Schloss Auel is a charming Baroque site, which lies in the middle of large grounds with beautiful water lily ponds. Aristocratic families have owned Schloss Auel for centuries. The former moated castle (with Baroque chapel) was first mentioned in documents in 1391, but was still under the ownership of a family from Auel at that time. In 1763 the main building was constructed on the older foundations. Today only the three-winged manor is still standing, the outbuildings were torn down and the moats filled in.
For more than 200 years the palace has been owned by the Barons von la Valette. Nowadays the palace with its hotel and restaurant is somewhere to spend time and a golf course has been built in its grounds. Weddings and christenings take place in the palace chapel.
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.