St Elisabeth's Cathedral – Košice (Kassa)
St Elisabeth's Cathedral in Košice (Kassa) is the largest church in Slovakia and one of the easternmost Gothic cathedrals in Europe. Its crypt is the resting place of Prince Francis II Rákóczi, his mother Ilona Zrínyi and his fellow exiles.
The cathedral was built in honour of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1207–1231). The earlier church on the site burned down at the end of the 14th century, after which construction of the present Gothic cathedral began. It became the cathedral of the Diocese of Košice, founded in 1804; until then it served as a parish church.
Its greatest treasure is the Gothic winged altar made between 1474 and 1477, consisting of 48 panel paintings. Between 1877 and 1896 it underwent a major restoration directed by Imre Steindl, the architect of the Hungarian Parliament in Budapest.
The remains of Francis II Rákóczi and his fellow exiles were brought home from Turkey on 29 October 1906 and laid to rest in the crypt of the cathedral. The central sarcophagus of the crypt holds the bronze coffins of the prince, Ilona Zrínyi and József Rákóczi; Miklós Bercsényi and his wife Krisztina Csáky, as well as Antal Esterházy and Miklós Sibrik, are also buried here.
Pilgrimage feast: The titular feast of the cathedral is the feast of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, 17 November.
Visiting: According to Visit Košice, the cathedral is open Monday to Saturday from 6 am to 8 pm and on Sundays from 6 am to 7 pm, admission is free, and the north tower can be climbed. The cathedral stands in the middle of the main square of Košice.
Sources: Explore Carpathia · Hungarian Heritage Register of Slovakia – Rákóczi crypt · Visit Košice · Wikipedia (English)
Photo: Ingo Mehling / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: Dominika Jenčová / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town:
Košice (Kassa)