The Piotrków Trybunalski Royal Castle is a Gothic-Renaissance structure, today a museum. The stronghold on the left bank of the Strawa River existed in the 13th century. The conventions, which were held here in the 14th century gave the city greater importance in the Kingdom of Poland and according to contemporary chronicler Jan of Czarnków, Casimir III the Great ordered a residence to be built here, which was accomplished in 1347. It consist of the royal council, called the senate, and the chamber of deputies.
In the following years the building become inadequate for the purposes of the royal court. Therefore, the court architect of king Sigismund I the Old, Benedykt Sandomierski erected a new residence, which was completed in 1519. The new residence was built in the Renaissance style in the shape of a residential square tower. The structure was crowned with a profusely decorated attic. In the 16th century, the castle was the site of frequent regional councils and synods. During the Deluge the it was burned by Swedish-Brandenburgian troops. The reconstruction took place between 1668–1671 supervised by Michał Warszycki, sword-bearer of the Crown. The fortifications were not restored as well as the demolished attic, and the whole structure was crowned with a pavilion roof.
With the Second Partition of Poland the castle again fell into disrepair. in 1869 the Russian Governor of Piotrków undertook a restoration to convert the former royal residence into a garrison Orthodox church. The building suffered again during World War II. After the war the Regional Conservator recommended to rebuild the castle by the state before Warszycki's reconstruction, restoring its Renaissance features. Eventually the structure was rebuilt between 1963–1969, without restoring the Renaissance attic.
References: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.