St. Maurice Church is one the most precious buildings of the late Gothic style in Moravia. The three-naved structure has a cross vaulting dating from the middle of the 14th century. A more advanced net vault may be seen in the presbytery.
Two asymmetric prismatic towers were built on the western facade. In the western part of the church there is a unique double spiral staircase.
The real gem is the late Gothic sculpture of the 15th century, Christ on the Mount of Olives, located in the interior.
On the northern wall of the church, there is the Renaissance burial chapel of the Edelmann family. After a fire in 1709, the interior was redecorated in the Baroque style; Loretta Chapel and All Souls Chapel were added. Painters Jan Kryštof Handke, Karel Josef Haringer and Karel Moravec and sculptors Filip Sattler, Jan Sturmer and Jiří Antonín Heinz took part in the Baroque adaptations of the interior.
Maurice‘s organ, the largest organ in Central Europe and the eighth largest in Europe, were made by Master Michael Engler in 1745. It was decorated by the sculptor Philip Sattler and the wood-carver Jan Jiří Huckh. The original Baroque instrument with three keyboards underwent a renovation in the sixties of the 20th century.At that time a modern instrument was added, with 5 keyboards. Now the organ has 135 registers and 10,400 pipes.
In the mid 19th century, the church was equipped with new historicist furniture and underwent re-gothization in the years 1869-1908. The main altar is decorated with a Neo-Gothic retable from the mid 19th century.
References:Trenčín Castle is relatively large renovated castle, towering on a steep limestone cliff directly above the city of Trenčín. It is a dominant feature not only of Trenčín, but also of the entire Považie region. The castle is a national monument.
History of the castle cliff dates back to the Roman Empire, what is proved by the inscription on the castle cliff proclaiming the victory of Roman legion against Germans in the year 179.
Today’s castle was probably built on the hill-fort. The first proven building on the hill was the Great Moravian rotunda from the 9th century and later there was a stone residential tower, which served to protect the Kingdom of Hungary and the western border. In the late 13th century the castle became a property of Palatine Matúš Csák, who became Mr. of Váh and Tatras.
Matúš Csák of Trenčín built a tower, still known as Matthew’s, which is a dominant determinant of the whole building.