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Plešivec - Evangelical church - Exterior 04

Plešivec is an ancient seat of the Bubek family. The Ákoš family, the ancestors of the Bubeks, received it from King Belo IV. in 1243, after the battle on the Slaná River, where the ancestor of the Bubeks, Detrik, allegedly saved the king’s life. After stabilizing his position in 1320, Dominik Bubek built a water castle in Plešivec. In its vicinity, he built a monumental church, which also served as a burial place for the representatives of the family. It was constructed on the site of an older church built by his ancestors. The church, originally nearly twice as long as it is now, was a two-nave Gothic building with a polygonal ending of the chancel, originally vaulted on the central pillars.

 

From 1349, we have a record of the request of Juraj Bubek to the Pope for the possibility of collecting the indulgences to finance its construction. In the middle of the 14th century, the interior of the church was completed with fresco paintings of very high quality, carried out by Italian masters. In the first quarter of the 15th century, the church was completed with the north-facing funeral chapel of the Bubeks, built according to the pattern of the Spiš funeral chapels. We enter into the chapel through an impressive portal, the architecture of which is associated with the works of the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth in Košice. In its interior, we find three three-part late Gothic windows with an original tracery in the ogive arch shape and corbels of the former vaults.

 

In 1558, at the time of the Turkish threat, the church was severely damaged, the vault collapsed and the building remained as a ruin until its reconstruction in 1617. By that time, the church was taken over by the reformed believers who reduced its layout to its current length of 19 meters; they covered the nave with a flat ceiling and closed the entrance to the unused chapel. At that stage, the entrance to the church was established from the south and three window openings were made on the south wall. From that period comes a valuable matroneum with painted decorations from 1627. In 1807, a bell-tower was built, a beautiful example of the so-called Gemer classicism.

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Uploaded on January 28, 2024
Taken on August 10, 2023