Günzburg Castle, Günzburg, Germany

After the Romans left Günzburg in the fifth century, the Alamanni tribe settled there. In around 700 the nearby castle of Ricinis was mentioned by the Cartographer of Ravenna as one of the five most important castles of Alemannia. In 1065 first documentary evidence appears of the town itself as Gunceburch. In 1301 the town became part of the Habsburg house and was developed into the centre of the Margraviate of Burgau; for a time (1803–1805) it was even the capital of all Further Austria.

After the construction of a castle and church in the south-western corner of the upper town (1577/80), Günzburg became the residence of Archduke Ferdinand II`s son Karl from 1609 until 1618. Margrave Karl was able to bring craft and trade to new heights, but later all his efforts were ruined by the Thirty Year War (1618–1648) in the course of which the number of Günzburg`s citizens went down from about 2,400 to some 800. The castle went up in flames (1703) and the citizens suffered badly under the occupation.

Today the the margraves' castle is the main tourist attraction. It is the only Habsburg castle built in Germany.

References:

guenzburg.de

Visby Cathedral

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.

Tina 01 Finkele (14 months ago)
Beautifully tranquil, great class. narrow streets. What is disturbing are the large construction sites in Günzburg at the moment

stiv mac (2 years ago)
Castle, realy?If you say so..it is more like old building...

Bobby B. (5 years ago)
Can't say much about it, I suspect closed for construction.

csilla tariné (6 years ago)
Nice historic place in the old town is very nice

Günzburg Castle

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