At the beginning of August, renovation began of the most precious local monument – the Romanesque Roma-Catholic Church of St John the Baptist in Rimavské Janovce (in the Rimavská Sobota district in southern Slovakia). The church, which dates back to the 12th century, is part of the Gothic Route and its restoration will be funded mainly by a grant worth more than €16,000.
Local parish administrator Maritn Pivovarník told the SITA newswire that the course of renovation works has been arranged with the restorer and the employees of the Preservation Board from Lučenec. In the first phase, the eastern triangular gable of the church’s nave will be renovated. “Stones fall out of it, it is in piteous condition,” Pivovarník lamented, saying they will ask for resources for two more phases of repairs.
Mayor of the municipality Stanislav Krahulec is happy about the reconstruction, too. He told SITA that the church, the older of two local temples, is in a calamitous state and it would be good for all if it regains its original form. “Its edges already threaten to injure passers-by,” Krahulec concluded, adding that this is a rare construction not only in Rimavské Janovce, but in the whole of Slovakia.
The inside of the medieval church, which has been rebuilt several times, is decorated with paintings from 1876. The church that belonged to a Benedictine Abbey is the only remnant of the whole complex that survived a big fire in 1857, which completely destroyed the abbey and part of the church. The original Romanesque basilica was declared a National Cultural Heritage site. Other local monuments include a Gothic church from the 14th century, belonging to a Reformed Church that is no longer in use, and four yeoman mansions of wealthy local families that are being renovated gradually.
