The Mělník castle belongs to the most important sights of this town. Since Princess Ludmila, the grandmother of the Good King Wenceslas, who was born in Mělník, the castle has been the residence of the queen widows of Bohemia. Under Emperor Charles IV, Mělník became a royal town. His last wife built the chapel of the castle with its gothic vaults.
The last queen who resided in Mělník, was the wife of king Jiri of Podebrady during the 15th century. In the following years, the estate of Mělník became the property of different noble families. In 1542 the castle was reconstructed in renaissance style and the two arcades, richly decorated with sgrafitto patterning, have been added.
During the Thirty Years War, 1618-1648, the castle was abandoned. In the year 1646 Count Czernin started a major reconstruction and had the early barrock southern wing added. The Count purchased the Mělník Estate from the Emperor Ferdinand II. The heiress of the Czernin family, Countess Ludmila Czernin, married Prince August Anton Lobkowicz in 1753. With the exception of the Second World War and the 41 years of communist rule, Mělník Castle remained in the Lobkowicz family.
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.