In around 1300 Sostrup was an outlying farm known as Svorttorp but the first written record dates from 1388. The current castle was built in 1586 by councillor Jacob Seefeld. In 1807 the castle was bought by the Danish State and in 1829 by Jakob von Benzon. After this period some changes and restorations were made until the Danish State went into possession again in 1945. In 1946 it was run as a refugee camp. In 1960 the castle was bought by the Danish Cistercian Order. The castle was totally restored and today it is run as a conference centre.
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.