Visby Cathedral
St Mary’s was built by the German merchants who traded in Visby and was consecrated in 1225. It is the only one of the town’s medieval churches still in use. The towers with their Baroque caps have become a symbol of Visby.
In the 12th and 13th centuries Visby was one of the most important trading towns on the Baltic. German merchants travelling between Lübeck and Novgorod settled here and built their own church, dedicated to Mary. Work began at the end of the 12th century, and it was consecrated in 1225. The church was at first a Romanesque basilica of local limestone. In the 13th and 14th centuries it was rebuilt and extended several times and acquired Gothic features. When Visby lost its position in the late Middle Ages most of the town’s churches fell into ruin, but St Mary’s survived as the town’s parish church.
The church has a massive west tower and two slimmer towers by the choir. It was converted into a hall church, in which the aisles are about the same height as the nave. The Romanesque portal on the west side and the richly decorated Gothic portal on the south side show the two styles side by side. The Swerting Chapel on the south side was built in the 14th century. The interior is bright and whitewashed and has furnishings from several centuries.
After a fire in 1744 the towers were given their characteristic black Baroque caps. When the diocese of Visby was created in 1572, St Mary’s became its cathedral. The church was restored in the early 20th century. Since 1995 it has been part of the World Heritage Site of the Hanseatic Town of Visby, together with the town wall and the many church ruins. The cathedral shows how German models and local materials met in medieval Gotland.