Originally a Gothic castle, founded in the mid-13th century, Náchod Castle was rebuilt in the 16th and 17th centuries during the tenure of the Smiřický family into a Mannerist castle. Its present architectural form was gained during renovations and interior modifications in the 17th and 18th centuries, when it was held by the Italian noble family of Piccolomini. The Early Baroque Spanish Hall spreads over two floors, and there are unique collections of tapestries as well as Baroque flower still lifes. Besides the Smiřickýs of Smiřic and the Piccolominis, other important owners of Náchod included the Duke of Courland and Sagan and the German princely Schaumburg-Lippe family.
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.