st.Servac church Church

The church of St. Servác is located in the village Vrbov, Prešov region. It is a Roman Catholic parish church with a rich history and architectural significance. It stands on a slightly rising elevation in the centre of the village and is the only church dedicated to Saint Servác in Slovakia.

The original building dates back to the middle of the 13th century, when it was originally built as a Romanesque building. The oldest preserved Romanesque parts are the lower part of the tower and concession portals, archaeologically dated until the 1950s 13th century. Historical summer painted in the interior suggests the year 1222 as a possible term of establishment.

In the second half of the 14th century, the church underwent extensive reconstructions, which included increasing the interior space and transforming the original Roman shrine into a long presbytery. These works brought about the creation of a two - boat temple space. In the 16th century, after the Reformation and the Great Fire in 1556, the church returned to the Catholics in the anti-reformation period in 1674.

Baroque adjustment in 1772 brought about a fundamental visual change. The walls were covered with stucco decoration in rococo style and built a brick baroque empor. The last major renovation took place between 2003 and 2007, while archaeological research revealed the remains of the original Romanesque temple.

The church architecture combines medieval and later elements. It is a two-ship pseudo-hall space with a vaulted ship and a Gothic presbytery. The exterior is dominated by a massive tower with romantic concessional portals and Gothic support pillars. The interior is characterized by the harmonization of medieval proportions and Baroque-Rocococo decoration.

The church equipment includes a Gothic bronze baptismal from Spišský kovolejár Johann Wagner from Spišská Nová Ves, built in 1483. The 18th century Baroque crypt is located below the current presbytery floor and contains a stone tomb.

The rear-empora organ, built in 1913 by Rieger, has a pneumatic pressure tone traction and pneumatic pressure-restraint registration. Manual keyboard, pedal keyboard and various registers are an important part of its construction.

The church of St. Servác is protected as a national cultural monument of the Slovak Republic under the number 1012/1. Its area, surrounded by a historical stone wall fortification and which includes a separate walled Renaissance bell tower, forms a significant part of the square. The church together with the bell tower represents an important part of the cultural heritage of the village Vrbov.