The village of Vernègues developed in the 8th century when, according to ancient maps, there were two hill top fortifications, the Castrum de Avallone and the Castrum Alvernicum. The latter, constructed on a rocky escarpment, became Vernègues and its medieval castle. On the evening of 11 June 1909, the Lambesc earthquake (magnitude 6 on the Richter scale) shook the region and destroyed practically all of the castle and the old village that had developed around it. Today, ruins on the south flank of the plateau are witness to the severity of the earthquake.
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.