St. Egidius Church in Bardejov

Saint Egidius΄ Church in Bardejov was named by the Austrian Empress and Hungarian Queen Elizabeth in 1895 as "a true Westminster". In Bardejov the Church is called "the Cathedral". At the same time it is the museum of Gothic art in the metropolis of Upper Saris.

The history of St. Egidius΄ Church in Bardejov is inseparably linked with the history of the town. The first written report of a church existing in this place is in a letters – patent from King Adalbert IV in 1247. Chronologies of the church΄s construction vary. Some authors date the beginning of construction late in the 13th c., while others prefer the mid-14th c., which seems the most probable in fact.

The town of Bardejov itself is just as remarkable and as precious as St. Egidius΄ Church. The central square forms a harmonized whole together with the Town Hall and the Church. In 1950 the historical center surrounded by the town fortifications were declared an urban heritage reserve, and this provided an impulse for the renovation and protection of these extraordinary medieval constructions. The town of Bardejov was given the European Award – Gold Medal in 1986 by the International Curatory of the UNESCO-ICOMOS Foundation. Due to its extraordinary historical and artistic worth, in 1970 St. Egidius΄ Church in Bardejov was declared a national cultural monument.

"In it the skill of the wood carver΄s chisel or the painter΄s brush is wedded with knowledge of the Gospels and the power of faith in the same way that picture is married to text in the book we have set before you," writes one of the publication΄s authors Gabriel Drobniak. The author of the pictures Alexander Jirousek have set about 150 photos of the Church and its interior. The book contains contemporary paintings and pictures, which reflect changes of the Church from the past until the present.

The text is in Slovak, Polish and English languages.