The first written mention of Íscar was in the year 939 AD in Muslim chronicles. The remaining Christians reconquered Iscar in 1086 AD. Build on the ruins of its ancient fortress, Iscar’s Castle stands majestic looking over the village. The oldest preserved parts of this fortress (probably dating back to the 13th century) are remains of the curtain wall and the inside structure of the tower. To provide a defence against possible attacks from the west side, weak point, the enclosure was re-enforced in the second halfof the fifteenth century for defensive purposes.
At the back of the Main Tower, a large defensive spur, flanked by two turrets transformed the ground floor into the shape of a pentagon.In this side also a new body was added as a defensive barbican, with a small artillery barrier with three circular barrel turrets. And for safety a Moat was dug into the limestone rocks whose access was by a drawbridge.
On one of these turrets appears the shield of Pedro de Zúñiga y Avellaneda and his wife Catalina de Velasco y Mendoza, IICounts of the Miranda del Castañar, which dates this work at between 1478 and 1493.
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.