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Brian Duffy | all galleries >> Europe >> Danube River Cruise >> Bratislava, Capital of the Slovak Republic > St Martin's Cathedral
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26-OCT-2006

St Martin's Cathedral

http://www.bratislava.info/st-martins-cathedral

Though it was consecrated and officially opened in 1452, it had taken nearly two centuries from ground-breaking to complete this Gothic cathedral. Starting in 1563, it was the official coronation site for eleven Kings of Hungary during the Turks’ occupation of Budapest – attested to by the massive replica of the distinctive Crown of St Stephen, quite visible atop its spiky spire. It also hosted the premiere of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis.

http://www.bratislavaslovakia.com/st-martins-cathedral-bratislava.html

... is the most sacred and significant Gothic building in the town. It stands where there was once a Roman church. Construction began in 1221 and continued in the 14th and 15th centuries. Next to the cathedral is St. Anne's Chapel and a Baroque chapel to St.John Almužník from the first half of the 18th century. The cathedral was actually built into the town's outer walls as part of its fortification. In 1563, when Bratislava became the capital of Hungary, the cathedral was used as the coronation chapel. On the top of the tower there is a large Hungarian crown from the 19th century. Over the portal that used to be the cathedral's main entrance, there is a Gothic relief depicting the Holly Trinity. There are many such artistic and historical mementos left: the altars, the epitaphs and sculptures by R. Donner, the statue of St. Martin, and the statue of Archbishop Esterházy in St. John Almužník Chapel.

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