St Martin's Cathedral (Spišská Kapitula)

A recently restored wall-painting from 1317 depicts the coronation of Charles Robert of Anjou as the King of Hungary; another painting in the cathedral is the source for the provisional name of the anonymous Master of Kirchdrauf.

During this period, a new Gothic presbytery was built and aisles were elevated to the level of the nave, this becoming the three-naves halls of the original basilica.

[citation needed] At the end of the 15th century (1488-1493), the owner of Spišský castle and later the Spiš district administrator became the Zápolya family, which built a new Gothic chapel in the church of St. Martin's.

In style it imitates the chapel in the Church of St. Ladislav in Spišský Štvrtok, but it does not reach its architectural perfection, slenderness and beauty.

[citation needed] Two hundred years ago, the basilica became too small for the number of worshippers and was considerably remodelled.

In connection with the formation of the bishopric in 1776, the building modifications were made, leaving a significant footprint on the interior, when, among other things, the Western organ matroneum was extended to the detriment of the Roman nave.

The original Romanesque westwork is divided by a horizontal dentil and a swirl frieze, the towers have double windows with a central pillar with a cube and a bauble head.

The western portal consists of three rectangular offset into which are embedded pillars bearing a semi-circular archivolt, and is solved in the form of a flat avant-corps with a triangular shield and a swirl frieze.

Access to the library archive is through a circular staircase built into a pillar at the corner of the northern nave with an entrance to the Late-Gothic portal.

The Zápoľský Chapel, situated on the south side of the church, has a rectangular, polygonally closed base and a fine mesh vault.

The Baroque adaptation focused in particular on the restoration of the plaster and the roof, the construction of a new pavement and the removal of the Protestant epitaphs.

In 1630, they equipped the nave and the benches whose rails bear carved reliefs of an incredibly high artistic level.

During the Gothic revival under the direction of František Storn, new plasters and new Gothic elements were built as a balustrade between the towers and the incorporation of new additional parts, new paving was laid and in 1880 the windows were squeezed by the design of Albert Jele and made new portals.

Grilles between the presbytery and the nave were designed by architects J. Lippert, F. Dabert, and J. Hanula completed the demolition in 1888.

At present the object of Spišská Kapitula is well preserved and it is one of the most beautiful monuments of the cultural heritage in Slovakia.

The 15th-century Gothic stone traceries are filled with stained glasses from the late 19th century made in Innsbruck.

They depict the life and activity of St. Martin and his Patron Saint George: one window only has a wallpaper pattern.

Current altars include: There are various free sculptures, paintings, funerary shields, epitaphs in the cathedral.