Horné Krškany () is a little
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in the
Nitra
Nitra (; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra (river), Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of ...
region of Slovakia. The town has appeared on lists since the year 1240 and in the literature since the year 1248.
ChurchSt Mary's
in Horné Krškany is a small, unprepossessing building on a low rise west of the main road; the front section is an ordinary Baroque affair. But the rear section is much older: recent archaeological work suggests it dates from the thirteenth century, and perhaps even earlier.
This discovery is in part thanks to the railway line which runs literally past the front door of the church.
In 1908, an ember from a passing steam train set fire to the church's straw roof, and it remained a ruin until the 1930s, when restoration work in the chancel revealed a
fresco
Fresco ( 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 plaster, the painting become ...
on the rear wall. Little significance was attached to it at the time: a curtain was hung to cover the unsightly blemishes.
It is only in the last three years, at the instigation of the present priest, a history enthusiast, that the church has been properly examined by archaeologists. In two years of painstaking work, the floor of the chancel has been lifted, uncovering a surprisingly deep original level, and the fresco has begun to be fully revealed.
The style is early
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language
** Gothic ( ...
, suggesting it was painted in the late thirteenth century. Its main part depicts the
Last Supper
Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...
, a fairly common theme for what is regarded as a typical, if rare, piece of village church art.
References
External links
Spectacular Slovakia Travelguide - Horné Krškany: Making history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horne Krskany
Villages and municipalities in Nitra District