Rock chapel of Miskolctapolca, Catholic rock-cut church in Miskolctapolca, Hungary.
The Rock Chapel of Miskolctapolca is a Catholic church carved into limestone rock formations, created from two former sheepfolds that were converted into a place of worship. The interior uses the natural cave walls to create an unusual setting for religious gatherings.
The chapel was founded in 1934 and consecrated in 1935, transforming two sheepfolds into a place of worship. It was destroyed during the Second World War and rebuilt in 1965, with later renovations following.
The chapel is named after the Sacred Heart of Jesus and was consecrated in 1935. Its entrance is a székely gate, a carved Transylvanian gate erected in 1995 in memory of Pater Szabó Pius, the Franciscan from Transylvania who proposed turning the two sheepfold caves into a chapel. The star vault was carved by sculptor Kun József and the altarpiece painted by Meilinger Dezső, both Miskolc artists.
The chapel stands on Brassó Street in Miskolctapolca, its main entrance set into a 9-metre-high, 18-metre-wide retaining wall. A corridor carved around the chapel was completed by 1940, so visitors can walk behind and around the rock-cut nave. The 25-metre vaulted nave has a side altar on the right and the choir on the left.
The entrance is set into a 9-metre-high, 18-metre-wide retaining wall, and the star vault inside was carved by Miskolc sculptor József Kun, who also made the artificial-stone cross on top of the wall. The bells came from László Szlezák's foundry in Budapest.
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