User Reviews
Appenzell castle was built in 1563 as an elegant mansion the doctor Antoni Löw. Antoni was an enthusiastic supporter of the Protestant Reformation in Appenzell. In 1584 he was captured, judged and sentenced to death by the local Catholics for slandering a priest. After his death the castle was taken by the city and given to the Franciscans. They remained in the castle for almost a century, until 1682 when they moved into the newly completed St. Mary of the Angels. When the Franciscans moved out, the castle was sold to Antoni Speck who owned it until his death in 1708. It then passed to Johann Baptist Fortunat and then into the possession of the Sutter family.
On 15 February 1875 Doctor Anton Alfred Sutter became the sole owner of the castle. He established his practice in the castle, leading to it being known as the 'Doctor's House'. Today the castle remains the property of the Sutter family.
References:House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams) is a building situated in the old town of Riga. The original building was erected during the first third of the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild for unmarried German merchants in Riga. Major works were done in the years 1580 and 1886, adding most of the ornaments.
The structure was bombed to a ruin by the Germans June 28, 1941 and the remains demolished by the Soviets in 1948. The current reconstruction was erected from 1995 to 1999. Today the House of Blackheads serves as a museum and sometimes concert hall.