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Founded: 1220-1230Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Hohenstaufen Dynasty (Germany)
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Matthew Chapel (Matthiaskapelle) is one of the most important chapels in Rhineland-Palatinate. This chapel was built as a reliquary chapel for the safe keeping of Apostle Matthew’s head. Heinrich II of Kobern brought this relic from the Damiette crusade (1217-1221). The head was kept there for 150 years. Between 1362 and 1381, it was at castle Helffenstein. From 1422 till 1927 it was kept in the cathedral treasures of Trier. After that it was given by Nuntius Pacelli, later Pope Pius XII, to the St. Matthew abbey of Trier. The unusual ground-plan of the chapel is hexagonal and refers to oriental influences of the construction. It was built around 1220-1230.
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.