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Founded: 14th centuryCategory: Religious sites in Estonia
Historical period: Danish and Livonian Order (Estonia)
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Märjamaa Church boasting lofty walls was built in the 14th century as the mightiest fortress-church in western Estonia. Its main characteristics are asceticism, simplicity, utility and quality. Its exceptionally high and thick walls used to be capped with balustrades.
Märjamaa Church is the only fully preserved medieval church in Rapla County. The churchyard contains a Maltese stone cross dating from 1720 and bearing the inscription “Mu Poig”. In terms of interior proportions, the church is considered to be the finest of all Estonian county churches. At the times of the Livonian War, the shelter above the arches saved locals from the troops of the Russian ruler Ivan the Terrible.
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.