Peryn Chapel or the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos on Peryn is one of the oldest churches of the region, dating from the 1220s. The church is a part of the complex of the Peryn Skete, a former monastery abolished in the 18th century, and is the only acting church in the monastery. It is built of plinthite and of stone and has a foundation in the shape of a square. The church is built on four pillars and has one dome. It is notable for its small size, in particular, it only measures 8 metres in length and width.
Presumably, the church is built on the site previously concecrated to the pagan god Perun, hence the name. The first church on the site was built in 991. Later, it became a part of a monastery. The current church was built in the 1220s. It was fully restored after World War II and returned to Russian Orthodox Church in the 1990s.
The Peryn Chapel is on the World Heritage list as a part Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings.
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.