The Royal Abbey of Notre-Dame de Lieu-Dieu, founded in 1197 by Richard the Lionheart for Premonstratensian canons, suffered three devastations in 1372, 1484, and 1568. After various trials, it was annexed to a Parisian Premonstratensian college in 1720. The abbey was turned into an agricultural enterprise in 1733 and sold as a national asset in 1791. In 2012, it was acquired and restored by Mr. and Mrs. Alain du Peloux, opening to visitors in 2013.
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.