Gothic Architecture

What is Gothic architecture?

Gothic architecture is a medieval building style that uses pointed arches, ribbed vaults and traceried windows to build tall, light interiors. In Slovak it is called gotická architektúra. Pointed arches and vaults spread the weight of a building. External buttresses carry it from the walls to the ground. The walls can then hold larger windows.

The Slovak examples in this article cover roughly two centuries. St Martin's in Bratislava began at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. St Elisabeth in Košice began about 1390. Both buildings took generations to finish. Both were also altered later, in the Baroque period or in the 19th century. In both cases the Gothic church replaced a Romanesque one, described under Romanesque architecture.

Which features define a Gothic building?

The table lists the main features and where each one appears in a Slovak example.

The ribs gather the weight of a vault onto a few supports. Builders could then open the walls between those supports for windows.

What does St Elisabeth Cathedral in Košice show?

St Elisabeth is a Gothic church in the eastern Slovak city of Košice. The Slovak Tourist Board calls it the largest church of Slovakia and "the easternmost situated Gothic cathedral of western type in Europe". The tourist board says construction proceeded under royal supervision in several stages from 1380. Another source records a fire in 1380 and the start of the Gothic building about 1390. Sources differ on the start, so this article gives the range 1380 to about 1390. The original plan was a five-nave basilica, and disasters and wars altered it.

Work ran in stages. By about 1420 builders had finished the nave walls and the first two floors of the western towers. They vaulted the central nave between 1440 and 1462. Builders completed the chancel by 1505. They finished the aisles in the late 15th century. The main altar, built between 1474 and 1477, holds the largest European set of 48 Gothic panel paintings.

Later history matters for anyone who works on the building. A fire in 1556 damaged it. A renovation between 1877 and 1896 turned the two aisles into four, demolished the late Gothic chapel of St Joseph and replaced many architectural details. It also added a neo-Gothic turret at the crossing. The church became a national cultural monument in 1970.

What does St Martin's Cathedral in Bratislava show?

St Martin's is a Gothic church built on the site of an earlier Romanesque chapter church from the 11th or 12th century. The table shows the Gothic phases as the source reports them. Where two sources differ, the table gives both.

Later work altered the building again. A Baroque chapel was added in 1729 to 1732, and the tower was raised and the western façade remodelled in 1764 to 1765. Most of the Baroque additions were removed in 1968 to 1970. A lightning strike in 1833 started a fire that destroyed the Baroque helmet of the tower. Builders rebuilt the tower and façade in neo-Gothic style between 1835 and 1846. For the Baroque style, see Baroque architecture.

How is Gothic architecture different from Romanesque architecture?

Both styles are medieval and both use stone. They differ in how they carry loads and admit light. Romanesque buildings use round arches, thick walls and small windows. Gothic buildings use pointed arches, ribbed vaults and buttresses, which let builders open the walls for larger windows.

Why does Gothic architecture matter for a renovation?

Gothic details are usually original stonework, and a poor repair can damage them. Tracery, vault ribs and window frames are the parts to treat with care. The Košice renovation of 1877 to 1896 replaced many details, so a Gothic-looking element on a Slovak church may be a 19th-century copy. See neo-Gothic.

Check the status of the building before you plan work. Act No. 49/2002 Z. z. sets different duties for a cultural monument and for a building in a monument area. The owner of a cultural monument must first ask the regional monuments office for a decision on the renovation intent (§ 32 ods. 2). An ordinary building inside a monument reserve or monument zone needs a decision before a new building or an alteration (§ 32 ods. 5). A protective belt around a monument needs a binding opinion of the office instead (§ 32 ods. 11). Only an authorised person may prepare the design in a monument area (§ 32 ods. 8). The office also takes part in the building procedure as an affected authority (§ 32 ods. 12). See heritage protection zone and heritage authority consent.