Cathedral of St. Elizabeth, Gothic cathedral in Košice, Slovakia
The Cathedral of St. Elizabeth is Slovakia's largest church, with an interior area of 1,200 m² and a capacity of over 5,000 people. Its exterior measures 60 m long and 36 m wide; the northern tower rises 59 m, the main nave 24 m and the side aisles 12 m. The main nave and four side aisles are crossed halfway by a transverse aisle of equal height and width, forming a Greek cross and a central hall. Three equal gables with richly decorated portals face the exterior.
A fire destroyed the earlier parish church around 1378–1380, and the present cathedral rose on its site; Pope Boniface IX granted indulgences in 1402 to fund it. The first phase, to about 1420, followed a five-aisle basilica plan modelled on Xanten, then the design changed to a three-aisle hall with a transept of equal height set mid-nave. The sanctuary was finished by 1508; a 1556 fire spared only the main altar and three others, and Imre Steindl directed the 1877–1896 restoration.
The dedication to Saint Elizabeth of Hungary dates from the 1240s, when German settlers made her the city's patron and the parish church changed its name. The north portal, once gilded and called the Golden Gate, opens toward the main square and town hall where medieval public life took place. Its central pillar carries a statue of Saint Elizabeth holding a lily-bearing coat of arms.
The cathedral stands mid-way along Hlavná ulica, which it widens into a lens shape, so approach on foot from either end of the street. The north tower, 59 m high, can be climbed for a view over the old town. The crypt holds the remains of Ferenc II Rákóczi, brought back from Rodosto in 1906, and can be visited with a guided tour.
The cathedral's south side has a royal oratory reached by a pair of linked spiral staircases, a motif borrowed from St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. The stone balustrade above the sacristy follows the same Prague model.
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