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Founded: 1285Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Habsburg Dynasty (Germany)
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St. James' Church is first mentioned in archival records dating to 1285, and was later rebuilt as a Gothic-style church. A Brick Gothic church, the building is comprised from granite blocks at its base, and sandstone quarry derived bricks higher up. St. Jacob's is a three-aisled hall church, with stain glass windows dating to the 14th and 15th century preserved in the church's ambulatory. The choir banks were installed in 1430. Also of interest in the church is the beautiful sandstone pulpit added in 1612.
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.