- Church of St. Elisabeth (Bratislava)
-
The Blue Church
The Church of St. Elisabeth (Slovak: Kostol svätej Alžbety, Hungarian: Szent Erzsébet templom), commonly known as Blue Church (Modrý kostolík, Kék templom), is a Hungarian Secessionist (Jugendstil) Catholic church located in the eastern part of the Old Town in Bratislava, Slovakia. It is consecrated to Elisabeth of Hungary, daughter of Andrew II, who grew up in the Pressburg Castle (pozsonyi vár). It is called "Blue Church" because of the colour of its façade, mosaics, majolicas and blue-glazed roof.
Contents
Architecture
The one-nave church was built in 1907-1908, four years after the plans of Ödön Lechner to build a church in the Hungarian Art Nouveau style. The so-called Hungarian secessionist style forms dominate in the church. Lechner also drew plans of a neighbouring grammar school and of the vicarage.
The ground floor of the church is oval. In the foreground there is a 36.8 metre high cylindrical church tower. At first, a cupola was planned, but was never constructed; instead, a barrel vault was built, topped by a hip roof. The roof is covered with glazed bricks with decoration, for the purpose of parting.
The main and side entrances are enclosed with Romanesque double-pillars, which have an Oriental feeling. Pillars are also located near the windows.
The façade was at first painted with light pastel colours. Later the church got its characteristic blue colour. A line of blue tiles and wave-strip encircles the church.
Interior
The interior is richly decorated with altarpieces. On the altar there is an illustration of St. Elisabeth, depicted giving out abilities to the beggars and poor.
A model of the church is in Mini-Europe in Brussels, representing Slovakia.
References
- Part of the information in this article is based on its German equivalent.
- Lacika, Ján (2000) (in English). Bratislava. Visiting Slovakia (1st ed. ed.). Bratislava, Slovakia: DAJAMA. ISBN 80-88975-16-6.
External links
Coordinates: 48°08′36.2″N 17°07′00.6″E / 48.143389°N 17.116833°E
Churches in Bratislava Medieval 16th - 19th century Chapel of Saint Rozalia · Church Mena Panny Márie · Jesuit Church, Bratislava · St. Nicholas' Church, Bratislava · Temple of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross · Trinitarian Church of Bratislava20th - 21st century See also: Old Town, Bratislava, History of Bratislava, List of palaces in Bratislava Categories:- Buildings and structures in Bratislava
- Religious buildings completed in 1908
- 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings
- Churches in Bratislava
- Roman Catholic churches in Slovakia
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
