Wooden churches of the Slovak Carpathians

Lore & Background

The Roman Catholic church of St. Francis of Assisi in Hervartov, built in the second half of the 15th century, is among the oldest of its type in Slovakia, along with the church in Tvrdošín. Its floor is made of stones, unlike most wooden churches, and rare wall paintings were added in 1665. The main altar dates from between 1460 and 1470. The Roman Catholic church of All Saints in Tvrdošín, also from the second half of the 15th century, was modified in a Renaissance style in the 17th century and features a baroque main altar and a painted ceiling depicting the starry heaven.

Reader's Guide

The Protestant Articular churches were built under severe restrictions from the Congress of Sopron (1681), requiring construction within one year, without metal parts or towers. The church in Hronsek was built from October 1725 to autumn 1726, with an adjacent belfry. Its shape is a cross with arms 23 and 18 meters long, and it can accommodate 1100 worshipers.

The church in Kežmarok, built in 1717, is considered the most beautiful of the remaining Articular churches, with exceptional wall paintings and wood carvings. The Greek Catholic churches include St. Nicholas in Bodružal (1658), with three towers and folk Baroque style, and the Church of Archangel Michael in Ladomirová (1742), built without a single nail. These churches are part of a larger group of about 50 wooden churches in present-day Slovakia, mainly in the northern and eastern Prešov Region.