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Dating back to the 13th century, the castle of Avenches features a renovated Renaissance-style façade, one of the most beautiful testimonies of this type of architecture in Switzerland. Today, the castle accommodates offices, classrooms, a theatre, an art gallery and a library.
Located next door to the arenas, the castle of Avenches dominates the capital of Roman Switzerland. This public and historic building boasts an art gallery and a theatre, an exceptional setting where artists present their works throughout the year. Apart from these halls dedicated to the arts, the castle comprises offices, apartments, classrooms and a library.
The castle of Avenches owes its construction and emblematic keep to the bishops of Lausanne, who, as the town’s suzerains, built the building in the 13th century. The building was renovated in the 15th century and during the Bernese domination. The architects of that era spared the magnificent keep, extended the castle and added a remarkable façade, which is one of the most beautiful examples of Renaissance architecture in Switzerland.
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.