Explore the historic highlights of Kirkcudbrightshire
Kirkcudbrightshire, United Kingdom
16th century
Kirkcudbrightshire, United Kingdom
c. 1370
Kirkcudbrightshire, United Kingdom
15th century
Kirkcudbrightshire, United Kingdom
1142
Kirkcudbrightshire, United Kingdom
4000-3000 BCE
Kirkcudbrightshire, United Kingdom
15th century
Kirkcudbrightshire, United Kingdom
16th century
Kirkcudbrightshire, United Kingdom
12th century
Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.