Saint Othmar, the first abbot of the Abbey of St. Gall was sent into exile to Werd in 759. He died on Werd on 16 November of that year. The St. Othmar chapel on the island was erected in his memory in the 15th century. It belongs to the Catholic parish of Eschenz.
The island is owned by the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey. It is, however, leased by the Franciscans; they live in a house attached to the chapel.
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.