Saint Nicolas Church or Basilica of Saint Nicholas (Slovak: Bazilika Svätého Mikuláša, also known as Hrubý Kostol, meaning "main/big church") is a Gothic/Baroque church in

Trnava Trnava (, , ; , also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of the Trnava Region and the Trnava District. It is the seat o ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. In 2009

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

granted the parish church of St. Nicolas the honourable title of minor

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

History

The church dedicated to Saint Nicolas, patron of merchants, is located at the highest point of the historical town centre, where the former medieval marketplace stood, not far from the city walls. It was built between 1380 and 1421 on the site of an earlier Romanesque church building. When the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

seized Esztergom, the Archbishop relocated to Trnava. From 1543 to 1820, Saint Nicolas was the Archbishop's cathedral.

Architecture

The church is 60m long, 31 m wide, its sanctuary was 17.3m and the nave 18m high. The architecturally homogeneous Gothic basilica type temple, whose nave is nearby twice as high as the aisles, bears marks of the Danube style. The sanctuary of this massive brick structure faces east. Buttresses supporting the high walls alternate with Gothic windows decorated with original stone traceries. The largest Gothic window, adorned with rich traceries and stained glass, is at the church front, and depicts

Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia (), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman Christian virgin martyr, who is venerated in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox, Anglican Communion, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She became the ...

. The north tower houses one of the largest bells in Europe. Starting in 1618 Cardinal Peter Pázmány ordered a series of renovations, including its widening and overall reconstruction in the

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

. The main altar dedicated to All Saints was created in 1630; several new side altars were also added. In 1739, Bishop Imrich Esterházy added an octagon chapel to the northern side of the church; it contains the painting known as the "Merciful Virgin Mary of Trnava". It is a Marian pilgrimage site for the archdiocese."Saint Nicolas Church, Trnava", The Roman Catholic Parish of St. Nicolas, Trnava
/ref> Romanian-Hungarian humanist and scholar

Nicolaus Olahus Nicolaus Olahus (Latin for ''Nicholas, the Vlach''; ; ); 10 January 1493 – 15 January 1568) was the Archbishop of Esztergom, Primate of Hungary, and a distinguished Catholic prelate, humanist and historiographer. Early life Nicolaus Olahus ...

(Nicholas, the

Vlach Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula) ...

) and Croatian cardinal, diplomat and writer

Antun Vrančić Antun Vrančić or Antonio Veranzio (30 May 1504 – 15 June 1573; Lat. ''Antonius Vrancius, Wrancius, Verantius iWerantius'', It. ''Antonio Veranzio'', Hung. ''Verancsics Antal'') was a Croatian prelate, writer, diplomat and Archbishop of Eszter ...

are buried in the church. The Rieger organ dates from 1912. The church hosts an international festival of organ music called Trnavské organové dni, annually every August. St. Nicolas' Basilica is on the "Cyril and Methodius Route", one of the cultural heritage routes of the Council of Europe."St. Nicolas´ Basilica, Trnava", Cyril and Methodius Cultural Heritage, Council of Europe
/ref> File:Trnava bazilika 10.jpg, St. Nicolas, Trnava bazilika File:Trnava bazilika 11.jpg, nave File:Trnava sv Mikuláša 07 05.jpg, "Annunciation" File:Gothic church of St. Nicolas in Trnava, Slovakia.jpg, Basilica at night

References

Buildings and structures in Trnava Monuments and memorials in Slovakia Cathedrals in Slovakia Churches in Trnava Region Gothic architecture in Slovakia {{Slovakia-RC-church-stub