Place in Gotland, Sweden
Fide is a populated area, a socken (not to be confused with parish), on the Swedish island of Gotland.[3] It comprises the same area as the administrative Fide District, established on 1 January 2016.[4]
Geography
Fide is situated on the narrow southern isthmus that connects the Storsudret peninsula to Gotland.[5] The medieval Fide Church is located in the socken.[6] As of 2019[update], Fide Church belongs to Hoburg parish in Sudrets pastorat, along with the churches in Öja, Hamra, Vamlingbo and Sundre.[7][8]
One of the asteroids in the asteroid belt, 10123 Fideöja, is named after this place and the neighboring Öja socken.[9]
History
On a wall of the Fide Church is a 115 by 92 cm (45 by 36 in) piece of 13th-century graffiti depicting a ship. It was carved into the plaster while it was still soft during the construction of the church. It is the first image of a cog in the world. The proportions differ slightly from those of the later medieval cogs and it corresponds with a cog-like ship from the 12th century, found at Kronholmen in Västergarn during the construction of a golf course. Both the image and the ship find are seen as examples of boats in the transition from Viking longships to cogs.[10][11] Similar carving have been found on the walls of the church tower in Ala.[12]
