The Museum of the Swiss Charters of Confederation (Bundesbriefmuseum) was built in 1936 as a national shrine for the Federal Charter of 1291, which was believed to be the founding document of the Swiss Confederation. Today, the museum explains the national myth and the actual history of the Old Swiss Confederacy. It features a collection of original documents and flags.
The overwhelming Spiritual national defence of this period vanished over time. The Federal Charter of 1291 is no longer seen as Switzerland's founding document. Other documents have been given equal importance. Beginning with the exhibition design of 1999, the museum began to integrate the latest historical findings. Since 2014, the myth surrounding the Federal Charter is an important part of the current permanent exhibition, while the architectural setting of the 1930s remains present.
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.