Holy Spirit Church Ruins

Visby, Sweden

The Holy Spirit (Helgeand) Church, sometimes incorrectly mentioned as St. James, was built in the early 1200s. It was probably constructed as a chapel for the Danish Guild and donated by the Danish King Valdemar. In the mid-1200s the guild lost its importance and the church was sacrified as Holy Spirit Church and it also functioned as a sanctuary. The church is octagonal and built on two floors. Both floors have a common choir.

The original central tower collapsed around 1365 and Johannes van Wese donated 100 mark to the reconstruction. The church was was destroyed by fire in 1611. The church ruins are open to visitors in summer season.

References:

Wikipedia

Address

Hospitalsgatan 3, Visby, Sweden

See all sites in Visby

Details

Founded: ca. 1200
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)

More Information

www.visbysweden.com

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

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User Reviews

Nik (3 years ago)
Ruin with an octagonal plan

Vilgot Björling (4 years ago)
Very unique and neat church ruin which also has narrow passages inside the walls of the ruin. The church was even built with two floors.

Igor Fabjan (5 years ago)
another piece of past

Martin Borgenby (6 years ago)
Cozy ruin worth a visit. Wear good shoes if you are going up the stairs.

Martin Diviš (6 years ago)
Amazing monuments of the history and glory of the city of Visby with its rich medieval past.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Infomastern

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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.

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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.