Harburg Castle is one of the jewels of the German Romantic Road. Wonderfully preserved, the castle sits high on a hill and overlooks the town for which it's named. It is unclear when the first structure was erected, but the castle was first mentioned in a document in 1150. Harburg was built by the former Hohenstaufen emperors of Germany in the 11th or 12th century.
In 1295, the castle was transferred to the Count of Oettingen and it has belonged to the Oettingen, and later the Oettingen-Wallerstein, families ever since.
The castle complex, including the castle house, chapel, sentry walk, prison tower, dungeon, and various buildings used to support the inhabitants, is surrounded by a wall supporting six towers. The castle ballroom is pictured at left. In the center of the complex is a large courtyard with a well.
The present-day fortifications mainly date from the 18th century and can be visited in summer from Tuesday to Sunday. There is also a small hotel-restaurant in the castle.
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.