Blackcraig Castle is a Baronial mansion house close to the towns of Ballintuim and Blairgowrie on the banks of the River Ardle. It was built in 1856 by Patrick Allan Fraser, a prominent Scottish artist and architect, and is designated as a Class B-listed building, with its walled garden A-listed. It has undergone extensive renovations/modernisation in recent years to return it to its full former glory and remains one of the finest examples of Baronial architecture in Scotland.
Surveys suggest that, originally occupying the site of Blackcraig Castle was a 16th-century tower house thought to be the property of the Maxwells’, who were in possession of the barony of Ballmacreuchy by 1550.
The current owners have been renovating Blackcraig and its policies since 2013 with a view to returning it to its former splendour. Two tasteful self-contained holiday apartments have also been incorporated and are available to rent. Although the castle and its policies are private, there are plans to open them to the public for events in the future.
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.