Hervartov
T H E TO W N F O R T I F I C AT I O N S A N D T H E J E W I S H S U B U R B
T HE BA S ILI C A M I N OR O F S T. EGI DI US
HISTORY OF THE TOWN
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Bardejov
HISTORY OF THE TOWN AND THE TOWN HALL 2000, 27th Nov. Inscription of the historical town centre in UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage List, in a ceremony at Cairns, Australia. 1986 The International Council for Monuments and Sites, a UNESCO partner, awards Bardejov its European Gold Medal for the reconstruction of the historical centre. turn of the 19th/20th C. Purist neo-Gothic reconstruction of St.Egidius’ Church. 1878 Catastrohic fire in the town. Only the Town Hall and the bell-tower remain undamaged. 17th/early 18th C Decline of the town due to uprisings led by anti-Habsburg Hungarian nobility. 1539 Leonard Stöckel (1510–1560) becomes Rector (principal) of the Humanist Grammar School till his death → separate chapter. 1538 The famous Humanist Grammar School is built (inscription on the façade: ERECTA ANNO 1538). It stands just to the east of the Basilica. 1505–1511 The Gothic-Renaissance Town Hall is built (Lat. Curia Bartphensis), a symbol of the new secular power in the town. Its south gable bears a statue of the knight Roland (the third in the series), an early medieval symbol of the town’s rights and special privileges. He often appears in areas where Saxon Law was applied, indicating the origin of the old German settlers here. The town fortifications (defensive system) were completed around this time → separate chapter. The Square measures 280 x 80 m. 1453 King Ladislaus I grants the town its coat of arms.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN
1435 Written mention of the existence of a parish school. The town has approx. 3000 inhabitants. 1419 The town acquires exclusive rights for bleaching and selling linen, which together with trding revenues forms a firm basis for the town’s long-term prosperity in the 15th–16th C. 1415 Building of St. Egidius’ Church is completed → separate chapter. 1376 Ludovicus I Magnus (1326–1382), king of Hungary and Poland, son of Charles Robert I of Anjou (1288– –1342), raises the town to the status of free royal town (Lat. libera regiaque civitas). The town grows rapidly in significance. King Charles Robert holds a special place in Hungarian history, because he came to the throne after the Arpád dynasty died out in1301, (definitively in 1310). 1352 King Ludovicus I orders the town to be fortified.
THE BASILICA MINOR OF ST. EGIDIUS The patron saint of the church probably lived between 640– –720 AD, and he was especially popular later in the Middle Ages. He came from Athens, and he became rich in his original profession as a merchant. He later went to live as a hermit in the diocese of Nimes in southern France. According to legend he was accidentally wounded by an arrow loosed by the Western Gothic king Wamba. He recovered, but as a gesture of contrition, the monarch established the monastery of St-Gilles, GPS 43°41‘ N, 4°26‘ E, whch soon became a prestigious Benedictine abbey. The 12th C Romanesque church was inscribed by UNESCO in 1998 primarily for its superb façade with three portals. The town of St-Gilles lay on one of the four main pilgrimage routes of the Camino de Santiago. Today it has 13 800 inhabitants. It is located 110 km north-west of Marseille, at a distance of 1870 km from Bardejov. Saint’s day: 1st Sept. The name Egidius means “shield-bearer” in Greek.
General view of the interior, with the Golgotha sculpture group below the Triumphal Arch → John 19, 26. The cross is 8 m high, the span of the arms is cca. 5 m, and the body of the Crucified Christ measures almost 3 m.
T HE BA S ILI C A M I N OR O F S T. EGI DI US
1986–99 Renovation of the church. 1944 During a bombardment the church walls were damaged. 1878–98 Purist reconstruction of the church in neo-Gothic style. Completion of the tower in its present-day form (76 m; viewing gallery at 42 m). 1774 Catastrophic fire in the church. This unfortunate event is recalled by the statue of St. Florian, patron-saint of fire-fighters, outside the Basilica (†304, drowned for his faith near Linz in Austria). 1725 Earthquake (!) causes the tower to collapse. From that time till 1898, the church remained towerless. 1672–1711 Nobility-led uprisings. The church changes hands repeatedly between Catholics and Protestants. 1584 The bell named Urban, weighing four tons, is cast for the church in Tarnow, Poland. Today it stands next to the bell Ján (John, 2.2 tons) on display outside the Basilica. 1540 The church is repaired after a fire. 1539 The church is taken over by the Lutherans → see above. 1480–1510 Creation of the remaining 9 winged altars. Especial attention and respect is due to the Vernicle from the predella of the Altar to the Holy Cross (It. predella = connecting piece between the altar table and the retabulum) – the first altar on the left in the picture.The scene itself forms the sixth Station of the Cross. In the New Testament the carrying of the cross is mentioned in these verses: Mark 15, 20b-21, Matt. 27, 31b-32, Luke 23, 26-32, John 19, 16b-17a. Veronica is often identified as the woman who suffered from a flow of blood → Matt. 9, 20n. According to legend spread later in the 13th C, she was one of the women who accompanied Christ on the Way of the Cross → Luke 23, 27. When Jesus fell under the weight of the cross, she gave him a cloth. Her saint’s day in the Catholic calendar is 4th Feb. Her name means Vera icon = true image (of Christ) /Lat.-Greek./. 1466 Creation of the High Altar. 1465? Gothic stone sacrament-house made by Master Stephen, who also built the Cathedral of St.Elizabeth of Hungary and Thuringia in Košice (1207–1231). This noble stone decoration of the church interior used to be the storage place for the Altar Sacraments. Less than a century later, however, it lost this function, because the Council of Trent (1545-1563) decided that the consecrated Host would be stored in the tabernacle (shrine) of each altar. This requirement was consistently respected only later, though, in the Baroque period, especially after the Thirty Years War (1618–1648). 1460? Creation of the winged altars consecrated to St. Barbara and St. Andrew. 1415 Completion of the church building.
THE TOWN FORTIFICATIONS Between 1771–1773 a large synagogue was built outside the west walls of the town, and this formed the basis for the development of the Jewish suburb. This “View of the Free and Royal Town of Bardejov, dated 1560” is an especially valuable document. It presents this pearl of the northern Šariš region to us at the time of its greatest glory.
The town’s defensive fortifications today still rank among the best preserved in Slovakia. The Latin word fortificatio literally means “made into a fort”, and the old town here had a system of walls linking as many as 23 bastions. Twelve of these have been preserved, of which nine have been reconstructed, as well as two barbicans (fortifications of the town gates).unique vaults, covered in ornamental painting and supported by four pillars, are the pride of the prayer-hall.
THE JEWISH SUBURB
The dominant feature and the oldest building in the suburb is the Old Synagogue, dating from 1836. The only other similar nine-vaulted synagogue still existing in Slovakia can be found at Stupava in the Záhorie region. Apart from the men’s prayer-hall and the women’s gallery on the west side, there is also an ante-chamber and a small study. The unique vaults, covered in ornamental painting and supported by four pillars, are the pride of the prayer-hall. Similarly to Latin, the Hebrew language enables inscriptions to be formulated indicating significant years connected with the building work. Here above the entrance to the main hall there is a text with a “coded” indication of the period of building and the people who financed it. In the late 19th C the school and ritual baths were built along the street. The entrance façade bears a memorial plaque from 1992 commemorating 3700 local victims of the Holocaust. This area is owned by the Central Association of Jewish Religious Communities in the Slovak Republic. The Suburb requires thorough and extensive reconstruction. Contact: Pavol Hudák, ☎ +421 905 346 791
The SMALL SYNAGOGUE on Kláštorná (Monastery) Street. Phonetic transcription of the text: Klois dechevra bikur cholim Translation: The small synagogue of the Society for Visiting the Sick Source: Central Association of Jewish Religious Communities in the Slovak Rep.
T H E TO W N F O R T I F I C AT I O N S A N D T H E J E W I S H S U B U R B
The Jewish suburb is reached in about ten minutes’ walk to the north-west from the Town Hall Square. It consists of the Old Synagogue, the school (bet midrash) and the ritual baths (mikvah).
400 km 200 km From the 15th to 19th C, the PENTAPOLITANA was an economic association of the five main towns in Eastern Slovakia. Road distances to the Pentapolitana towns in km: BARDEJOV: – Košice: 77; – Prešov: 42; – Sabinov: 48; Levoča: 95 Tourist information office: Radničné námestie 21 • www.tik-bardejov.sk QEL: Mičkova 24, www.qel.sk
Our Bardejov: Kellerova 1, www.nasbardejov.sk
Bardejov Spa is just 5 km away, to the north of the town. The rare mineral waters here promote treatment especially of the digestive and circulatory systems, www.kupele-bj.sk.
number of inhabitants: 33 400
VETERA NOVIS AUGERE ET PERFICERE Old things are to be promoted and perfected with new things. Town Hall Basilica Minor of St.Egidius 3 Humanist School 1 2
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Lutheran church
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Small synagogue Franciscan church Jewish suburb – Dlhý rad (Long Row) / Mlynská ul. (Mill Street)
© Jozef Soročin, Anna Soročinová, 2012 | www.issuu.com/VydSorocinJ © Design & Layout: Jozef Soročin, Jnr., www.about.me/sorocin © Photographs: Peter Olekšák, peter.oleksak@centrum.sk © Translation: Andy Billingham, ajbilingual@gmail.com © Published by: Jozef Soročin, Martina Rázusa 1848/6, SK–071 01 Michalovce, sorocin23@gmail.com © Printed by: Rotaprint, s. r. o., Barčianska 68, SK–040 17 Košice Published with financial support from:
HERVARTOV AND UNESCO This village lies 9 km south of Bardejov. Today around 500 people live here. Its name probably comes from the German „Heereswarte“ = army look-out, which suggests that there is an excellent view over the surrounding countryside, and in fact in ideal weather it is possible to see some of the High Tatra peaks from here. On a mound in the middle of the village stands the goal of our journey – the 15th C wooden Gothic (!) Roman Catholic church of St. Francis of Assisi, inscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2008.
It consists of a nave, a polygonal sanctuary and a sacristy. The lower part of the tower also serves as an ante-chamber. Part of the church is built from yew (Lat. taxus baccata). This wood is very hard, but also elastic (in medieval times the bows for the royal archers were made from yew). This church represents the oldest type of wooden religious architecture in Slovakia. The other wooden churches in the area, mainly Greek Catholic, were built in the late 17th and early 18th C or later. In the cenre of the high altar stands the Virgin Mary, with St.Barbara on her left side and St.Catherine of Alexandria to her right. The sword in her hand and the wheel beneath her feet represent the weapons she was killed with (early 4th C). The monastery at Sinai, named after her, is world-famous. St. Barbara (3rd C) according to legend, was imprisoned in a tower. She also came from Egypt. These martyrs, together with St. Dorothy and St. Margaret, were especially popular in the Middle Ages, and belonged in the group of 14 Holy Helpers in great need.
FOTO
Also of interest to visitors are the pictures of Adam and Eve → Book of Genesis 1, the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins → Matt. 25, 1n, and St. George fighting the dragon → Revelations 12, 7–9. He died as a martyr (†303) during the great persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian (284–305). The church walls are covered in many Latin quotations from the Bible, which is a genuine rarity.
Latin text in the right foreground: LAUS DEO SEMPER PER LIGNUM SERVI FACTI SUMUS. PER LIGNUM SANCTI CRUCIS LIBERATI SUMUS. FRUCTUS ARBORIS SEDUXIT NOS. FILIUS DEI, IN SANCTÆ CRUCE REDEMIT NOS. 1665 Translation: Praise be always to God, through wood we became slaves. Through the wood of the Holy Cross we are liberated. The fruit of the Tree seduced us, The Son of God by the Holy Cross has redeemed us.
THE TOWN AND LEONARD STÖCKEL (1510–1560) He is probably the most famous Bardejov man of all time, and he was called Præceptor Hungariæ (Teacher of Hungary). Only the greatest of the great were addressed in a similar way, such as Johann Amos Comenius (1592–1670) – Præceptor mundi (Teacher of Nations). Leonard Stöckel studied in Wittenberg, where he also got to know Martin Luther (1483–1546) and his “right hand”, Philipp Melanchthon (1497–1560), who was called Præceptor Germaniæ (Teacher of Germany). In 1549 Stöckel wrote the doctrinal treatise „Confessio Pentapolitana“ (Confession of the Five Towns), i.e. Košice, Prešov, Sabinov, Levoča and Bardejov. For “his own” school he issued the Leges scholæ Bartphensis (Rules of Bardejov School). Their rincial idea is: Prima debet esse cura scholasticis timor dei, qui est initium sapientiæ. (Before care for the school must come awe of God, who is the beginning of all wisdom) → Book of Proverbs 1,7; 9, 10. The Humanist School, standing just to the east of the Basilica, was the centre of education and cultural life for this part of Upper Hungary. There is a chronogram by the side entrance:
Control sum: 11 x I + 4 x V + 1 x X + 4 x L + 1 x C + + 3 x D + 0 x M = 1841 Translation: The Muses benefitted from the devout patronage of Ferdinand V. The renovation of the school from the assets of the town. The chronogram produces the date 1841, when the reconstruction of the school in neo-Clasical style began. Since 1994 the local grammar school has been named after Leonard Stöckel, www.gymlsbj.sk Above the main entrance to the neo-Classical Lutheran church on Dlhý rad (Long Row), north of the Square, there is another chronogram:
Control sum: 8 x I + 8 x V + 1 x X + 5 x L + +5 x C + 2 x D + 0 x M = 1808 Translation: Holy God, every year bless what the joyful Christians who kneel here promote with their humble prayers. The inscription produces the year 1808, when the church was completed (the building work began in 1798). The neo-Gothic interior is puristically decorated with Slovak, Latin, and German inscriptions.
IN SILVIS LEPORES, IN VERBIS QUAERITE LEPORES In the woods look for hares, in words witticisms PL
M: 1 cm ~ 2 km
HIKING TRAILS Bardejov (red-marked trail) – Mihaľov – Hervartov Trail length: 11 km | Time: 3 hours | Difficulty: medium Bardejov (red) – Bardejovské Kúpele (yellow) Cesta hrdinov SNP – Zborov Trail length: 18 km | Time: 5 hours | Difficulty: medium Bardejov (red) – Bardejovské Kúpele (yellow) – Stebnická Magura (junction with blue) rot – Zborov (castle and miltary cemetery from the First World War) Trail length: 24 km | Time: 7 hours | Difficulty: medium C Y C L E T R A I L S Bardejov – Bardejovská Zábava – Kľušov – Hervartov 9 km | Difficulty: easy Bardejov (red) – Mihaľov – Hervartov and back 20 km | Difficulty: easy Baedejov (red) – Mihaľov (blue)– Kružlov – Krivé – – Richvald – Hervartov – Mihaľov – Bardejov 42 km | Difficulty: medium We also recommend these maps: SHOCart PIENINY, SEVERNÝ SPIŠ, ŠARIŠ BARDEJOV, BARDEJOVSKÉ KÚPELE Hiking map of the Bardejov area, 1:50 000, VKÚ Harmanec