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St.Giles´church, Bardejov
Basilica of St.Giles in Bardejovis a Gothic sacral building, which is situated in the northern part of the Town-Hall square (in Slovak Radničné námestie). Bardejov is located in the larger area of town Prešov in the microregion so called Šariš.

History


The origin of the church is dated back to the 13th century. Around the year 1206 settled at this place Cistercian monks of Polish Koprzywnica and founded this monastery dedicated to St.Giles. During the early 14th century,an whole territory was settled by German colonists. Royal Charter of King Bela IV. from 13th century contains the first mention of the existence of the church in this area. The temple is also confirmed in the list of Karol's son and successor, Louis I the Great of Anjou. The construction of the todays temple began in the mid-14th century. The church is mentioned in 1427 as a three-aisled basilica with simple arcades. The proof of the existence of the temple with altar from this period could be  sculptures dated to years 1390 - 1400, which are currently placed on the altar of St. Anna.

The expansion and rebuilding of the temple began in 1448. The royal builder Štefán from Košice constructed the base of the sanctuary, the choir, the sacristy and the tribune, also known as the Chapel of St. Catherine, and later was built King Matthias Oratory. The construction of the sanctuary ended with a new vaulting in 1464. A year later he built the new presbytery with the unique stone pastophorium. In the year 1466 master James of the Sacz made a Gothic main altar. The only sculpture of St.Giles reminded and it is located in the chapel of the Virgin Mary. In this period was made also the bronze baptistery.

During 1482-1486, three chapels were built in the southern part: St. Elizabeth, St. Andrew and the Virgin Mary. The original vault is still preserved in the chapel of St. Andrew. It was in 1486, when the first bell called Jonh (Jan) was made. In 1584 bellfounder John from polish town Tarnów made for the church one of the largest bells in Slovakia,which weights 4 tonne and it has name  Urban.

The church is a master-piece of East Slovak late-Gothic architecture. It excelled in its large-scale spatial conception, as well as in its details. For example some building´s vaults were similiar to the vault systems of Peter Parlér. In 1521, Masters John Kraus and John Emerici decorated the first floor of the tower´s exterior, particularly its south side, with a fresco of St.Stephen, the first Hungarian king. Italian Masters Louis and Bernard Pel of Lugano remodelled the south facade in Rennaissance style in 1564. They recontructed three chapels and a portal to create a unified architectural whole.

The church was damaged by many different disasters during centuries. These disasters included fires, earthquakes, bombings as well as collapses of construction. The extensive reconstruction of the church began after the fire, when the entire city nearly burned down on Easter Monday 1878. It was led by architects Imre Steindl and Frederick Schmulek. The interior was equiped with a new Neo-Gothic altar and pulpit. The temple got its today´s face during this recovery, which took 20 years.

Other architectural interventions were made in the 20th century during the building reconstructions. In 1990, two church bells - Urban and John burst. On the occasion of naming temple to basilica the bell John was replaced by a new bell Joseph weighing 700 kg.

Description


St.Giles´s temple is a three-aisled basilica type construction with aisles built in an east-west direction and with the main entrance on the south side. The presbytery is closed by the polygonal ending. The sacristy was brought up to the north wall,there is a hallway with two side chapels and stoppage the third chapel on the south side.

The presbytery is vaulted by net vault and it is separeted  from central nave with triumphal arch, which is partly filled with wooden sculpture Calvary from the late 15th century. The central nave is vaulted also with net vault.

On the southwest corner is a tower built on a square plan. It is finished by wooden arcade gallery, covered by the pyramidal roof and complemented by four small pyramidal roofs in the corners.

Exterior of the church


The Church of St.Giles is situated on the north side of the Town-Hall Square. It is built in the traditional east - west axis. The presbytery is situated in the eastern part. The central nave is 24 metres high and dominates to the church. There are also two aisles and a presbytery. The 10-metre-high roofs of presbytery and nave are separated from each other by a wall, topped by a spire with a cross. An imposing tower dominates the southwest corner of the church. The tower was completed in neo-Gothic style in the late 19th century. With its height of 76 metres, it is one of the highest church towers in Slovakia. It has six storeys, separated from each other by stone cornices. The belfry is in the fourth storey. The bells "Urban" and "John" and the bell called "Signum" are situated there. The fifth storey has been adapted for the clock mechanism. A wooden balcony, topped by a pyramidal roof and a four-meter-high metal cross, is situated on sixth storey. The decoration of the south wall is completed by a stone relief with a city´s coat-of-arms. The western facade of the church is reinforced by support pillars, it includes Gothic arches and a big rosette window with stone tracery. On the south side of the church are the chapels, prominently grouped around the main entrance, there are the Chapel of the Virgin Mary, the Chapel of St. Elisabeth and the Chapel of St.Andrew. The whole church is lightened through high, mostly three-part, glazed  Gothic windows, their glass fillings were replaced in the 19th century. The exterior of the church is completed on the south side by an ornamental stone sculpture of St. Florian.

Nave and presbytery
The central nave is lighted by Gothic windows on the south side. The presbytery has the same high as as the nave, it is separated from its with profiled stone triumphal arch. The whole central space is vaulted with bays of net vault, placing on pentagonal chaplets decorated with floral ornaments with the coat of arms in the middle of the chaplet. On the western side of the nave is a Royal - Organ oratory, valuted with star-vault. The stone spiral staircase leads to the oratory. Both the side naves are vaulted with three bays of simple cross-vault, their ribs set on the wall figural brackets.

Sacristy and choir
Sacristy and northern choir above the main nave are accessible by two separate Gothic portals. Sacristy and choir have ribbed net vault. Oratory´s vault contains ribs, which are placed directly into a wall on figural consoles portraying St. George in battle with the dragon.

Chapels
The eastern chapel has an irregular polygonal swallow tails, and reticulated vault with ribs. Southern oratory also has a vault with a simple conical consoles. West Chapel has a rectangular wall. The room is vaulted with simple rectangular vault, which ribs end on different kinds of brackets. The chapel is lightened by a window on the south side and geometric tracery.

Tower
The tower has a wooden gallery with an arcade on the sixth storey.

Roof
Roof of the church is the result of reconstruction in the 80s of the 19th century. Nave with presbytery have gable roof. On the north side, the nave and oratory are aisle roofed. South nave has a very shallow aisle roof covered with sheet metal.

Floor
Floors in the main and side aisle and in both southern chapels are made of stoneware tiles laid in concrete.

Ground plan of the St.Giles


A.	Presbytery

B.	Nave

C.	North aisle

D.	South aisle

E.	Chapel of the Virgin Mary

F.	Chapel of St.Andrew

G. 	Antechamber

H.	Chapel of St.Elisabeth (above antechamber)

I. 	Sacristy

J.	Chapel of St.Catherine (above sacristy)

K.	Tower

L.	Choir loft

Altars


Main Neo-Gothic altar of St.Giles (1888)

Gothic winged altar of the Nativity (1480-1490)

Gothic winged altar Vir Dolorum (1500-1510)

Gothic winged altar of the Crucifixion (1480-1490)

Gothic winged altar of Virgin Mary (1505)

Gothic winged altar of St.Apollonia (1490-1510)

Gothic winged altar of the Pietá (1480-1490)

Gothic winged altar of St.Ann (1490-1500)

Gothic winged altar of St.Andrew (1440-1460)

Gothic winged altar of St.Elisabeth of Hungary (1480-1490)

Gothic winged altar of St.Barbara (1450-1470)

Gothic winged altar of Virgin Mary (1485)

External web pages

 * http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/973
 * http://www.bardejov.rimkat.sk/en/sanctuary-and-the-high-altar/