The Cathedral of St. Elizabeth (Slovak: ''Dóm svätej Alžbety'', ; Hungarian: ''Szent Erzsébet-székesegyház'', German: ''Dom der heiligen Elisabeth''), also called Saint Elizabeth Cathedral, is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...

. It is the largest

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

and one of the easternmost Gothic cathedrals in Europe. The record of the existence of ''Kassa'' (Slovak: Košice), dating from 1230, is connected with the existence of the rectory church. In the process of the settlement's transformation from a rural community into a town, all its periods of successes and failures have been reflected in Saint Elizabeth Cathedral. According to historical and archaeological sources, the present-day cathedral was built on the place of an earlier church also consecrated to

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Elizabeth of Hungary (german: Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen, hu, Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet, sk, Svätá Alžbeta Uhorská; 7 July 1207 – 17 November 1231), also known as Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, or Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia, ...

. It was referred to in documents of 1283 and 1290, in which the

bishop of Eger The Archdiocese of Eger ( la, Archidioecesis Agriensis) is an archdiocese in Northern Hungary, its centre is the city of Eger. History * 1000: Established as Diocese of Eger * August 9, 1804: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Eger Ordi ...

Andrew II exempted Košice parish from the dean's sphere of jurisdiction.Slovak Republic.org
retrieved 19 June 2013Historia
''Dom Rimkat''; retrieved 19 June 2013.

Description

The Cathedral of St. Elizabeth is the largest church in Slovakia, with a total area of and a capacity of more than 5000 people. It is the main church in the Košice Archdiocese. It is one of Europe's easternmost Gothic cathedrals. The church is long and wide; the height of the north tower is . The central nave is 24 m long, and the aisles are 12 m long. Construction of the church influenced builders' activity in surrounding towns such as Prešov, Bardejov, Sabinov, and Rožňava, and it also influenced construction of other churches in Poland and

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

. The Gothic cathedral of Košice consists of a choir with a five-side chavet, five

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

s, two towers, a level

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

on the north side, and two chapels and an antechapel on the south side. The cathedral has a unique inside layout, in which the central nave and four aisles are crossed in the middle by one

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

of the same height and width as the central nave, which together create a Greek cross. This big central space rises in the centre of the church, and together with three equal exterior gables with richly decorated portals represent the acme of medieval stonework of art in Central Europe. The complex of the cathedral and adjacent buildings (St Michael Chapel and Urban Tower) were declared as Cultural Heritage Monuments in 1970.

History

Original church

The oldest Košice church probably originated in the middle of the 11th century and was sacred to

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

. It was built in

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...

at the same place as the current church. The church is referred to in the oldest written records of the town dated 1230. When German colonists settled in Košice in the 1240s, and Saint Elizabeth became the patron saint of the town, the church was rededicated to her. After this change the church started to be adjusted in the

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

in the middle of the 13th century. The church retained the Romanesque tower, but it also gained a Gothic

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

and a side chapel. The eastward-oriented chapel measured , with a main

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

of , giving it a total area of . This parish church burned down around 1380, but it was rebuilt and kept in service until the construction of the current cathedral. Several Romanesque artifacts such as an Iva statuette, a bronze

baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...

and several gravestones remain to this day.

First construction stage: end of 14th century until 1420

The fire which destroyed the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth in 1380 led to the construction of a new church. Wealthy local citizens financed the construction of a cathedral with the support of monarch

Sigismund of Luxemburg Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia ('' jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in ...

. He donated a considerable amount of money to the construction. Building of a church was also supported by papal curia. In 1402,

Pope Boniface IX Pope Boniface IX ( la, Bonifatius IX; it, Bonifacio IX; c. 1350 – 1 October 1404, born Pietro Tomacelli) was head of the Catholic Church from 2 November 1389 to his death in October 1404. He was the second Roman pope of the Western Schism.Richa ...

issued the indulgence bull. All pilgrims who contributed to Košice's church had their sins forgiven. The exact date of the new church construction is unknown, but it is supposed to be between 1380 (fire of old church) and 1402 when there was a first written record. The first stage of construction works lasted probably until 1420. During this period the church was built as a five-

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

. The new cathedral was built around the original foundation. The south polygonal

chevet In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

aisles were built first . This was followed by the south enclosure wall construction, the south portal and the west wall where the first two levels of both towers were composed to floor plan of church. An advanced construction margin related to Silesian Gothic, which took part in the Franciscan church construction in the north part of town, was working at building of a new church. There is a reference from 1411 about director Mikuláš and about Sigismund's master builder Peter from Budin.

Second construction stage: 1420–1440

New construction masonry in 1420 represented a disastrous innovation in the concept of cathedral architecture. Because of a lack of written reference, the architect is unknown. The aims were uprightness, light materials and spaciousness, and this resulted in the construction of the three-aisle cathedral. In a major change of plan, counter aisles were added to the main

. This was situated unconventionally at the middle of the main nave length, and a unique central hall space was created. The statue portal decorations of the main nave and side aisles were inspired by Gothic buildings in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, and were included in the second construction stage. The influence of

Parler Parler () is an American alt-tech social networking service associated with conservatives. Journalists have described Parler as an alt-tech alternative to Twitter, and users include those banned from mainstream social networks or who oppose ...

's masonry at

Saint Vitus Cathedral , native_name_lang = Czech , image = St Vitus Prague September 2016-21.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption ...

of Prague from the second half of the 14th century became evident in the King's Oratory and its spiral staircase, as well as a motif of round bannisters of the oratory and a stone

gallery Gallery or The Gallery may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Art gallery ** Contemporary art gallery Music * Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s Albums * ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album * ''Gallery'' (Gr ...

over the

. Then building of the cathedral continued with the north external wall construction, the polygonal chevet of the north aisle (parallels of south

apsis An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ellip ...

) and eight-sided top levels of Sigismund's Tower. At the end of the second construction stage the cathedral was ready for vaulting, and it was necessary to pull down the old church. St Michael's church (today called St Michael's Chapel) was built at the same time as the new church, but it was finished in 1400, and it took over the function of a parish church.

Third construction stage: 1440–1462

After the demolition of the old church of St. Elizabeth, the church was vaulted by

stellar vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic ...

. The particular symmetric shapes of the vault bays were different from each other, and they were not folded from one bay to the other. The newest part of the construction – sacristy and chapel belong to this third construction stage. The Sigimund's tower was finished and a new town emblem granted by

Ladislaus the Posthumous Ladislaus the Posthumous( hu, Utószülött László; hr, Ladislav Posmrtni; cs, Ladislav Pohrobek; german: link=no, Ladislaus Postumus; 22 February 144023 November 1457) was Duke of Austria and King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia. He was the ...

was sculpted at the fifth floor of tower in 1453. The date 1462, sculpted over the entrance portal to the tower, is the year when work on the tower was finished.

Fourth construction stage: 1462–1490

After finishing the Sigimund's tower, attention turned to the building of the south tower, which was named after the monarch of that time and contributor to the building of tower

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...

. This tower was built in a more decorated and vertical style than the north tower of the cathedral, because the construction masonry had changed. At the same time the south shield and portal were finished and there are many elements that recognize Matthias' generosity. Between 1464 and 1490, Master Stephan Lapicidus or Master Štefan Staimecz from Košice, mentioned in documents, was working on the cathedral construction. Master Štefan built side aisles of the cathedral that were not included in an origin floor plan. It was financed by rich city-dweller families. The Saint Cross Chapel was built by senator August Cromer in 1475. The Saint Maria chapel was built by Satmary Rod in 1477 and by the end of the same century The Saint Joseph Chapel (which no longer exists) was built at the north side of the cathedral. An inside feature from this period is a work of Master Stephan – the stone

pastophorium Pastophorion ( el, παστοφόριον, translit=pastophorium) is one of two chambers within an early Christian and Eastern Christian church building used as sacristies—the diakonikon and the prothesis. Originally, in the Greek Old Testament ...

, and probably the

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

of St. Elizabeth at the sacristy wall as well. At that time the church was furnished by rich

mobiliari, from which not too much was kept until today. The main altar of Saint Elisabeth between 1474 and 1477 from the unknown artist has been preserved.

Final construction stage: 1491–1508

After

' death began the contest of the throne in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. At that time Polish-Latvian regent

John I Albert John I Albert ( pl, Jan I Olbracht; 27 December 1459 – 17 June 1501) was King of Poland from 1492 until his death in 1501 and Duke of Głogów (Glogau) from 1491 to 1498. He was the fourth Polish sovereign from the Jagiellonian dynasty, the s ...

attacked Košice city. It was the first time that Košice was shot by cannons. The church was heavily damaged, and Nikolaus Krumpholz from

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...

was charged with its reconstruction. Master builder Vaclav from Prague assisted him with the reconstruction. According to the documents from the era at cordon of the west façade the reconstruction was done between 1496 and 1498. In 1508, the presbytery was completed; this is considered to be the year when the cathedral construction was finished. This fact is documented by the scroll of parchment with the particular year and the name of master builder Krumpholz which was found in the presbytery pillar after the big reconstruction of the church in 1908.Jump up ↑ ↑ Skočit nahoru k: a b ŠAŠKY, Ladislav. Stav Dómu svätej Alžbety v Košiciach. Vlastivedný časopis. 1966, roč. XV, čís. I. Available online; ISSN 1335-4566.

Reformation period

In 1556, Košice was affected by a huge fire which damaged the cathedral as well. The church roof, timbers of the roof and a large part of interior were burnt. All the necessary repairs were done by master builder Stanislaus from Kraków, master builders Johann and Gebriel and stone master Matyas. After this the church was administered by

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

s. They owned the church until 1604 when it was violently garrisoned by

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, along with Eger's chapter house. This incident became one of the main reasons of anti-Habsburg revolt of

Stephen Bocskai Stephen Bocskai or Bocskay ( hu, Bocskai István; 1 January 155729 December 1606) was Prince of Transylvania and Hungary from 1605 to 1606. He was born to a Hungarian noble family. His father's estates were located in the eastern regions of th ...

who assigned the church to

Calvinists Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

. The church was returned to Eger's chapter house in 1671 by Emperor Leopold I's decision. During this time the necessary repairs were done, and a chapter house treasure was placed in the church. During Count Imre Thököly de Késmárk's revolt (1682–85) the church was claimed by Protestants. In 1685, the church was permanently restored to the Catholic community.

Baroque period

In 1706 the church was damaged during the

Francis II Rákóczi Francis II Rákóczi ( hu, II. Rákóczi Ferenc, ; 27 March 1676 – 8 April 1735) was a Hungarian nobleman and leader of Rákóczi's War of Independence against the Habsburgs in 1703–11 as the prince ( hu, fejedelem) of the Estates Confedera ...

occupation. The most damaged parts were the west and the south side of the church. During the 18th century several parts of the church were fixed and embellished. Stained glass Slovakia Kosice St Elisabeth transept

Stained glass Slovakia Kosice St Elisabeth transept

In the second half of the 18th century the church already had 14 altars (with comparison to the 10 that exist today).

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

–

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

helmet with sightseeing view obtained the Sigimund's tower after the fire in 1775.

Fabry's reconstruction in 1858–1863

After several years of religious wars and neglected maintenance it was necessary to update the cathedral at the beginning of the 19th century. There were earthquakes in 1834 and in 1845; the town was flooded, and the flood extended to the cathedral where several parts of the ground pavement were damaged. During the 19th century there was an initiative for the cathedral reconstruction in Neo-Gothic style, which was organised by Bishop Ignác Fábry, and Imre Henszlmann, an artist and monuments innovator in Hungary. In 1857, the St. Elisabeth Cathedral Alliance was established by the members who were devoted to cathedral repairs which took place from 1856 to 1863 under the control of the Emperor's Royal Central Commission of Preservation and Repair of Architectural Monuments and as well as under the assistance of Henszlmann. Works were laid out by master builders Károly Gerster and Lajos Frey. Fábry's reconstruction effected change of several portals' statues, clapboards to ceramic roof-tiles, stock of new window panes, repair of the south hall and Romantique interior painting. On the other hand, very important structural defects of the church which were evident at that time were not removed and repaired. Some of the columns were off center from their central line. Their bases were standing on a colour blade layer which was soaked by ground water. Arch ruptures were covered by mortar or were covered by wood. Such an unprofessional practise led to the destruction and state of disrepair after a big windstorm in 1875.

Major reconstruction in 1877–1896

In 1872, the Hungarian Temporary Monuments Commission was established, with Imre Henszlmann as the commission secretary. A major reconstruction was realized from 1877 to 1896 and was the main priority of the Monuments Commission. It was financed mostly from the state budget of the Hungarian government.

Imre Steindl Imre Ferenc Károly Steindl (29 October 1839 – 31 August 1902) was a Hungarian architect. Steindl (sometimes called in German ''Emerich Steindl'' or ''Emmerich Steindl'') was the designer of the Hungarian Parliament Building, an associate pr ...

, a professor of Medieval Architecture at

Budapest Technical University The Budapest University of Technology and Economics ( hu, Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem or in short ), official abbreviation BME, is the most significant university of technology in Hungary and is considered the world's oldes ...

and the most famous architect of the Hungarian neo-Gothic, was named as the main architect of the reconstruction works. Based on the ruptures in arches he decided that pillars' allocation in the aisles was the main reason for the state of a disrepair of the cathedral statics. He worked out a completely new purist projection of the cathedral's reconstruction where the three-aisle cathedral was rebuilt to a five-aisle cathedral and added arches in side aisles. Originally medieval star arches at the main as well as the side aisles were rebuilt to network ones. An old

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

was removed and on its place Steindl built expanded replicas with more pillars. The next works involved the exterior – adjusting the external walls and gavels, supporting the columns, the water-chutes and windows' carved works, the portals' decoration and the change of Matthias' tower roof. The late-Gothic St Joseph's Chapel at the north part of the cathedral was completely removed. A neo-Gothic tower which was crossing the main and the side aisles,

flèche Flèche or Fleche may refer to: *Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire *Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition *Flèche (fencing), an aggressive offensive fencing technique *Flèche (fortification) A flèche ( Fr. for "arrow") is ...

was created. Steindl's primary plan was to rebuild all the neo-Gothic additional building and components in the cathedral. But those suggestions were declined by the commission and they requested a cheaper exchange of old stone parts for the new ones. Re-Gothicisation of the towers was not realized due to a lack of funds, reflected in a cheaper construction material. During the exchange of a base system from 1878 to 1882 cheap but low-quality sandstone from the nearby Spiššké Vlachy stone-pit was used. Its quick dilapidated outer surface resulted in removal of

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

s and gargoyles because they endangered pedestrians. With the next reconstruction after 1882 good quality sandstone from

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other alternative names) is a middle-sized town in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mo ...

was used. The main Master builder of the major reconstruction from 1877 to 1880 was Josepf Weber. From 1880 to 1896, Friedrich Wilhelm Fröde from

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

was the main master builder. It was supervised by Austrian architect Friedrich von Schmidt. After that a famous architect, Schmidt's student

, had started to work on the Budapest Parliament (in 1885), and Otto Sztehló was his successor. This architect used a preservative method at the Matthias Tower, in contrast with the previous purist method of his forerunners. The Sigismund Tower, the Matthias tower (except the roof), the inner side of exterior walls, the medieval portals with reliefs, the stone inventory of interior and the whole chapel (just the interior part) were kept from neo-Gothic reconstruction. In 1896 a newly delivered neo-Gothic interior equipment (altars, statues, pictures) was bought and donated for Košice's Cathedral by Hungarian clergy, Bishop of Kassa and wealthy patron Zsigmond Bubics. In 1906, a cathedral

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

was built under the north side aisle according to the plan of Hungarian architect

Frigyes Schulek Frigyes Schulek (19 November 1841 – 5 September 1919) was a Hungarian architect,

. This crypt was prepared to contain the relics of

and his companions from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

Major reconstruction 1978 until today

In 1970, Cathedral of St. Elizabeth was declared a National Cultural Monument. All the profiled architectural features (pinnacles, gargoyles,

gadroon Gadrooning is a decorative motif consisting of convex curves in a series. In furniture and other decorative arts, it is an ornamental carved band of tapered, curving and sometimes alternating concave and convex sections, usually diverging obliquel ...

s) had been either destroyed by the rain water or were unmounted. The stone decoration at the north portal was very much affected by weathering. Cathedral reconstruction started again in September 1978 with detailed architectural documentation. After a short break, works started again in 1984. In the meantime authorities started with the complex solution of Košice centrum monuments innovation, which was in 1983 declared as the biggest town monuments reservation in Slovakia. One of the factors that contributed to higher care of church was excluding motor-vehicle traffic from the main street in 1984 and tram traffic in 1986. During the reconstruction it was decided to use a method of a maintaining the stage from the big reconstruction at the end of the 19th century. First the roof of the main and side aisles was repaired where the ceramic coloured enamel tiles were changed, but with the original pattern from the 19th century. The

was reconstructed and it was necessary to add 264 pieces of lead decorations. From 1980 to 1992 the most damaged part of the chapel and sacristy were reconstructed. The works were done by the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

company Polskie Pracownie Konserwacji Zabytków from Vratislav. It was necessary to construct the new crown gardoons, gargoyles and pinnacles – according to the accessible documents and projects from the town's archival collection. Similarly the staircase towers were done. The gargoyles' reconstruction was done according to original Medieval patterns which are retained in the museums. This reconstruction included the interior repair of a chapel. In 1992–95 the south façade (cleaning and preservation), including windowpanes was done. The Sigimund's tower was under consistent renovation in 1995–97 when a

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

copper helmit was replaced. Cleaned and gilded plumbing decorations are originals from 1775. In 2008 reconstruction of the Rákóczi crypt was finished and in 2009 reconstruction of the most precious north portal was finished. Today there is renovation work at the exterior of the north façade of the church and the west portal and interior of the crossed north aisle. The Matthias tower is awaiting reconstruction.

Architecture

The base of the space composition is formed by the central nave with five bays which is divided by the cross aisle with one bay in axis. Apparent substitution of an idea are four subordinate spaces, inset into the ground plan of the building and inserted between the arms of main and cross aisle. In the first decades probably the enclosure walls were built and the main outline of space disposition was finished. In the next few years the question of portals and arches construction should have been solved. In the original spirit of the architecture the excellent stone sculpture works from 1420 to 1440 enriched construction structure with three big portals. The north, the south, and west portals in Košice have difficult profiles, eventuated in dynamic curves, alternating by horizontal and vertical cornices of relief boards and were decoratively enriched by pinnacles. Those architectural works through profile ceiling and allow new ideas using decorative views and play of light and shadow.

Vaulting

As is seen from the reconstruction of V. Mencl, the conception of the figural vaulting is based on individual parts of split

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

s' curves and inter

parts. Their shapes' difficult play is formed by the scheme of the sun rising with its spikes out of the splitting columns. For each sun an individual pattern of its middle is very important. From its diagonal vectors it creates shapes of the cross, rhombus and the trapezoid. In the subordinate spaces, which are clutched by the arms of main Greek cross of the main aisle and the side aisle, at connecting walls and the east side, the sun scheme is lost in a tangle of cranked rib networks. Master Štefan built a

sacrarium A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman C ...

over the anteroom at the south wall and he is adding adoration to the chapel of St Cross to its east side and chapel of Mettercia to the west side. At the north side there is the chapel of St Joseph. In these parts the ribs do not reach the head of the lisena but they gather to the arch construction. The vaulting of the chapels is based on an irregular star

net vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic a ...

Windows

Master Ján of Prešov demolished old walls and suggested an atrial type which can be seen mostly at the triple aisle. As from the artistic point of view he used efficiency of the smooth walls and the large windows in order to whiten the interior.

Heraldry at windows of main aisle

From the main altar towards the west gate is decorated by windows of the main altar with heraldries of Košice, Abov's chair and Hunyady chair as well as the heraldry of the countries of the 15th century King Matthias Corvinus:

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

, The Big Bulgaria,

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

and

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

Interior

Altars

The Main Altar of Saint Elizabeth

This

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

was crafted in the period of 1474–77 and is ranked among the most remarkable monuments of

Medieval art The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, over 1000 years of art in Europe, and at certain periods in Western Asia and Northern Africa. It includes major art movements and periods, national and regional art, gen ...

. The two pairs of both-side decorated wings each containing six Gothic paintings are adjoined to the central part. As a whole, it is a set of 48 paintings in three themed cycles – Elisabethan, the Passion and the Advent. Such construction of an altar is unique even in the European scale.

Altar of the Visitation

The winged altar was crafted to the order of a rich merchant of Košice named Michal Gunthert in 1516. The guiding motif of the altar, located in the arche, is a sculpture of the visit of Mary with Elizabeth. On both sides, the altar has a pair of movable wings. When opened, they represent scenes of the Angelic salutation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi and the Flight to Egypt. When closed, they depict the sacred personages of Saint Catherine,

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

Saint Barbara Saint Barbara ( grc, Ἁγία Βαρβάρα; cop, Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲃⲁⲣⲃⲁⲣⲁ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an Early Christianity, early Christian Lebanese and Greek saint and martyr. Acc ...

and

Saint John the Apostle John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Geʽez, Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Ze ...

. The

predella In art a predella (plural predelle) is the lowest part of an altarpiece, sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but oft ...

is painted with votives of Vir dolorum,

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

Saint John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given to ...

Saint Michael the Archangel Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), a ...

and

Saint Margaret the Virgin Margaret, known as Margaret of Antioch in the West, and as Saint Marina the Great Martyr ( grc-gre, Ἁγία Μαρίνα) in the East, is celebrated as a saint on 20 July in the Western Rite Orthodoxy, Roman Catholic Church and Anglicanism, ...

. The latter were patrons of the Gunthert family. Like the main altar of Saint Elizabeth, the upper part of this

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

is late

and decorated with the three groups of sculptures: the legend of three marriages of Saint Anne, statues of the Apostles and of Mary on the top.

Altar of Anthony of Padua

The character of this altarpiece lies in the fact that it is composed of the two late-Gothic altarpieces from the first half of the 16th century, which were saved after a great fire of the city of Košice in 1556. The paintings on wings are the oldest dated of all altarpiece paintings in the cathedral. They depict 16 saints on the both sides. In 1860, the altar image of Anthony of Padua painted by Ferenc Klimkovics was placed in the original

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

Altar of Mettercia

The Neo-gothic altarpiece from the end of the 19th century was manufactured to order of Bishop Zsigmond Bubics, for the purpose of emplacement of new-found late gothic painting of Mettercia. The rare painting of Tyrolean origin from 1516 depicts

Saint Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

and the ancestry of Isaiah. The painting was made for a commission from the family of pharmacist Bartolomej Czottman, and his wife and he are depicted with their coats of arms, among which the coat of arms of Košice is placed in accordance with the latest grant of arms. A mortar, as a symbol of pharmacists is featured beyond the municipal coat of arms.

Altar of Saint Anne

It is one of the series of neo-Gothic altarpieces from 1896 bought for the cathedral on the occasion of the millennial celebration of the Hungarian's arrival to the homeland, as well as of the termination of restoration works. The altarpiece was a gift from incumbent Bishop Zsigmond Bubics.

Altar of Wise Men

Bought in Paris, it was a gift from Bishop Zsigmond Bubics in 1896.

Altar of Saint Joseph

A gift from Konstantin Schuster, the

bishop of Vác A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, in 1896. It was crafted of pieces bought in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

by Lajos Lantay, a sculptor from Pöstyén.

Altar of Saint Stephen

A gift from František Pogač, the canon of Košice, in 1896. Crafted by Ferdinand Stufflesser, the Tyrolean carver.

Altar of the Three Martyrs of Košice

The Three Martyrs of Košice were beatified in 1905,

Lajos Tihanyi Lajos Tihanyi (29 October 1885 – 11 June 1938) was a Hungarian painter and lithographer who achieved international renown working outside his country, primarily in Paris, France. After emigrating in 1919, he never returned to Hungary, even on a ...

. Crafted the altarpiece dedicated to them in 1923 in

. Their remains are stored in the

Altar of the Holy Cross

It is historically the newest altarpiece in the cathedral, crafted in Košice in 1931 by Vojtech Buchner in commemoration of victims of the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Two iron panels feature names of all the people who contributed to the construction of the altarpiece.

Not installed altars

Altar of the Last Supper

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

altarpiece from the last third of the 15th century is segmented in the deposit of the East Slovak Museum.

Altar of John the Baptist

A neo-Gothic altarpiece crafted for a rare oil

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...

painted panel from 1516. It was in the cathedral until 1944. After reconstruction work from 1965 to 1970 the panel was obtained by the East Slovak Museum. One side of the panel depicts the scene of the Baptism of Christ in Jordan, and the other depicts the torture of

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

. They are of high quality with a notable influence of the Dutch and Flemish renaissance.

Altar of the Death of Mary

An original Gothic altarpiece which was not installed in 1943. Only the

was preserved, which is lost in the archival store of the cathedral.

The bronze baptistery

The

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

-Gothic

from the 14th century is the oldest monument preserved in the cathedral. It comes from the old church of Saint Elisabeth, the ancestor of today's cathedral. The leg of the baptistery is decorated with triangles, and the

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. Re ...

is ornamented with zoomorphic reliefs of lions, gryphons and eagles. The upper brim is lined with an illegible Latin inscription. The lid dates back to 1914.

Wall frescoes

In 1892, during the large-scale reconstruction works, a number of original Gothic

frescoes Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

was discovered hidden under a layer of plaster since the period of Reformation. Three of them are in the south apse: The Savior on the Day of Judgement in an

aureola An aureola or aureole (diminutive of Latin ''aurea'', "golden") is the radiance of luminous cloud which, in paintings of sacred personages, surrounds the whole figure. In Romance languages, the noun Aureola is usually more related to the d ...

(sitting Christ holding a sword, Mary and Saint Peter below him), Twelve Apostles and the Resurrection of Christ (with his right hand holding a battalion and blessing with his left hand). In the northern side apse next to the entry of sacristy another set of genuine Gothic frescoes could be found: the Descent from the Cross, dating back to the 16th century, conceived as winged wall altarpiece. Paintings on the right side are the Flagellation and the Coronation with Crown of thorns, and on the left side Christ nailed at the cross and Christ before Pilate.

Calvary

The sculpture of Calvary dating back to 1420 is one of the oldest articles of cathedral's inventory. Its components are: 4.34m tall cross with 3.12m tall nailed Christ in the centre, 2.73m tall statue of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

on the right side and 2.5-metre-tall statue of

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given t ...

on the left. Originally, the group of statues was installed in

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crow ...

of the

until 1936, when it was reinstalled in the Royal Oratory. This monumental carved wood piece of art is notable for its deep theatricality of emotional expression of the Christian Period culture.

Four wooden gothic polychromed sculptures

The four wood carvings crafted around 1470, whose authorship is attributed to Jan Weysz, the woodcarver from Presov, correspond to the period style of the main altarpiece of Saint Elisabeth. The sculptures are 108–112 cm tall and their current installation is secondary, i.e. in the

's pillars of the western portal. Originally they probably formed a component of an unpreserved upper part of St Elizabeth's altarpiece. The sculptures represent

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

, his son

Saint Emeric of Hungary Emeric ( hu, Szent Imre herceg), also ''Emericus,'' ''Emerick, Emery, Emory'', and venerated as Saint Emeric (c. 1007 – 2 September 1031) was the son of King Stephen I of Hungary and Giselle of Bavaria. Life Family Emeric is assumedSauser ...

Saint Ladislaus Ladislaus I ( hu, László, hr, Ladislav, sk, Ladislav, pl, Władysław; 1040 – 29 July 1095), also known as Saint Ladislas, was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary and ...

and

Stanislaus of Szczepanów Stanislaus of Szczepanów ( pl, Stanisław ze Szczepanowa; 26 July 1030 – 11 April 1079) was Bishop of Kraków known chiefly for having been martyred by the Polish king Bolesław II the Generous. Stanislaus is venerated in the Roman Cath ...

, the Polish bishop.

Mater Dolorosa on column

A polychromed wood carving from the period of 1500 112 cm tall. It is installed on a late Gothic twisted column. Above the statue, a Gothic ciborium was inserted into the southern side wall. The expressiveness and the pleating of the gown attest to the high level of late Gothic wood-carving in Košice.

Lantern of Matthias Corvinus

The

with a

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

for lantern built on a stone twisted column dates back to the end of the 15th century. The pinnacles' tympanums are ornamented with the coat of arms of

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

, of

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

and

. One unidentified coat of arms is present as well as the one of the Hunyadi family. Originally, the lamp illuminated the area in front of the southern portal towards the neighbouring cemetery. It served its purpose until the early 20th century when it was adapted to gas lighting. It was installed in its current place on the tower wall of Matthias in 1940.

Choir

The

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

choir was completely replaced in the period of large-scale reconstruction works in the end of the 19th century. The current replica is a bit longer and has more pillars than the original one. Four polychromed sculptures described above are installed on the pillars and complemented with another four neogothic sculptures of kings of Hungary:

Charles I of Hungary Charles I, also known as Charles Robert ( hu, Károly Róbert; hr, Karlo Robert; sk, Karol Róbert; 128816 July 1342) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1308 to his death. He was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou and the only son of ...

Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great ( hu, Nagy Lajos; hr, Ludovik Veliki; sk, Ľudovít Veľký) or Louis the Hungarian ( pl, Ludwik Węgierski; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370 ...

and

. A new pipe organ was crafted by Angster from Patkostolie. Access to it is through a stairway in the southern tower. The original one was discovered on Košice by a collector, Austrian Count Johann Nepomuk Wilczek who bought it and had it transported to his castle Burg Kreuzenstein near Vienna.

Pastophorium

A ston
pastophorium
for storing the eucharist, which is located in the northern pillar of triumphal arch, is the most accurate stone masonry work in the cathedral. It was crafted by Master Štefan around 1477. The pastophorium with hexagonal plan is ornated with complex composition of pillars moldings,

friezes In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

s and

es. The twisted niche for storing the eucharist is located on the first floor pastophorium. The metal-tipped door decorated with thumbnails of coat of arms of some lands and noblemen dates back to the 15th century. The tiny plaster sculptures of prophets and kneeling angels replaced former missing parts in the end of the 19th century. Since the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

, the pastophorium had become redundant and thus the staircase leading to the pastophorium lost its purpose and was removed in 1860.

The relief of Saint Elizabeth

It originated in the same period as the stone pastophorium and the authorship is also attributed to Master Štefan. It is made of three parts which do not fit together because of their compositions. The relief by itself is decorated in abrupt manner in a contrast with hexagonal ciborium with bolt ending with

filigree Filigree (also less commonly spelled ''filagree'', and formerly written ''filigrann'' or ''filigrene'') is a form of intricate metalwork used in jewellery and other small forms of metalwork. In jewellery, it is usually of gold and silver, ma ...

scenes from the Old Testament. The tip of the ciborium in the shape of the pinnacle is ended with composition of nestled pelican which is the symbol of Christ's blood. In the 19th century the relief was complemented with a Latin inscription ''S.Elisabeth ora pro nobis'' positioned above the

console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...

Rainer Melichar epitaph

The

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

of the family of municipal reeve Rainer Melichar is one of the few Neo-gothic relics preserved in the cathedral and dates back to the beginning of the 17th century. The image of Flagellation is between two family coats of arms; above, there is a sculpture of Christ Crucified and above the tympanum, there is a Baroque group of sculptures of two angels on the sides and Christ holding the Earth in the middle.

Aurole of Madonna

Another Baroque

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

in the cathedral which appropriately exponentiates the aesthetic interior décor is hanging

aureole An aureola or aureole (diminutive of Latin ''aurea'', "golden") is the radiance of luminous cloud which, in paintings of sacred personages, surrounds the whole figure. In Romance languages, the noun Aureola is usually more related to the d ...

from the first half of the 18th century, installed under the

. The double-sided sculpture of Madonna with child is in the middle of the aureole.

Pews

Some of the cathedral

pews A pew () is a long bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview The first backless stone benches began to appear in English churches in the thirt ...

are from the 18th century and crafted in Baroque style, other are from the end of the 19th century. Oppositely positioned canonical pews in presbytery were crafted during the period of the large-scale reconstruction works of the cathedral in accordance with the design of the main architect Imre Steindl. He designed the patronal pew of communs with an engraved painted coat of arms of Košice.

Chapel of Mettercia – Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary

One of the two chapels in the cathedral is the Chapel of Annunciation to the blessed Virgin Mary located in the area between

' tower and the vestibule of the southern portal. It was built in 1477 by Stefan and allegedly his portrait is on the console of cross-ribbed vaults. The builder holds a paper strip in his hands. The altarpiece of Mettercia is installed in the chapel, hence the other name. The parents of the Hungarian

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

Juraj Szatmary had it built, hence the chapel is also called the Chapel of Szatmary. In the beginning of the 19th century, a

of bishops of Košice was established under its floor. Their gravestones are embedded into the enclosure walls. Ignac Fabry, Zsigmond Bubics, Augustin Fischer-Colbrie and Jozef Čársky are buried there.

Chapel of Saint Cross

The second Chapel of the Dome is the Chapel of Saint Cross also built in year 1475. Its donor was the city consul and reeve Augustín Cromer, the reason that the chapel is also called Cromer's chapel. Nowadays it is used as the

King's Oratory

To the period of building the old cathedral belongs the construction of the King's Oratory. It was created on the first floor of the polygonal arch of the south annex of

aisle. On the wall under the oratory is a very significant epigrafic relic from the acting time of

John Jiskra of Brandýs John Jiskra of Brandýs ( cs, Jan Jiskra z Brandýsa; german: Johann Giskra von Brandeis; hu, Jiskra János; c. 1400 – c. 1469), in English sometimes referred as John Giskra, was a Czech strategist and mercenary soldier. John Jiskra came from ...

in the function of Košice captain.

Twisted staircase

The twisted staircase is from the 15th century and leads to the king's empora. The stairs are divided into two arms of staircase and the west arm heads to the attic of cathedral. It is constrained and therefore it is assumed it had mainly decorative function. This twisted staircase is the oldest existing one in Europe.

The singer stage

The stone

located on the north wall of the main aisle in place of a presbytery belongs to the original accommodation of the cathedral. Its purpose was likely to present different medieval allegories and mysteries during the worship ceremony by actors and singers.

Statue of Saint Florian

Saint Florian Florian ( la, Florianus; 250 – 304 AD) was a Christians, Christian holy man, and the patron saint of Linz, Austria; chimney sweeps; soapmakers, and firefighting, firefighters. His feast day is 4 May. Florian is also the patron saint of Upper ...

was the patron of firemen and protection from fire. The town built his statue in 1748, which first stood near St Michael's Church (later Chapel), later on near the south wall of St Urban Tower, until the year 1940 when it was moved to where it now stands at the entrance hall of the south portal.

Adyton

Building of the

adyton The adyton ( , 'innermost sanctuary, shrine', ) or (Latin) was a restricted area within the cella of a Greek or Roman temple. The ''adyton'' was frequently a small area at the farthest end of the cella from the entrance: at Delphi it measured j ...

belongs to the third part of construction of the Dome, the years 1440–62. In addition there are neo-Gothic statues on the consoles from Jana Marschalek from the end of 19th century. They represent saints. Windowpanes were created by Karl Geyling in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1860. On the panes are illustrated coats of arms of minor canons.

The sacrificial altar

The newest element of the cathedral's inventory is the sacrificial altar of the celebrating priest. It is located in the front of the main altar, and is carved from a single piece of sandstone in the shape of two arms creating an ellipse. The sacrificial altar stands on the

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

of the shape of a heart. Near the altar is a new

ambon Ambon may refer to: Places * Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia ** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province ** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796 * Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...

(place for preaching) and the sedeses (chairs). All the three objects were created by Michael and Thomas Baník in 1994.

Pulpit

The stone pulpit with wooden shelter is the masterpiece of sculptors W. Aubram and R. Argenti. On the twisted staircase to it are placed statues of the argurs and the church fathers.

Crypt of Rákóczi

Beside the north wall of the Dome a

was built in 1906 for remains of Francis II Rákoczi, Hungarian nobleman and Prince of

and his family and favored friends. The crypt and the four stone

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a cadaver, corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from ...

were designed by professor Frigyes Schulek from

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. In one sarcophagus are buried together the prince, his mother (Ilona Zrínyi), and his older son Joseph. South is the sarcophagus of General Count Antal Esterházy, north is where Miklós Sibrik is interred. In the fourth sarcophagus on the other side of crypt Count Miklós Bercsényi and his second wife, Krisztina Csáki are buried.

Apotheosis of life Ferenc II Rákóczi

The monumental mural painting above the north portal of the cathedral is from years 1914–16 and its author is Andor Dudics (or Dudits). It is a

Exterior

The north portal

The design of the north portal is rare according to medieval tradition in which the north sides of churches did not have

portal Portal often refers to: * Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...

s. Its statues are the most decorative out of the three portals of the cathedral. The reason for this is probably that it faced the busiest part of medieval Košice – to the city market and the city hall. The portal is known as the Golden Gate, because it was gilded in the Middle Ages. The north portal has two entrance doors. Above those is an arch with a relief of The Last Judgement. The relief is divided into two parts. In the lower one a crowd of people is seen heading to the gates of heaven, where they are welcomed by an angel, and the others who are going to hell are heading to the leviathan's jaws with devils and are in chains. The upper part shows the Last Judgement, the two angels with horns announcing the end of the world. The other figures represent the

12 apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary Disciple (Christianity), disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. Dur ...

. Around the relief of the Last Judgement is in three degrees placed five frame reliefs decorated by

s, profilation and traceried motives. Two lower

reliefs Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

refer to the life of St Elizabeth. The other three recreate the scene from Calvary. At the top is Christ crucified on the cross in a shape of tree of life. The other two crucified on Golgotha are shown on the left side as the saved soul carried to heaven by an angel, while on the right side the soul is carried to hell by a devil. Under the scene of Crucifixion on the left side are crying women around Virgin Mary under the cross and on the right side is

surrounded by Roman soldiers. During the great reconstruction of the dome they added niches along the both gates of north portal for neo-Gothic statues of the saints. The niches are original and it is not known what statues stood on them during the last centuries. The other neo-Gothic statues decorate the portal of the east gavel. The statues are Ugarian kings

, his wife

Elizabeth of Poland Elizabeth of Poland ( hu, Erzsébet, pl, Elżbieta; 1305 – 29 December 1380) was Queen of Hungary by marriage to Charles I of Hungary, and regent of Poland from 1370 to 1376 during the reign of her son Louis I. Life Early life She was a memb ...

and Louis of Hungary. They are masterpieces of the Budapest sculptor Lajos Lantay.

The West Portal

According to liturgical custom the main entrance to the church is the west portal. Although it has three gates, this entrance has the most simple stone decoration. Two sides are without figure decoration. Above the main gate are two reliefs. One of them directly over the gate shows Christ in Getsemane garden piteously praying to His Father. To the left of Christ are apostles Peter,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

and

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

, from the right come soldiers led by

Judas Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...

. In the seddle finish of the portal is the scene of Pieta,

holding Christ body, surrounded by Maria Magdalene and

Mary Joseph Mary Joseph ( ml, മേരി ജോസഫ്‌; born on 2 June 1962) is an Indian Judge. Presently, she is Judge of Kerala High Court. The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and in the Union Territory o ...

. The uppermost relief shows angels holding Veronica's towel with Christ's face print. The whole symbology of portals relates with local tradition of The Holy Blood. At the end of 19th century two Neo-Gothic statues were placed to the main gate of which only one – the statue of

has been preserved.

The South Portal

The south portal differs from the previous two portals by the fact that it is placed to the ante-room under the king's empora. It has two gates, the same as the north portal, but without the figures in relief. Instead they are finished by saddles with triangle circling pikes above which is another row of saddles. The portal gives the impression of a triple level entrance to the cathedral. An interesting component of the portal is aerial bolt of gothic arch of an Ante–room with leaf ornaments. Very interesting is also the

baldachin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over h ...

of the statue in the middle of the portal which is formed by flying rooks. The other rook and beast hold devices of the torment. Based on this it is supposed that under the baldachin was previously a statue of Christ. Today there is statue of Imaculata from the end of the 19th century made by statue maker János Marschalkó. The other statues at the portal are saints, emperor

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

Elizabeth of Hungary Elizabeth of Hungary (german: Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen, hu, Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet, sk, Svätá Alžbeta Uhorská; 7 July 1207 – 17 November 1231), also known as Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, or Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia, ...

Adalbert of Prague Adalbert of Prague ( la, Sanctus Adalbertus, cs, svatý Vojtěch, sk, svätý Vojtech, pl, święty Wojciech, hu, Szent Adalbert (Béla); 95623 April 997), known in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia by his birth name Vojtěch ( la, Vo ...

Andrew the Apostle Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an Apostles in the New Testament, apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He ...

(patron of Košice archdiocese),

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...

and Bishop Teodor. These statues have nothing to do with the symbolism of the portal; they represent patrons and those who financed the major reconstruction of the cathedral at the end of the 19th century. The middle portrait belongs to architect Imre Steindl. The others included Fridrich Wilhelm Fröde and Otto Sztehló.

The Sigismund's tower

The north tower, which was built in the second period of church construction in 1420–40, was finished in the third period of construction in 1462. This is proved by Košice's arms with the sculpted year 1462 over the portal of the west façade which is also the entrance to the tower. The tower stays at four – square floor plan and has three levels. From the fourth level it narrows to an octagonal floor plan. A simply decorated tower has between floor cordons decorated by cresting with a geometric motif. Between the fourth and the fifth floor the decoration is complemented by rosette – roses, while each of them is profiled to the different shape. The Sigimund's tower was heavily damaged between 1490 and 1491 when Košice was besieged by

's army. It was reconstructed by Nicolaus Crompholz from

, under the guidance of Vaclav from Prague in 1494–97. After the fire in 1775 the tower was built up a little bit and on the top of it a

monkshood ''Aconitum'' (), also known as aconite, monkshood, wolf's-bane, leopard's bane, mousebane, women's bane, devil's helmet, queen of poisons, or blue rocket, is a genus of over 250 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae. ...

was mounted, which created the sixth floor of the tower. The monkshood is covered by a copper sheet with the gold-coated plumber components. On the top of it there is copper cross 3 meters tall. On the first floor there is the mechanism of a large clock, on the second floor there is construction for the bells. On the third floor are two bells from 1926. Alexander Buchner had new bells cast – The God's heard which has 1 530 kg and which holds names of those killed during World War I. There is also a fire brigade room which was used until the 1970s.

The Mathew Tower

The south tower was built in the second period of cathedral construction from 1420 to 1440. It had a fourth – square floor plan. After the construction break the work on building the tower followed in 1462 when the north tower was finished. The works were managed by Master Štefan until 1477. He constructed it in a more decorated and massive way in comparison with the north tower, although it was not built up to its planned height. It is finished at a level of crown cordon of the main aisle by decorative wreath with heraldries of countries belonging to

King Matthias Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...

and heraldry of Košice. The tower is now covered by an octagon metal-sheet roof. The curiosity of the tower is a labyrinth of a circular staircase which are linked to each other. Its importance has not been clarified. The entrance is from the west choir of the cathedral and its staircase also allows access to the pipe organ. The rich decoration of the exterior is complemented by the statues of

's supporters which are from Budapest sculptor František Mikula from the 20th century.

The sun dial

On the exterior wall of the south façade above the biggest window of the Mettercie Chapel is situated the horologe type

sun dial A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...

type from the year 1477. Chrlič3

Flèche

The tower at the crosspoint of the main and the transept aisle is the product of the neo-Gothic remaking while the great reconstruction of the dome at the end of the 19th century. It has a wooden skeleton which is metaled by copper.

The Francis II Rakóczi memorial

In 1906, the remains of

and his band were carried from Turkey to Košice and entombed in the cathedral crypt. On 24 July 1938, the memorial of the

Kuruc Kuruc (, plural ''kurucok''), also spelled kurutz, refers to a group of armed anti-Habsburg insurgents in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1671 and 1711. Over time, the term kuruc has come to designate Hungarians who advocate strict national ind ...

Revolt was unveiled. The memorial was designed by Sipos and Vojtech Loffler. Vojtech Buchner moulded it with bronze.

The monarch donations

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and during modern times Saint Elisabeth Cathedral was the largest church in the

. Its building happened to be a very prestigious issue for the bourgeois, wealthy merchants and craftsmen of Košice.

Legends of the cathedral

Over the years legends of the cathedral were created and maintained. Most of them have their roots in the Middle Ages of building the dome. Construction continuing over the centuries gave birth to the legend of the hollow stone, which the builders put on an unknown place in the cathedral. If the stone was lost, the whole cathedral would fall. There is also a legend about the

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...

of the drunk women – it is said that she was the master builder's alcoholic wife. The legend says that because she was tarnishing his reputation by her appearance in the town, he made her a gargoyle forever. There is a legend about the lantern of

. The lantern was said to have a power to take away the guilt from every criminal who stood under it. The last legend is about Christ's blood. During the common Sunday mass the priest spilt the consecrated goblet full of wine on the floor where the image of suffering Christ was created, and some believers heard the Christ moan, they said. Chrlič opitá ž

Modern cultural usage

In October 2015, Hungarian rock band

Omega Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value of 800. The wo ...

, whose members declare

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, performed their Biblically themed ''Oratórium'' (Oratory) inside the cathedral. The piece was exhibited since 2013 in Hungary, Romania, Germany, mostly in

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

Reformed churches, as well as Moscow's

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour ( rus, Храм Христа́ Спаси́теля, r=Khram Khristá Spasítelya, p=xram xrʲɪˈsta spɐˈsʲitʲɪlʲə) is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskv ...

. The concert was sold-out and attended by 1,200 spectators, down from the potential capacity of 2,000. Following the concert and laypeople's criticisms of sacrilage, Archbishop Bober had banned future rock concerts in the cathedral allowing only

religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

or classical music.

Bibliography

* BORODÁČ, Ladislav. Košický dóm. Národná kultúrna pamiatka. Martin: Východoslovenské vydavateľstvo pre Mestskú správu pamiatok v Košiciach, 1975. (slovak) * Dóm sv. Alžbety v Košiciach. Košice: Sáša pre Arcibiskupstvo Košice a Farnosť sv. Alžbety Košice, 2000; (in Slovak) * JUDÁK, Viliam. Pútnik svätovojtešský : kalendár na rok 2011. Příprava vydání Mária Vyskočová a Slavomír Ondica. Trnava: Spolok svätého Vojtecha, ročník 139; . Kapitola Katedrála svätej Alžbety v Košiciach, s. 54–56 (in Slovak) * LUKAČIN, Alfonz. Staviteľ chrámu. Košice: PressPrint, 1999; . (slovak) * MARKUŠOVÁ, Kristína. Dóm sv. Alžbety. Sprievodca po košických kostoloch. Košice: Štroffek pre Historickú spoločnosť Imricha Henszlmanna, 1998. (in Slovak) * POLÁKOVÁ, Mália. Dóm sv. Alžbety v Košiciach. Národná kultúrna pamiatka. Martin: Obzor pre Východoslovenský krajský výbor Združenia katolíckeho duchovenstva Pacem in terris a Rímskokatolícky farský úrad sv. Alžbety v Košiciach, 1983 (in Slovak) * WICK, Vojtech. Dóm svätej Alžbety v Košiciach. Košice: Tlačiareň svätej Alžbety, 1936 (in Slovak).

Gallery

File:Kosice - St. Elisabeth Cathedral 1.JPG, The cathedral from the south File:Szent Erzsébet-dóm.jpg, The choir File:St Elisabeth's Cathedral Košice.jpg, Cathedral of St. Elizabeth Košice (right) and Urban's Tower (left) Predna strana.JPG, The west portal Nočny pohlad2.JPG, Night view from Mlynská Street File:Nočny pohlad vzdial.JPG, Night view from Vrátna Street File:Nočny pohlad1.JPG, Night view from Mlynská Street File:Exterier pohl 9.JPG, Exterior of the cathedral File:Exterier pohl 5.JPG, Details of facade File:Exterier pohl 2.JPG, The Matthias tower File:Interier pohl 2.JPG, High choir File:Int pohl 3.JPG, Interior view from the main altar File:Detail int 5.JPG, Cathedral of St. Elizabeth - Wall painting File:Detail int 4.JPG, Cathedral of St. Elizabeth - The Pastophoria File:Detail int 1.JPG, Ornamental detail File:Rákocyihokrypta1.JPG, The entrance to the crypt of Rákocsi File:Nábytok2.JPG, Pews File:Detail int 7.JPG, Calvary on the king's empora File:Detail int 3.JPG, The Neo-Gothic pulpit

References

External links

*http://www.cassovia.sk/svalzbeta (in Slovak) *http://www.visitkosice.eu/en/monuments/st-elizabeth-cathedral (in English) *http://www.slovakia.com/sightseeings/st-elisabeth-cathedral/ (in English) {{Authority control Churches in Košice Roman Catholic cathedrals in Slovakia Gothic architecture in Slovakia 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Slovakia 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Slovakia