The oldest part of the St. James parish church is the tower chapel (10th century) with two compact columns and cube-shaped capitals (Chapel of Grace today). The church was erected in the 12th century as the result of a vow made by Engelhard Brömser who had promised to build a church if he returned home safely from his captivity by the Moors. The Gothic hall church from the 14th/15th century is also a gift from the Brömser family. It was completely renovated in 1719. In 1766 a 'pigtail helmet' (onion tower) was added to the Romanesque church tower and a Baroque high altar was installed. An ambitious expansion of the parish church was carried out in 1913-1914. On 25 November 1944, the church was almost completely destroyed during a heavy bomb attack. Immediately after World War II, work began to rebuild the church as a hall church incorporating the preserved old parts. St. James' Church was consecrated in 1955.
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.