The Lutheran Church of St. Reinold (Reinoldikirche) is dedicated to the patron of the city. The church was built as a palatine church in the Ottonian era. The present building is a late Romanesque church with a late gothic quire. St. Reinold's was built from 1250 to 1270, and is located in the centre of the city, directly at the crossing of the Hellweg (a historic trade route) and the historic road from Cologne to Bremen. St. Reinoldi's congregation is a member of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, an umbrella comprising Lutheran, Reformed and united Protestant congregations.
Efforts to complete the tower of St. Reinold's were renewed in 1443. After its completion in 1454, it was 112m tall. The polygonal spire was renovated the first time in 1519. The apex of the church was now about seven metres higher. In 1661, the tower collapsed after being damaged during an earthquake. The foundation for the new tower was laid 1662, and the building was completed 1701, with a baroque ornament on the top.
The church was heavily damaged in World War II. Since the reconstruction the tower now bears a hood with baroque features. These features supply a visual and harmonious connection between the original style of the church and its appearance after reconstruction. The tower can be visited, up to the first platform by the bell tower.
On the inside there is a large set of bells. The heaviest bell, weighing 6.500 kg, is the largest cast steel bell in Westphalia.
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.