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Snizort Cathedral was founded under the authority of the Archbishop of Nidaros (Trondheim) in Norway. Amongst its more famous bishops was Wimund, who according to William of Newburgh became a seafaring warlord adventurer in the years after 1147.
According to tradition, the cathedral was founded near a site where Columba had preached from a rock, which later became known as St. Columba's rock. The site may originally have been a pagan Pictish centre, but by the time of Columba's arrival may have converted to a Pictish Christian establishment. Over the early centuries of the 2nd Millennium it gained importance as the Kilmuir monastery declined and by the 14th Century was referred to as the Metropolitan Church of the Isles, being the principal seat for the Bishops of the Isles until power was transferred to Iona Abbey. It was extant until at least 1501, but destroyed during the Scottish reformation, although remains are still visible.
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.