LEVOČA
HISTORIC
TOWN RESERVE
I cannot remember my
first visit to Levoca, I am sure I must have been just a child then.
The first visit that I do remember was in 1989 while attending a folk
dance choreography course given by Matica Slovenska in Stara Lesna and
Repiste. After a week of really hard work we went on the trip in the
surrounding area, Zdiar, Lendak, Cerveny
Klastor,
Dunajec, Kezmarok and Levoca. What a site, what a town. It is here where I
fell in love with Spis and decided to get more familiar with Spis, study
the area and document the work of Master Pavol from Levoca. Since
then whenever I pass by Levoca, I always stop for a visit. I love to
walk through the medieval Town Square and admire the architecture and
frescoes of the surrounding buildings. There is a feeling in Levoca
that is hard to describe; it's like you belong there. I always visit the
Cathedral of St. James, as I now know the lecturers and I do have
permission from the bishop's office to photograph. I never pass
Levoca without taking pictures. Especially inside the Cathedral. I
must have well over 500 pictures in my collection of all the altars and
the beautiful and historical details. I always find some new angle or a
something that I didn’t photograph before. I have donated a set of
pictures to the office and some of my pictures are on display at the
cashier's office. So if you visit Levoca you will see them there.
The town of Levoca
evolved from an old Slavic settlement dating back to 7th and 8th Century,
preceding the Great Moravian period, near an old trade route. Foundations
of a Romanesque church unearthed in the southern portion of the town
suggest that site was permanently inhabited. In 1271 Levoca became
the center and capital of the Spis County and in 1323 was proclaimed a
free royal town with a number of rights and privileges. The historical
artifacts and the culture of the town were created by numerous
nationalities that used to live in the surrounding area: the home-born
Slovaks, the German colonists, Hungarian nobility, and the inhabitants of
the Rusyn, Goral and also Jewish origin. This was a metropolis a rich town
of merchants and craftsmen, lying at the crossroads of international trade
routes and possessing a great number of trade advantages, granted by the
Kings, thanks to which it belonged to the most outstanding medieval towns
of Europe.
In the center of
Levoca is an oblong magnificently designed lavish square that used to
be a market-place and center of commercial and social life. Now days you
can't really feel as in the medieval times as baroque manor house was
built I the middle of the square, a new Protestant Church stands at the
square and latest addition is a new development of a super modern building
that totally destroys the atmosphere at the South end of the square.
Originally there were two structures at the square the parish church of
St. James a National Cultural Monument, composed of a nave and two aisles,
the construction of which was completed before 1400. It is the second
largest Gothic Cathedral of Slovakia after St. Elizabeth Cathedral in Kosice. Its interiors adorned with works by our foremost medieval
sculptor Master Paul of Levoca. They include the main Gothic altar,
which is the tallest in the World (18.6 m) and dates from 1507-1518. In
addition to the three central statues of Virgin Mary, St. James, and St.
John the Apostle, relief's in the front sides of the altar-wings depicts
Biblical scenes, the Passion, and the Last Supper. The three central
statues along with the Last Supper belong among the most valuable
masterpieces to be seen in the church which is also decorated with Master
Paul's Four Johns altar dating from 1520, Altar of Birth from the
beginning of the 15th century and a statue of St. George riding a horse
from 1515. This statue is in separate Chapel of St. George in the
Cathedral, closed to the public. I have never been inside, but where there
is a hope, there is a way, and maybe this summer I will be able to
photograph it. (Editor's note: I did manage to view and photograph the
beautiful chapel in summer of 1996. Similar, but much bigger statute from
Master Pavol is at the Roman Catholic Church in Spisska
Sobota, near
Poprad. Furthermore, the church contains earlier and late Gothic altars
all together 14 of them, two Calvary's, senator's pews, statues as
well as murals. A vaulted ceiling represents the Renaissance art with a
painting on the Shoemakers' gallery, pulpit, church pews, candlesticks,
epitaphs, tombstones, bars, etc.
Other noteworthy churches
comprise a formerly Minorities church built in the first half of the 14th
century and later converted into a Jesuit church and monastery. The church
is adorned with Gothic murals, although the altars and other interior
installations are early Baroque dating back to 1671 -75. The church also
contains a Gothic corridor with remnants of murals.
Second original structure
at the Town Square is the Gothic-Renaissance town hall, located south of
the parish church now houses a museum. Its southern facade is adorned with
Renaissance murals illustrating townsmen's activities. The Town hall
underwent several structural modifications in the past. Originally built
in Gothic style, it was destroyed together with archives by the great fire
in 1550. Final reconstruction took place in 1893-1895. The Town Hall was
used as a seat of the town administration until 1955. Since then it is
housing collections of the Sipis Museum.
The square is lined with
superb two-storied burgher houses; many of, which had formerly been Gothic
but later, were converted to different styles. Noteworthy are their
decorated facades and long yards with arcades and galleries. The town
fortifications were built in the 14th century, while some turrets were not
completed until the 15th century. The fortifications were gradually
repaired, new ones were constructed, and large tracts have been preserved
till the present day. One of the buildings that was added from outside to
the fortification walls, now houses a restaurant. Since 1993 many
buildings at the Town Square and throughout the town were restored to
their original beauty and splendor. There are numerous first class hotels
right at the town square. I am looking forward to this spring and summer’s
visits to my favorite town.
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BACK TO TOWNS AND VILLAGES
Published in the
Slovak heritage Live newsletter Volume 4, No. 2, Summer 1996
Copyright © Vladimir Linder 1996
3804 Yale
Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5C 1P6
The above article and
photographs may not be copied, reproduced, republished, or redistributed
by any means including electronic, without the express written permission
of Vladimir
Linder. All rights reserved.
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