Kunětická Hora Castle is a castle in the municipality of Ráby in the Czech Republic. The castle played an important role during the Hussite Wars of the early 15th century, as a fortress of Diviš Bořek of Miletínek. Today the castle is open to the public as a museum.
In 1491 it was bought by Vilém of Pernštejn, who had the castle rebuilt in the late Gothic style, with two towers and a moat. The construction was continued by Vilém's sons in the early Renaissance style. During the Thirty Years' War, in the early 17th century, the castle was besieged several times; at the end of the war, Swedish troops burned it to the ground.
The castle remained a ruin until the early 20th century, when the Pardubice Museum Society was formed. The group purchased the site in 1919 and began reconstruction in 1923, according to the plans of architect Dušan Jurkovič. The rebuilding was completed in 1996.
Today the castle is open to the public as a museum. On display are surviving murals, including a 1523 work depicting Samson and Delilah, the oldest known Renaissance mural in Bohemia. The castle also hosts occasional music or theatrical performances.
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.