The Château de la Preuille took its present form in the 13th and 15th centuries. The wide moat defending the northern aspect of the walls and towers indicates its origins as a stronghold. From 1350, the castle was owned successively by the families of Boux, Bastard (1460), Gastiniere (1541), Pâris (including Claude-René Pâris de Soulanges, comte de Soulanges) (1728), and through the late 18th century, the family of D’Nacquart or De Nacquard.
In 1832, Marie-Caroline of Bourbon, Duchess of Berry, visited the château to launch her coup against King Louis-Philippe in order to crown her son Henri, comte de Chambord, the last legitimate Bourbon. The coup failed and Marie-Caroline was arrested.
During the 20th century, the castle was abandoned and was left in a state of disrepair. It was saved and restored by the Fradin family in the 1970s and 1980s. Renovation was continued by the family Ribow between 2003 and 2019.
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.