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Founded: 14th centuryCategory: Miscellaneous historic sites in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)
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Lindholmen Castle is a former Danish fortified castle on the banks of lake Börringe. It became an important fortification in the defence of Scania during the Middle Ages because of its strong encircling defensive walls and double moats. At the time, a small river and treacherous marshes made the terrain surrounding the castle hard to navigate. Originally a private castle, it was in 1339 turned over to Magnus Eriksson, king of Sweden, Norway and Scania.
In 1395, Margaret I of Denmark used the castle to conduct peace negotiations with the deposed king of Sweden, Albrecht von Mecklenburg, who had been forced to give up the Swedish throne in her favor. The meeting at Lindholmen to determine Albrecht's fate lasted 16 days and was attended by so many participants that tents had to be erected on the castle grounds to accommodate them. Before the negotiations in 1395, the Swedish king had been held prisoner in Lindholmen Castle for close to seven years. He was captured and taken there following his defeat at the battle of Falköping in 1389. During his imprisonment, the Danish queen was the de facto ruler of Sweden.
During the 15th century, the castle's importance waned. It was torn down in the 16th century in order to provide building material for Malmöhus Castle. When Scania became Swedish in 1658, Charles X Gustav gave Lindholmen estate, along with Börringe Abbey, to his son Gustaf Carlson. During the reduction, Lindholmen became crown property and was leased out. In 1723, Lindholmen and Börringe Abbey were bought by Erasmus Clefwe and in 1827 the joined estates were divided into smaller pieces and sold off.
Today a grassy mound is the only structural remainder of Lindholmen Castle.
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.