Geras Abbey is a Premonstratensian monastery founded in 1153 as a daughter house of Seelau Abbey by Ekbert and Ulrich of Pernegg. It was and settled by canons from Seelau. Geras Abbey was able to survive the reforms of the Emperor Joseph II and the consequent monastery closures of 1783, and remains in operation to this day.
The abbey church is a Romanesque basilica which was reworked in the Baroque style in the 18th century by the architect Josef Munggenast and the fresco painter Paul Troger. Today the abbey is often used as a venue for classical music recitals.
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.