In 1324 the Castle of l'Estriverie estate was declared a fief by the Counts of Hainaut and granted to Gérard de Lestruve. The estate was passed on to Hoste d'Ecaussinnes and in 1440 to the Despretz de Quievrain family who kept it until 1483. One of this family, Watier de Quivrains, erected a castle here in 1454. It is on the foundations of this old castle that the current building stands.
In 1483 the estate passed by marriage to the Cottrel family, who kept the castle for seven generations. This family did most of the restoring and rebuilding in the 16th and 17th century, and turned the fortified medieval dwelling into a graceful château.
In 1727, the estate became the property of Marie Spinola, the last niece of the Cottrel family. She gave it to her son, who sold the estate in 1756 to Joseph Antoine de Wautier. The court of Hainault however overturned the sale and transferred the castle to Jean Philippe d'Yve, Viscount of Bavay.
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.