The Bremen Ratskeller is the council wine cellar of the Townhall of Bremen. Since 1330 the Council of Bremen held the privilege of white wine which was valid until 1815. No citizen should sell wine without the permission of the Council. All wines had to be stored in the Cellar of the Council. The purpose was to control the prices and the payment of taxes.
The Ratskeller was built in 1405 and it is one of the oldest wine cellars of Germany, furthermore the oldest wine barrel of Germany, a wine from Rüdesheim which is dated 1653, is stored here.
In the cellar there has long been a traditional tavern and today a large part of it is a gourmet restaurant. With about 650 varieties the Ratskeller has the world's greatest selection of German wines exclusively, even in total there are about 1,200 different spirits available.
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.