St Martin's Cathedral – Spišská Kapitula (Szepeshely)

St Martin's Cathedral – Spišská Kapitula (Szepeshely)

St Martin's Cathedral in Spišská Kapitula (Szepeshely) is one of the most important medieval churches of the Spiš region, transformed from a Romanesque basilica into a late Gothic hall church. It has been the cathedral of the Diocese of Spiš since 1776 and, together with the walled church town around it, is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Spišská Kapitula grew up on a hill above Spišské Podhradie next to an 11th-century Benedictine monastery, and from the 12th century it was the seat of the Provost of Spiš. The church, dedicated to St Martin of Tours, was built in the 13th century as a three-aisled Romanesque basilica with two west towers. Surviving from the Romanesque building are the portal in the north wall, the triumphal arch in the east wall and the lion carved in white travertine known as Leo albus.

Between 1462 and 1478 the church was rebuilt in the late Gothic style: the aisles were raised to the height of the nave, creating a hall church, which was consecrated in 1478. At the end of the 15th century the Zápolya family built their burial chapel on the south side, with the red marble tombs of Imre Zápolya (†1487) and István Zápolya (†1499). The Diocese of Spiš was founded in 1776 at the initiative of Maria Theresa, and the church became its cathedral. Its Baroque furnishings were removed during a Gothic Revival restoration led by Ferenc (Franz) Storno between 1873 and 1889.

The cathedral's most precious treasure is a wall painting of 1317 above the north portal, depicting the coronation of Charles I (Charles Robert) as King of Hungary: beside the enthroned Virgin Mary are Archbishop Thomas of Esztergom and Provost Henry of Spiš. Among the late Gothic winged altars, the Adoration of the Magi and the Dormition of the Virgin stand out, and the original panels of the high altar include the holy kings of Hungary. The pews are decorated with biblical reliefs carved in 1630. According to some sources, István Mekcsey, one of the heroes of the 1552 siege of Eger, was buried here. Pope John Paul II visited Spišská Kapitula in 1995, and in 2003 the remains of Bishop Ján Vojtaššák of Spiš (1877–1965) were laid to rest in the Zápolya Chapel.

Visiting: Spišská Kapitula is now part of the town of Spišské Podhradie, about 15 km east of Levoča. The single street of this little town, enclosed by 17th-century walls, is lined with canons' houses, and the bishop's palace stands near the cathedral. The lower gate offers a fine view of Spiš Castle across the valley, part of the same World Heritage Site.

Sources: Wikipedia · Wikipedia – Szepeshely (Spišská Kapitula) · Repository of Hungarian Values in Slovakia · Wikipedia (Slovak) · Wikipedia (English)

Photo: Lynx1211 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: Ing.Mgr.Jozef Kotulič / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0