A distinctive landmark of the western part of the Bratislava historical centre, this three-aisle Gothic parish church was built from the 14th to 16th century. Its Romanesque antecedent was built after the provostry was relocated from the castle to the lower castle and in 1273 the original church had to be replaced by a bigger construction corresponding with the needs of the growing city. The Gothic church bears features influenced by the construction foremen from St. Stephen´s Cathedral in Vienna who worked there. One of the most valuable architectonic details of this period is the original northern entrance portal with the relief of the Holy Trinity (at present part of the late-Gothic St. Anne Chapel). At the beginning of the 18th century Archbishop Imrich Esterházy ordered to build a Baroque chapel of St. John the Merciful at the place of an old sacristy. This chapel was also designed as the patron´s funeral chapel. After the neo-Gothic improvement of the interior only an equestrian statue of the Cathedral´s patron was preserved from the main Baroque altar of St. Martin which was created for the same patron by the sculptor J. R. Donner. The statue is located in the southern aisle. Between 1563 and 1830 the Cathedral gained special significance for the country because it was used as the coronation church for 11 Hungarian kings and 8 queens. At the end of the 18th century the top of the tall pyramid tower was decorated with a massive gilded Hungarian royal crown as a reminder of this significant role.
Heritage > National cultural monuments
