Visby Cathedral

Visby Cathedral (Swedish: Visby domkyrka), formally Visby Saint Mary's Cathedral (Visby Sankta Maria domkyrka), is a cathedral within the Church of Sweden, seat of the Bishop of Visby. It lies in the centre of Visby, the main town on the Swedish island Gotland. It was built as the church of the German traders in the city during the 13th century. The first church was probably a wooden church, which was later replaced by a stone building. Originally built as a basilica, it was successively expanded and rebuilt during the Middle Ages. At the end of this period it had been transformed to a hall church, which it still is. In 1361, Gotland and the church became part of Denmark. Following the Reformation, it was the only medieval church in the city left in use, and in 1572 raised to the status of cathedral. Since 1645 Gotland and the cathedral have been part of Sweden. A major renovation was carried out in 1899–1903 under the guidance of architect Axel Haig.

The cathedral consists of a nave with two aisles, a square chancel, a square western tower and two smaller, octagonal towers to the east. Stylistically, it is related to medieval German models, particularly from Westphalia and the Rhineland, but indirect influences from France are also discernible in the Gothic architecture of the cathedral. In turn, its architecture influenced both local church building on Gotland and certain elements in the cathedrals of Linköping and Uppsala on mainland Sweden. It contains furnishings from several centuries; its main altarpiece is a Gothic Revival piece from 1905.

Visby Cathedral was not originally built as a cathedral, but as a church for the German traders who visited Visby during the 13th century. The city was an important port of the powerful, German-dominated Hanseatic League, and the church was one of the most important churches of the city. At the end of the Middle Ages Saint Mary's Church was the richest church in Visby by far, and it was the second-largest church of the city. Being a church for itinerant traders, it originally lacked a territorial congregation and was not subjected to any bishop or lord. Instead, it would be used by the traders whenever they were in Visby, and they brought along their own clergy. At other times the church was simply unused and stood empty. Eventually several of the traders settled permanently in Visby, and formed a territorial congregation subjected, like all of Gotland, to the Bishop of Linköping. Henceforth Saint Mary's Church was used both by the German congregation of Visby, and by the visiting German traders who continued to bring their own priests.

The first church building was probably wooden, but no traces remain of this building. Construction of the current, stone building started during the second half of the 12th century. Funding was supplied through a levy which all visiting German traders had to pay. It was consecrated by Bishop Bengt of Linköping on 27 July 1225. This first stone church was a basilica in Romanesque style. It had a nave, two aisles, a western tower and a transept. It had a square chancel and an apse-like east end. It is possible that also the transept arms had apses. Quite soon thereafter, the chancel was rebuilt into the square chancel seen today. At the same time the transept was enlarged and the two eastern, smaller towers built in the angle between the transept and the chancel. A new portal, the so-called bridal portal (Swedish: brudportalen) was constructed in the western transept where it still remains.

After a short hiatus the nave was reconstructed in the middle of the 13th century. Saint Mary's Church was at the same time widened, integrating the transepts into the nave and transforming the church from a basilica to a hall church, again after models from western Germany. About fifty years later, a large chapel was constructed to the south. The chapel is today simply called "the great chapel" (stora kapellet) but was in the Middle Ages dedicated to Saint Mary. New, larger tracery windows in Gothic style were also installed piecemeal during the 14th century. The church roof was also raised, adding a clerestory whose windows however only provided light for a new, large attic; the exterior was thus changed to appear as that of a basilica, without altering the interior at all. These changes meant a departure from the typical hall church architecture and indicates inspiration from classical Gothic cathedral architecture. The main purpose appears to have been to make the church appear more dominating from outside. The tower was heightened in 1423.

Few changes have been made to the building since the end of the Middle Ages. Since the Battle of Visby in 1361, Gotland was a Danish province, and hence was affected by the Danish Reformation. Changes in doctrine meant that the city of Visby thereafter only had need of a single church for a single congregation. The church of the German traders was chosen to serve the town, while the many other churches were left to decay; today they are preserved only as ruins on Gotland. Somewhat later, in 1572, the Diocese of Visby was established and Saint Mary's Church was promoted to the status of a cathedral. In 1645, following the Treaty of Brömsebro, Gotland was ceded by Denmark to Sweden.

In 1611, a fire damaged the eastern part of the cathedral, and the spires of the east towers had to be replaced. The current wooden Baroque spires of these towers date from 1761, and the same year the gable of the great chapel was also rebuilt. The spire of the west tower is from 1746. The roofs have been continually repaired since at least the 18th century, and at some point the roofs of the aisles were raised to cover the medieval clerestory. The interior was renovated in 1890–93, and between 1899 and 1903 the cathedral was substantially renovated under the leadership of architect Axel Haig.

Haig, who was born on Gotland but had pursued a career in the United Kingdom as an architect, produced a proposal for a renovation of the cathedral to the cathedral chapter on his own initiative. His proposal was with some minor adjustments accepted, after funding had been secured from the Swedish government. However, the funds did not include money to pay Haig, who did the work without a salary. The work aimed to repair and preserve the cathedral without any major alterations, except where it was deemed necessary. The most far-reaching changes were that the 14th-century clerestory was restored, the roofs of the aisles lowered, the removal of whitewash from the facade, the construction of a new sacristy and the renovation of the gable of the great chapel in a Gothic Revival style. The decoration of cathedral was also partially renewed, also in a Gothic Revival style, with several new sculptures, wrought iron details and ridge turrets installed. Further changes were made later during the 20th century. In 1906 electrical lighting was installed, and in 1928 a new heating system. A fire sprinkler system was installed in the west tower in 1959 and a heat system to keep downpipes from freezing in winter was installed in 1968.