Nicholas Cathedral (Trnava)
The Nicholas Cathedral ( Slovak Dóm svätého Mikuláša ) is located in the old town of Trnava (Tyrnau) in western Slovakia . It is dedicated to St. Nicholas and for a long time was the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Esztergom .
History and architecture
On the site of a previous Romanesque building, the St. Nicholas Cathedral was built in its current dimensions from 1380 to 1421 in a late Gothic style. The university church , which was built later, was also based on the length of 60 meters, the width of 31 meters and the height of 18 meters . The renaissance helmets that were placed on the two towers in the middle of the 16th century are characteristic of the exterior.
With the ribbed vaults in the main and side aisles, the interior of the cathedral has retained its essential effect as a Gothic building. In later centuries, however, it has undergone various modifications and additions. Between 1618 and 1630, Cardinal Peter Pázmány had baroque side chapels added and the furnishings largely redesigned in baroque style. The richly carved pews were built in the Rococo and in 1798 Josef Zanussi created the classical main altar. The upper aisles are decorated with neo-Gothic paintings. Some frescos from the 15th century have been preserved in the vestibule. In some places the Gothic brick masonry has been made visible again.
Archbishop Imre Eszterházy had the Austrian architect Lucas Hildebrandt add an octagonal baroque chapel with a separate entrance on the north-west side from 1739 to 1741 , in which the miraculous image of St. Mary of Trnava (see below) is kept on a columned altar.
After Hungary became largely Turkish in the early 16th century, St. Nicholas Cathedral became the Hungarian cathedral and seat of the Archbishops of Esztergom from 1543 to 1820. It was then again from 1918 to 1977 seat of a bishop. When the Archdiocese of Bratislava-Trnava was established in 1977, however, the university church was designated as the seat of the archbishop . In 2008 Pope Benedict XVI. the St. Nicholas Cathedral to the Basilica minor .
In the Nikolaus-Dom there is the gracious image of St. Mary . In 1585, Ferenc Forgách (later Archbishop) had a copy made of the picture from the monastery of Saints Alexei and Boniface.
In 1663 the picture is said to have wept tears of blood. Because of this, the Turks who looted the area avoided the city of Trnava.
In 1710 the plague broke out. On November 21, 1710, after the picture weeping again , the epidemic came to an end. To this day, the image has a special meaning for the residents of Trnava.
Some elderly residents believe that with the help of St. Mary of Trnava and her image, the city was spared from bombs during World War II.
literature
- Dumont - Travel Paperback Slovakia. Ostfildern 2009, ISBN 978-3-7701-7268-9 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Dumont - Reise-Taschenbuch Slovakia p. 144
- ↑ Nikolaus-Dom - Trnava , slovakia.travel ( Memento of the original from June 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 48 ° 22 ′ 44.7 " N , 17 ° 35 ′ 30.5" E