Keselo is a small medieval fortress just above the village of Omalo. The site is surrounded by the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. It is bordered in the north by Republic of Chechnya and Dagestan, in the east by the Georgian historic provinces Kakheti and Pshav-Khevsureti to the south.
Traditionally Tush peoples abandoned their villages and used towers as temporary shelters during raids on their villages. Keselo was constructed during the Mongol invasion of Georgia in 1230s. It originally had 13 towers. The inhabitants of old Omalo used the towers to protect themselves from the invading Mongols and later raids by Daghestani tribes.
By the 20th century, most of the towers were in ruins. However, in 2003, work began to rebuild five towers of the medieval fortress. The project was privately sponsored by Henk and Eliane Hooft, a Dutch family living in Georgia and later by the Keselo Foundation. The restoration was done in accordance with the medieval Tush techniques of constructing fortified towers. A monument was also erected in the nearby village of Dartlo and a tower in Khiso, on the road to Omalo, was also rebuilt. During the work, an array of archaeological artefacts, such as ancient rock art motifs and Bronze Age axes and jewellery, were discovered.
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.