The interior of the St. Anthony of Padua Church in Košice, the longest church in Slovakia. (source: Facebook)
The Church of St Anthony of Padua, a seminary church on Hlavná Street in Košice, becomes the most popular historical church in the city during the wintertime thanks to its underfloor heating.
Because of this heating, Košice also boasts an extraordinary discovery: a huge crypt.Because of this heating, Košice also boasts an extraordinary discovery: a huge crypt.
Let this guide be your key to the most ravishingly beautiful secrets of the Košice Region (www.spectacularslovakia.sk) (source: Spectacular Slovakia)
When workers installed it during the replacement of the paving in the early summer of 1998, a hole appeared in the floor. Workers dropped a light down the hole, revealing more space at the end of it.
The most curious workers then crawled up to this space and found the crypt through the empty burial chamber no. 82.
Bricked up for over 100 years
Older books also mention the forgotten crypt. The crypt is known to have been established in 1723 during the Baroque reconstruction of the 14th-century church, and it served as a burial ground until 1880.
It remained bricked up for about 118 years. Up to 122 burial chambers have been found in the crypt, which is about the size of three buses. Noble people, doctors, organ producers, children and others are buried here.
The crypt is open during the first eight days of November and admission is free.
Slovakia's longest church
The Church of St Anthony of Padua, built by the Perényi family for the Franciscans, is the second-oldest church in Košice, and it is also the longest church in the country.
In 1556, the sacred place burnt down following a fire in the city, and when the Franciscans left Košice in 1600, most of the damaged church served as a weapon depot until 1668.
The Franciscans eventually returned to Košice in 1651. They initially used only the church's chapel, which they consecrated to St. Anthony of Padua. In 1668, they began using the rest of the church when the weapons depot was abolished by order of Emperor Leopold I.
The restoration of the dilapidated church, which many Košice residents still refer to as the Franciscan church, began after the end of anti-Habsburg rebellions, in 1718.
© Korzár
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Author: Milan Kolcun
