Situated in the port of Pornic, Château de Pornic has long been a symbol of the town. The castle is privately owned and not open to the public. The castle is bordered on one side by the sea and is constructed on a defensive site. In the Middle Ages, it provided for the defence of the port.
In the 10th century, Alan Wrybeard, Duke of Britanny, built and fortified a wooden castle. It was occupied by a garrison who protected the entrance to Pornic. In the 12th century, it was the property of the Lords of Rais who rebuilt it in stone. In the 15th century, it belonged to Gilles de Rais but was confiscated by the Duke of Britanny at the time of his trial. In the 18th century, it belonged to Marquis de Brie Serrant whose properties were confiscated during the French Revolution. The castle fell into ruin. The castle was bought at the end of the 19th century by Monsieur Lebreton, founder of the seawater baths, and restored by the architect François Bougoüin who gave it its present appearance with its fully arched windows dressed in brick in the style of the Italian architecture of the Château de Clisson.
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.