S:t Nicolaus 7, Visby

The property S:t Nicolaus 7 contains assembly-rooms for the Order of Freemasons. The house consists of a medieval part and a built-on annexa to the south. That part has been erected in present time. The house is surrounded by a large garden, and just north of the garden is the ruin from the abbey of S:t Nicolaus.

The Dominican monastery was situated north of the abbey, but there are no remains left of the buildings above the turf.

In the medieval part of the building bore cores have been taken from the eight beams of the ceiling in the basement. The ends of the beams rest in the walls. It has also been possible to get samples from some of the boards resting on the beams.

The outermost annual ring of a beam with waney edge has been dated 1288 (Sample no 791). As the about 70 outer rings in that sample have a width less than 0.2 mm there is a risk that at most two annual rings have not been developed. The dating of the medieval house may be expressed as that it has been erected after 1288 and at the latest in the beginning of the 1290:s.

That layer of floor boards which rests immediately on the beams of the ceiling consists of boards which have been chamfered at the edge in the same way as one can find in floor boards from the 13:th century at S:a Maria and the church of Väskinde.

The first floor board from the north (sample no 126) is judged to have waney edge, where the outermost annual ring is dated 1496. The fifth floor board from the north (sample no 124) lacks waney edge, and the outermost annual ring is dated 1594.

One may interpret this as that when relaying the floor, not worn floor boards were re-used, and the chamfering, used in the 13:th century was continuously used.

The Dominican monastery of S:t Nicolaus is well known because Petrus de Dacia, the author, acted as prior in 1283 - 1289.