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Basilica of St. Jakuba

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Parish Church of St. Jakuba was built in the first half of the 14th century as a three-nave space. During the 15th century, vestibules were added to the entrances on the northern and southern sides, and around 1515, the so-called Renaissance architecture was built above the northern vestibule. Henckel Library. In the years 1859 - 1860, a neo-Gothic tower was built, allegedly at the instigation of the critical words of Emperor Francis Joseph I, which he addressed to the burghers of Levoča during his visit to the city.

Basilica of St. Jakuba

Parish Church of St. Jakuba was built in the first half of the 14th century as a three-nave space. During the 15th century, vestibules were added to the entrances on the northern and southern sides, and around 1515, the so-called Renaissance architecture was built above the northern vestibule. Henckel Library. In the years 1859 - 1860, a neo-Gothic tower was built, allegedly at the instigation of the critical words of Emperor Francis Joseph I, which he addressed to the burghers of Levoča during his visit to the city.

A lot of historical furniture has been preserved in the interior of the church. There are eleven Gothic altars, the largest of them - the main altar, with a height of 18.62 m, is the highest medieval altar in the world. In addition to them, there are monumental architectures of the Renaissance organ, the Baroque pulpit, the burgher epitaphs and tombstones and the wooden benches of the burghers of Levoča. The oldest decoration of the church from the period around 1400 includes murals on the wall of the north nave, in the sanctuary of the church.

The southern portal of the church is one of the most advanced works of High Gothic in our country. In the church space stands the magnificent architecture of the main winged altar, the tallest in the entire Gothic world, which is the masterpiece of the carver Master Paul of Levoča. In the part of the altar there is a scene of the Last Supper, the core of the whole altar is a wardrobe, in which there are monumental sculptures of the Madonna and Child, St. James and St. John in life size. The altar wings are decorated with reliefs from the life of St. Jakuba a s. John, on the back of them are panel paintings with scenes of the passion of Christ. The altar architecture is finished with a gable of violets, which incorporates Gothic statues of the apostles from the previous altar.

The priest of Levoča and humanist Ján Henckel not only supported the creation of the altar with. Jánov, but probably also the first renaissance building of the town, the extension of the library of the parish church, which still bears his name.

The organ and the pulpit were created almost simultaneously in the 1920s. The wealthy Levoča burgher Friedrich Probst was responsible for these works. The pulpit has remained unchanged in its original place. The organ was built on the north side of the main nave and was the work of Hans Carpel, a carpenter from Cracow, Hans Schmidt, a Danish sculptor, and Hans Hummel, an organ worker from Nuremberg. Until its relocation in 1846, the organ was the largest in the whole of Hungary. In the parish church there is a rare cycle of seven good deeds of mercy and seven deadly sins on the mural. The paintings, which accompany the texts in vernacular language and not in Latin, were aimed at the lay community they were to educate.

Additional information

Transport: By foot, By bike, By car, By train, By bus
Parking: Paid parking nearby

Languages: Slovak

Suitable for: Childrens, Families with childrens, Elderly, Handicapped, Young, Adults
Season: Summer
Updated on: 26.11.2023

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Basilica of St. Jakuba
Levoča
Region: Prešovský
District: Levoča
Area: Spiš
 49.026854, 20.589264

Altitude: 578 m

Levoča

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