Chapel of St. Kunhuta, Veľký Šariš

Late Gothic single-nave chapel with a polygonal-shaped presbytery and a roof turret in the west.

The early Baroque Chapel of St. Elizabeth dates from the end of the 17th century. It was built on the grounds of the Augustinian monastery sometime after 1544 using the wall of an older building (it now forms the lower part of the western wall of the building. During the construction, builders used material from the then-ruined Church of St. Stanislaus (the early Gothic period). The chapel has one nave with vaulted baroque cross vaults. The main Rococo-style altar dates from the 2nd half of the 18th century. In 1599, the building was repaired, as evidenced by the year inscribed on the eastern façade. It appears the construction was financed by František Deršfi de Zerdahelyi, the then administrator of the Šariš county. During the turbulent 17th century, the chapel served for some time as a granary and was rebuilt accordingly (divided into two floors, the lower parts of the windows were bricked up). Sometime after 1769, the building was rebuilt to serve liturgical purposes once again – the built-in floor was removed. The chapel was also given a new roof covered with shingles. In 1904, shingles were replaced with metal sheets. Following an extensive repair of 1965, it was possible to hold the occasional services and pilgrimages in there again. However, repairs were not done in accordance with the ideas of local conservationists. In recent years, efforts have been made to save the dilapidated building. The research was carried out here in 2010 and 2011 and helped clarify the construction process.

Today, the chapel stands in an unconventional place – by the football field. Until recently, it was considered an early Gothic building. This dating was based on the form and decoration of the ribs and heads of the vaults and window linings. Recent research has shown that these elements and features were brought from another, older building. Research on the western façade of the building, which showed that the lower part of the masonry is older, was decisive for changing the dating of the chapel’s foundations. Dendrochronological dating of the crossbar separating older and newer masonry set the time of tree cutting in 1543/1544. The chapel was consecrated to St. Kunhuta as the only chapel in Slovakia. The chapel has no windows in the south wall of the “nave”, however, there is one in the north side. The nave and the sanctuary are not separated by a triumphal arch, but instead simple ribs decorated with plant motifs (oak and vine leaves) were used. In the south wall there is a niche in the shape of a nun, in the west wall there is a gothic portal.

Informations

How to get there

The Chapel of St. Kunhuta can be found in the immediate vicinity of the football field, near the local public transport terminus in Veľký Šariš. It is not currently available to the public.

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