The estate of Ekebyhov was created by Klas Horn (1583-1632) in the 1620s by merging farms Ekeby, Hovgården and Gällsta. Horn built a stone castle on three floors, which now no longer exists. The existing palace is a wooden two-storey building built in the 1670s, when Field Marshal Count Carl Gustaf Wrangel acquired Ekebyhov. Wrangel's death in 1676 halted the construction and it was resumed in 1701, when Baron Eric Lovisin had bought the estate.
After several ownership changes during the second half of the 1700s, Ekebyhov became as a residence of Albrecht Ihre in 1790. His son's grandson, Captain Bengt Ihre Johan Albrecht (1867-1956) built a nursery at the castle, planted with 400,000 trees, and seemed to increase fruit production in Sweden and Finland.
The Ekebyhov was owned by the family Ihre until 1980 and castle park with a wide variation of fruit trees has descended from Johan Ihre time. Today the castle is used as municipal conference center and cultural activities in association management.
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.