At Stavgard, visitors have an opportunity to immerse themselves into history and legend, where treasure and heroes of old fire the imagination.
Stavgard is primarily a reconstructed village that spans from the migration period to the early Middle Ages. It is also the location of the ruins of a great hall for an important chieftain, perhaps even a king. New research places the home of the legendary hero, Beowulf, to Gotland and to Stavgard. This, combined with the legend of the chieftain Stavar and his huge treasure, makes Stavgard unique, even more so because of how the reconstruction came to be.
In 1975, a group of secondary school students discovered buried silver treasure; it was the largest treasure that had been found in Gotland. The treasure was dated to 900 and was located close to the ancient trading harbour in the bay of Bandelunda.
According to legend, a powerful Viking chieftain, Stavar the Great, buried the treasure to hide it from marauding Norwegians. Stavar supposedly died in the ensuing battle and the treasure remained buried until it was found by the students. Or was it? The mythology around the treasure suggests a far greater hoard! Perhaps one day it will be found in full.
The beautiful cultural landscape surrounding Stavgard is filled with archeologically-interesting house remains and burial sites from the periods portrayed in the village.
In the summer visitors can enjoy guided tours of Stavgard and can also take part in various activities such as craft courses and re-enactments.
