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Founded: 1346-1349Category: Castles and fortifications in Germany
Historical period: Habsburg Dynasty (Germany)
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Marienburg Castle near Hildesheim was built between 1346–1349 by Bishop Henry III to strengthen control over the increasingly independent city. Strategically placed on the river Innerste, it featured thick walls, a tall keep, and double moats.
After the Thirty Years' War, it lost military importance and became a residence, later a government-owned domain. A small village grew around it and became part of Hildesheim in 1974. Remarkably, the castle survived WWII undamaged. It later housed a canning and ice cream factory before being acquired by the University of Hildesheim in 1993. The city bought it in 2005.
Architecturally, the castle retains much of its medieval structure. Key features include a 31-meter-high keep and a large Romanesque palas with thick walls and a great hall. An 18th-century baroque tenant house and other later additions complete the site.
Today, Marienburg is partially open to the public and used for university purposes, with scenic paths and occasional exhibitions.
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.