St. Martin’s Cathedral in Bratislava
History
Pozsony's (Bratislava’s) first Catholic church under King Solomon was likely inside the castle, but at the request of King Emeric, Pope Innocent III in 1204 granted permission to the provost, and then Pope Honorius III in 1221 allowed the main church to move out from the castle. On the site of today’s cathedral they began building a Romanesque-style church, dedicated on its high altar to the Most Holy Redeemer. The church already had three naves; two side altars were dedicated to the Virgin Mary and to Saint Stephen the First Martyr. However, the interior soon proved too small, so in the 1310s the church was raised and expanded in Gothic style. At that time two towers were also built on the western wall. The Hussite threat endangered the works; in 1434 King Sigismund asked the Pope for indulgence privileges. Thereafter the church’s title also included Saint Martin’s name; a few decades later, after another expansion, that title became the sole one. Following Turkey’s expansion in the 16th century, Bratislava’s cathedral became a coronation church; in 1563 the first coronation ceremony took place there. The cathedral also became the main burial site for the Hungarian Kingdom’s leading class. Repeated reconstructions took place until the 19th century, and in 1833 the church suffered serious fire damage from a lightning strike. Between 1863 and 1878 it was restored in its original Gothic style; its 85-metre-high neo-Gothic tower was also built then. These Gothic-revival efforts came at a cost, however: the Baroque main altar, in front of which Hungary’s rulers were once crowned, was lost.
Style
The Cathedral of St. Martin has a Gothic character — its south nave wall’s double window, the rose window in the adjacent wall field, the row of seating niche alcoves in the southwestern ground-floor chapel, and the current main entrance (i.e. the northern portal) — all resembling Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Much later, Renaissance elements also were added. Most of its Baroque statues were made by the Austrian sculptor Donner, who spent a decade in the city.
Famous residents
A 150-kilogram replica of the Holy Crown that sits on the cathedral tower recalls the coronation ceremonies held here. Between 1563 and 1830, eleven Habsburg kings and eight queens were crowned here, from Miksa (Maximilian II) to Ferdinand V.Present day
Each year at the end of June the memory of the coronation ceremonies is revived through historical plays. In the morning there is the ringing of bells, cannon fire, and trumpet calls; a festive procession departs from the castle to the cathedral, followed by a symbolic coronation and the duly celebrated mass. Afterwards the procession continues through the city to the Franciscan church, where the “king” invests the chosen “nobles” as knights. The events are also enriched by “jousts.” Meanwhile, Blaufränkisch wine is served, which is said to have been one of Maria Theresa’s favourites.
