Wooden churches of the Slovak Carpathians
| Wooden Churches of the Slovak part of the Carpathian Mountain Area | |
|---|---|
| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
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| Location | Slovakia |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iii, iv |
| Reference | 1273 |
| UNESCO region | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2008 (32nd Session) |
Carpathian Wooden Churches is the name of a UNESCO World Heritage Site that consists of nine wooden religious buildings constructed between the 16th and 18th centuries in eight different locations in Slovakia. They include two Roman Catholic (Hervartov, Tvrdošín), three Protestant (so-called Articular churches in Hronsek, Leštiny, Kežmarok) and three Greek Catholic churches (Bodružal, Ruská Bystrá, Ladomirová) plus one belfry in Hronsek. In addition to these churches there are about 50 more wooden churches in the territory of present-day Slovakia mainly in the northern and eastern part of the Prešov Region (see e.g. this map).
Roman Catholic wooden church of St. Francis of Assisi in Hervartov (see picture above) has a Gothic character as represented by its tall but narrow structure unusual for a wooden church. It was built in the second half of the 15th century and thus represents the oldest of its type in Slovakia. The floor is made of stones again unlike in most of wooden churches where it is usually made of wood. Rare wall paintings were added in 1665 during the reformation period and they depict, among others, Adam and Eve in the Eden or the struggle of St. George with the dragon. The main altar of Virgin Mary, St. Catherine of Alexandria, and St. Barbara was made between 1460 and 1470 and restored in the second half of the 20th century.
Roman Catholic Gothic church of All Saints in Tvrdošín was built in the second half of the 15th century and modified in a Renaissance style in the 17th century. Baroque main altar depicting All Saints is from the end of the 17th century. Remaining part of the original Gothic altar with St. Peter and St. John the Baptist ended up in muzeum in Budapest after the World War I. Worth of notice are also ceiling paintings depicting the starry heaven, as well as many religious artefacts from the 17th century.
Severe restrictions embodied in the articles of the Congress of Sopron (1681) that enabled building of Protestant, so called articular, churches caused their extraordinary appearance. They must have been built within the single year, without any metal parts such as nails, and without any tower. Thus the construction of the church in Hronsek began on 23 October 1725 and was finished in the autumn of the 1726, the same year when the adjacent belfry was built as well. Church is 8m high and has a shape of the cross with arms 23 and 18m long. As there are many unusual motives from Scandinavian architecture, it is assumed that craftsmen from Norway and/or Sweden participated on the construction site. Unique is also the ordering of the benches on the choirs so that the church can accommodate 1100 worshipers through its 5 doors. The altar has 6 tables from 1771 by Master Samuel Kialovič.
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Wikipedia