On July 27th, 1225 Visby Cathedral Sankta Maria was consecrated as parish
church by Bishop Bengt of Linköping, with one German and one Gotlandic
parish. It was the church of the German merchants, who due to the Hanse
atic trade visited Visby and it was paid by the ships that arrived in Visby.
In the 1530s, the church turns into Visby’s parish church. Since 1361 Gotland
belonged to Denmark, but all the same Gotland became its own diocese in
1572 and Sankta Maria considered its cathedral.
Throughout the centuries, Visby Cathedral Sankta Maria, remains a land
mark of the town and of the whole island of Gotland as well. Millions of
people have visited the church. Its walls hold innumerable thoughts and
prayers. Each generation has left its own expressions and so it is also today
That’s to celebrate! All the year round!
The anniversary year 2025 started on New Year's Day, January 1st, under the heading Words and Tone. Then the events will follow each other throughout the year.
Highlights
Exhibitions: Each month an exhibition on a relevant topic. Different art
exhibitions continuously.
During the whole year the chest, dated back to 1240, belonging to the
Hanseatic trade on Novgorod will be shown.
Music: Every Saturday at 11 a.m. concerts of different characters. Some other
major concerts:
April 18th – Passion of St John by Fredrik Sixten. The Cathedral Choir, soloists
and Gotland Wind Quintet
July 25th Sankta Maria’s 800 years in words and music
July 26th Evening concert with Tomas Andersson Wij
Oct 31st – Requiem by W.A. Mozart
Nov 29th – Let’s sing in Advent!
New Years Eve – The jubilee year ends with a prayer and a lot of music
Project Doves of Peace
No matter what faith or background, everybody can express their desires
and dreams on peace, in times of a menacing world. You can produce your
own dove of peace in the cathedral with the goal to achieve Gotland’s
biggest art installation. Opening on May 1st with a walk for peace and an
illuminated Late-Night-Special including a concert with Christoffer
Lundquist. Masses for peace every Wednesday in May. The doves of
peace are shown until May 31st.
Anniversary books
During the month of May there will be three book releases:
“Sankta Maria the Great…….and the Church Mouse”, an illustrated book about
the Hanseatic history, told by the adventures of the church mouse Hansansson.
A fairy tale by Petra Guteskär. (Swedish, German)
“The History of Visby Cathedral – from a merchant’s church to a cathedral”,
written by Dick Harrison. The book stresses the importance of the cathedral
in an international perspective.
(Swedish, English, German)
“The Organ from 1599”, a presentation of a unique instrument that has been
rebuilt. The book tells about the organ’s historic context and its reconstruc
tion. (Swedish, English)
Hansa Organ Festival and the Hanseatic Day
The annual Hanseatic Day takes place in Visby 5th-8th of June. During these
days Visby Cathedral Sankta Maria hosts the first Hansa Organ Festival
with organists from more than 15 Hanseatic cities in 7 countries.
11 concerts in the cathedral with organ, orchestra and choir music.
The Hansa Organ Book with the winning compositions from the
Hansa’s composition competition will be presented.
Sunday 8th of June solemn ecumenical service
lead by Erik Eckerdal, Bishop of Visby
Happy birthday to you
On July 27th it is exactly 800 years since Bishop Bengt consecrated Sankta
Maria. We will celebrate during the whole weekend!
Friday, July 25
19.00 Lecture by Jan Eliasson: “The Power of Words in Service of Peace” (in Swedish).
21.00 Visby Cathedral’s 800 Years in Words and Music. Cathedral organist Peter Alriksson, Tourism Officer Ole Kaspersen and Dean Anna Lundgren give us insights into the cathedral’s history.
Saturday, July 26
11.00 “Resonating Historic and Present Times” Director Musices h.c. Claes Holmgren presents organ music related to Visby Cathedral Sankta Maria.
12.00 Prayer for Peace
13.00 Theatre: “Sankta Maria – the Greatest Ever… and the Church Mouse”. A musical tale about the history of the Hanseatic League, presented through the experiences of the church mouse Hansansson, with the cathedral in a central role. The tale is written by Cathedral Chaplain Petra Guteskär, and the music is composed by Organist Alma Emilsson.
14.00 Concert: Karl-Petter’s Orchestra.
16.00 Lecture by Dick Harrison. Dick Harrison gives a lecture on his jubilee book: “From Merchants’ Church to Cathedral – The History of Visby Cathedral Sankta Maria” (lecture in Swedish, the book available also in English and German).
21.00 Concert with the Swedish singer-songwriter Tomas Andersson Wij.
Sunday, July 27
11.00 Jubilee High Mass followed by mingling and extraordinary “Swedish fika”.
Program for downloading as pdf:
Visby Cathedral Sankta Maria 1225 – 2025
800 years of exciting history.
Hansa Organ Festival 5 – 8 juni 2025
The idea behind the festival Visby Cathedral Parish came together with organists from Lübeck, Krakow and Visby to discuss the possibilities to introduce organ music as part of the program at the Hanseatic Day, 5-8 June 2025.
Information for visitors - Visby Cathedral
Information for visitors. The Cathedral is open daily 9am–5 pm with few exceptions. When services or concerts, accessibility may be restricted.
Guided tours of Visby Cathedral Sankta Maria
Join us on a guided tour in the beautiful Cathedral.