Sønderskov Manor is mentioned for the first time in 1448. After 1536 the owner built a new main wing with two diagonally placed defensive towers because the nobility feared new peasants’ revolts like those they had experienced during the Count’s Feud.
About 1614 Sønderskov was destroyed by fire but the owner, Thomas Juel, rebuilt it, and the new manor was finished in 1620. He was a wealthy man who owned three manor houses, and he served King Christian IV in various functions. Part of his prosperity was due to the fattening of bullocks for export.
In 1720 Hans Bachmann became the first non-noble squire at Sønderskov. He and his successor Samuel Nicolaus Claudius transformed Sønderskov into the Baroque manor house, which can still be seen today. During a thorough restoration in the years 1986-1992 several unique wall-paintings and a decorated wooden ceiling from the second half of the 17th century were discovered.
Today Sønderskov is housing the regional museum and the Baroque garden and parts of the kitchen- and herb gardens have been recreated.
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.