Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 December 7b

Visby Cathedral

There are 92 well-preserved churches from the Middle Ages on the Swedish island of Gotland, more than in any other part of Sweden. Most of these churches were built between the early 12th century and the middle of the 14th century, when the wealth of the island increased thanks to trade between Western and Eastern Europe. The oldest of these churches are Romanesque in style, and while Gothic forms eventually replaced Romanesque, church architecture remained conservative on Gotland. The churches were often decorated with murals, with stained glass, and with decorative sculptures both of wood (such as the Viklau Madonna) and stone (especially decorated baptismal fonts). In the middle of the 14th century, Gotland entered a period of decline and turmoil, and a loss of trade from which the island would never recover. Church-building activity ceased after around 1350. In the main town of Visby, only Visby Cathedral (pictured) was maintained, while other churches were left as ruins. (Full list...)