St. Martin's Cathedral / Katedrála svätého Martina - Spišská Kapitula (North-East Slovakia)
N 49° 00.031 E 020° 44.443
34U E 481035 N 5427545
Romanesque-Gothic St. Martin's Cathedral (Katedrála svätého Martina) in Spišská Kapitula, seat of Roman Catholic diocese of Spiš, is one of the most valuable sacral structures in Spiš region of Slovakia and also a part of UNESCO World Heritage site.
Waymark Code: WMYRY1
Location: Prešovský kraj, Slovakia
Date Posted: 07/19/2018
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Romanesque-Gothic St. Martin's Cathedral (Katedrála svätého Martina) in Spišská Kapitula, seat of Roman Catholic diocese of Spiš (Spišská diecéza), is one of the most valuable sacral structures in Spiš region of Slovakia and also a part of UNESCO World Heritage site.
The St. Martin's Cathedral is a great example of the development of individual architectural styles. The first phase of construction of this church was the Romanesque phase of the 13th century (1245-1273), when the church ground plan was with three naves with transverse nave (transept). Determining construction phase in the development of the look of today's church appeared in 1462-1478 when the church was rebuilt in the Gothic style and extended by extensive sanctuary. The church also got a new arcade and thus obtained a character of a hall church with three naves. A chapel was erected at the south wall of the church by Zapolsky family in 1493-1499. Various Baroque modifications took
place in the second half of the 18th century. The last stage of the church's structural modifications took place in the late 19th century. The oldest and most valuable monument of the church
is Romanesque sculpture White Lion (Leo Albus), which is the only surviving Romanesque sculpture of its kind in Slovakia.
St. Martin's Cathedral and whole Spišská Kapitula (in ENG: Spiš Chapter; nowadays part of town Spišské Podhradie) entered the
UNESCO World Heritage list as a part of site "Levoca, Spiš Castle and the associated cultural monuments" in 1993.