The abbey of Saint-Andre-le-Bas was founded in the 8th century by Duke Ansemund. The church was originally a chapel of the palace of kings of Burgundy built in the end of the 9th century. The abbey flourished in the High Middle Ages.
The troubles of the Hundred Years' War and the competition of the new religious orders reduced the power of the convent and it was unable to recover from the Wars of religion. The monastery was dissolved in the late 18th century. The abbey church, built in the 11th century, became a parish church and the convent buildings were sold and partly dismembered. The church, the bell tower and the cloister are still remarkable for their harmonious Romanesque sculpted ornementation.
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.