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Founded: 1130-1140Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Hohenstaufen Dynasty (Germany)
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St. Johannis Church was founded by Lothar III in 1130 and completed in 1140 as part of a collegiate foundation on the site of Süpplingenburg Castle, once owned by Count Gebhard of Haldensleben. Only the eastern parts of the original Romanesque church remain. The former grand westwork was dismantled in the Middle Ages; its foundations were uncovered during excavations in the 1960s. In 2003, the Order House of St. John was founded next to the church and became a Commandery in 2008.
St. Johannis is a Romanesque cruciform basilica with a three-bay nave, transept with apses, and a rectangular choir. Around 1200, the choir received a rib vault, raising its walls. A rood screen separates it from the nave. Alternating pillars and columns support the nave, whose current form dates to the mid-13th century. Above the crossing is a roof turret with a bell. The interior was remodeled in the 13th century; arcades divide the nave and side aisles. From 1878 to 1883, the church was painted by Adolf Quensen, and the north aisle was rebuilt on a new foundation. The sacristy was added in 1884.
Modern additions include stained glass, altar cross, choir screen, and font by Claus Wallner. The original organ (1840) was replaced in 1893 by a Furtwängler & Hammer organ, later lost due to poor storage. It was replaced with an electronic organ. A winter chapel was added under the gallery.
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.