Saint Francis Church, Hervartov, Slovakia

The earliest historical proof of existence of the Hervartov village is from the year 1340. The exact date when the wooden church was built is not known. According to the saved remains of the original Gothic altar, which was probably in place in the second half of the 15th century - the altars of St. Catherine, Virgin Mary and St. Barbara are from the years 1460-1480. This assumption is supported by the fact that the architecture and overall conception of the interior of Hervartov's wooden church, such as its stencilled geometric painting in the presbytery, may be associated to some extent with several churches on the Polish side of the Carpathian Mountains.

Saint Francis Church has a Gothic character as represented by its tall but narrow structure unusual for a wooden church. The floor is made of stones again unlike in most of wooden churches where it is usually made of wood.

Hervartov church is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Wooden churches of the Slovak Carpathians.

References:

UNESCO

User Reviews

DarkGames sk (9 months ago)
Beautiful piece of UNESCO, the church is all wood without a single nail... Interior is extremely cool, and exterior arround church is Also great, there's a chapel od saint mother of god... Really worth visiting..

Frank _ (10 months ago)
Absolutely beautiful. 2 euro for entry. And (a bit weird but) an additional 3 euro’s to make pictures inside. Or you can do it sneaky like me.

Rastislav Wölcz (10 months ago)
Nice wooden church, even though we have seen it from outside only.

Bojan Miscevic (2 years ago)
Old wooden church the oldest in slovakia, traditional architecture

Martin Demsky (2 years ago)
A beautiful and peaceful place where you can admire craftsmanship of the locals as well as surrounding landscape. Definitely worth to visit. In order to get in you have to call the phone number displayed outside.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Honza Soukup

Historic Site of the week

Angelokastro

Angelokastro is a Byzantine castle on the island of Corfu. It is located at the top of the highest peak of the island"s shoreline in the northwest coast near Palaiokastritsa and built on particularly precipitous and rocky terrain. It stands 305 m on a steep cliff above the sea and surveys the City of Corfu and the mountains of mainland Greece to the southeast and a wide area of Corfu toward the northeast and northwest.

Angelokastro is one of the most important fortified complexes of Corfu. It was an acropolis which surveyed the region all the way to the southern Adriatic and presented a formidable strategic vantage point to the occupant of the castle.

Angelokastro formed a defensive triangle with the castles of Gardiki and Kassiopi, which covered Corfu"s defences to the south, northwest and northeast.

The castle never fell, despite frequent sieges and attempts at conquering it through the centuries, and played a decisive role in defending the island against pirate incursions and during three sieges of Corfu by the Ottomans, significantly contributing to their defeat.

During invasions it helped shelter the local peasant population. The villagers also fought against the invaders playing an active role in the defence of the castle.

The exact period of the building of the castle is not known, but it has often been attributed to the reigns of Michael I Komnenos and his son Michael II Komnenos. The first documentary evidence for the fortress dates to 1272, when Giordano di San Felice took possession of it for Charles of Anjou, who had seized Corfu from Manfred, King of Sicily in 1267.

From 1387 to the end of the 16th century, Angelokastro was the official capital of Corfu and the seat of the Provveditore Generale del Levante, governor of the Ionian islands and commander of the Venetian fleet, which was stationed in Corfu.

The governor of the castle (the castellan) was normally appointed by the City council of Corfu and was chosen amongst the noblemen of the island.

Angelokastro is considered one of the most imposing architectural remains in the Ionian Islands.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Saint Francis Church

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

History of Guernsey & Jersey

Most beautiful castles in Lithuania

Cultural Landscape of Sintra, Portugal

Historic Site of the week

Angelokastro

Looks like you are a history fan!