St James‘s Basilica in Levoča

3-dimensional model of an interactive tactile exhibition Invisible Architecture

Author: a student of Slovak Technical University in Bratislava

The year of production: 2002

Scale: 1:100

Material: particleboard

Technique: milling, glue

St James’s Basilica in Levoča belongs to the most important sacral buildings in Slovakia. Since 1965 the three nave church with a sturdy sanctuary and Gothic cloisters has been listed as a national heritage.

Original Gothic church was built in the last quarter of the 14th century on the place of a previous church. In 1392 St George’s chapel was added to the north side over which a library, one of the first Levoča’s Renaissance constructions,  was built in 1520-1540 as well as north and south entrances were added. Both entrances have beautiful rich portals with an amount of plastic ornaments. The west side entrance was placed under a spire and it was walled up during the reign of Vladislav Jagellonsky when pews for the municipal council were added to the west side.

A tall spire of the church from the first half of the 19th century is the most remarkable element of the town landscape. Exceptionally precious interior of the church is a unique museum of medieval sacral art.

The late Gothic altar of St James made of limetree wood which height is 18,62 m is the tallest of this kind in the world. It was made in Master Paul’s of Levoča workshop in 1507 till 1517. Authorship of mural paintings is ascribed to painter Hans.

There are other 13 side altars in the church: eight of them are late Gothic, two are Renaissance and three are Baroque. Collection of Gothic liturgical objects and also Baroque monstrances from the second half of the 18th century made by Levoča’s goldsmith Ján Szilassy are precious.