100 AD. A timber-laced stone rampart encircled an area of 12 hectares. Scholars estimate that nearly 1000 soldiers would have been needed to defend it ^[1] and it could have been providing refuge to the entire population of Gotland that is calculated to be between 6,000 and 10,000 in the early medieval period.

In the exodus story of the Guta Saga, the mythological history of Gotland, a third of Gotland's residents once temporarily settled themselves in Torsburgen after they were ordered by the local government to move due to overpopulation concerns. These residents were eventually forced to leave Gotland altogether; they subsequently settled in Fårö and Hiiumaa before finally moving through Russia to Greece, where they became the descendants of the Goths.^[2]

References

1. Helle, Knut (2003), The Cambridge History of Scandinavia, New York: Cambridge University Press, p. 75, ISBN 978-0-521-47299-9, OCLC 53982606
2. Kaplan, Merrill; Tangherlini, Timothy (2012). News from Other Worlds. Berkeley and Los Angeles: North Pinehurst Press. p. 98.

Coordinates: 57°24′45″N 18°43′15″E / 57.41250°N 18.72083°E