Haamstede Castle (Slot Haamstede) was built originally in the 12th century and it probably consisted of a wooden keep on a motte, circled by a moat. There is also archeological evidence of Roman habitation on this site. Around 1200 this castle came into the possession of Floris IV, Count of Holland. In 1229 the castle went to the Lords of Zierikzee through an exchange with Floris IV. The new inhabitants of the castle called themselves Van Haamstede.
The castle was destroyed by fire in 1525. Only the keep, built in the 13th century, survived. The other castle was rebuilt in the 17th century. The keep was provided with 2 square towers on both sides. The smallest one served as a stair tower. During the 19th and 20th century the castle was renovated twice until it got its present appearance.
At present Haamstede Castle is owned by the Vereniging Natuurmonumenten, a society for the preservation of nature monuments in the Netherlands.
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.