Hasištejn (Burg Hassenstein) is a ruined medieval castle situated near Kadaň, Klášterec nad Ohří and Chomutov. The castle, first mentioned in Maiestas Carolina, was probably founded by Friedrich of Schönburg to guard the way from Prague to Saxony. The castle was seized by Václav IV of Luxembourg in the early 15th century and given to Nicholas of Lobkowicz.
The most renowned inhabitant of the castle was Bohuslav Hasištejnský z Lobkovic, a poet and traveller who was born in Hassenstein and lived there permanently from 1503 to his death in 1510. He gathered a huge library (comprising more than 650 volumes) in the castle, resulting in many scholars and humanists visiting Hasištejn Castle to borrow his books. Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon were among his visitors.
After Bohuslav's death in 1510, Hasištejn Castle began to fall into disrepair, which was exacerbated when it caught fire in 1560. Although the castle is now a ruin, its tower and walls remain standing to this day. While the castle became state property during the Communist regime, it was returned to the Lobkowicz family after 1989.
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.