Schoenfels Castle, surrounded by a rampart and moat, was built around 1200. Its outer, lower and core castles form one of the most well-kept medieval fortifications in Germany. The castle near Zwickau was ruled by bailiffs in the 13th century but was ultimately claimed by the Wettins. The Lords of Weissenbach left a lasting mark on Schoenfels Castle when they modernized it in the 15th and 16th centuries. Some of the preserved features include the heatable bower in the newly created northwest wing and the Castle Chapel with its late-Gothic winged altar, its organ with wooden pipes and its richly decorated baroque pulpit. The closed complex offers fascinating insights into the living conditions of the castle’s former residents.
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.