Details
Founded: 1846Category: Religious sites in Finland
Historical period: Russian Grand Duchy (Finland)
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First seaman chapel was built to Jurmo probably in the 12th century and it has been a center of near archipelago people for centuries. According the legend Jurmo residents assisted ships to wreck purposely and robbed their cargo in the 16th century. That’s why Gustav Vasa, the king of Sweden, ordered to destroy the whole island and all inhabitants. All forests were burnt and only couple of local people survived alive.
The present chapel and cemetery were founded in 1846. There are anyway much older artefacts inside the chapel, like the wooden statue of St. Anna from the 15th century.
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.