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by Wildcat Dianne
Milton, Florida
May 18, 2003
Lutheranism in Slovakia dates from the 16th Century when the Reformation arrived in the country, and several Lutheran or Protestant churches were built in Slovakia and the neighboring Czech Republic. But these churches were destroyed when Catholic persecutions of Protestants happened throughout Europe in the mid to late 16th Century.
Throughout Slovakia, Catholic churches outnumber the Lutheran churches, but most of the larger towns and cities have at least one Lutheran church, and Zvolen is no exception. Located in Namestie SNP and Zvolen's main drag is the Evangelical (Lutheran--Augsburg Confession) Church. Compared to most of the churches throughout Slovakia, Zvolen's Evangelical Church is rather young with construction only completed in 1923 in the neo-Gothic style of architecture. The new church is located on the grounds of an old 19th Century church and has three naves along with a projecting tower, which is leftover from 1850. Although we didn't get to go inside since it was after 5 p.m., we learned that the Evangelical Church's interior is in the Art Nouveau style of the 1920's.
When we visited Zvolen's Evangelical Church in May 2002, it had just gone under a new paint job, and the butter yellow paint glistened in the Slovakian twilight and cheered up a rather bleak looking main square that was dominated by post-World War II and communist architecture.
The Evangelical-Lutheran church is located south of Namestie SNP in downtown Zvolen and about a mile from Hrad Zvolen.
From journal Zvolen, Slovakia: Central Slovakia's Oldest Town
The Church of St. Elizabeth the Widow is located right in the middle of Namestie SNP in Downtown Zvolen and has the reputation of being one of the oldest churches in Slovakia. The Church of St. Elizabeth the Widow is a Roman Catholic church that was originally built in the Gothic style from 1381-1390. The church went under a Renaissance renovation around 1500, but the church has maintained a mostly Gothic facade for over 500 years with some minor repairs and renovations in the 18th, 19th, and 20th Centuries.
We didn't arrive in Zvolen until after 5 p.m., so the church was closed to visitors, but we got to tour around the church grounds and exterior which were going under more renovations during our visit, and some of the construction crew was still there. From the outside, we could see the pointed-arch Gothic windows that face Namestie SNP along with the Gothic one-nave. Inside we learned that there is a one-nave chapel with a 1650 Pieta in the southern part of the church along with a 1693 Baroque altar. The interior's architecture mostly dates from the 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries.
As Jaro, Ivan, Maria, and I were walking around the church, we discovered that the construction crews had unearthed a skeleton and had barricaded it off so that tourists and parishioners would not intrude on it. "Who's skeleton is that?", I asked Jaro, and he thought it was the skeleton of a nun or priest who had been stationed at St. Elizabeth the Widow, but we never found out who it was definitely.
The Church of St. Elizabeth the Widow is open by appointment and for Sunday masses. Be sure to get there early if you decide to attend mass or you won't be able to get a seat. After my visit to The Church of St. Elizabeth the Widow, I made a drawing of the church that I am sharing with all of my IgoUgo friends and readers.