Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist: A Gothic Catholic Church in Kremnické Bane
Site at a Glance
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Slovakia
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Modern
- Civilizations
- Austria-Hungary, Habsburg, Hungarian
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page4 sections
History
Construction and ecclesiastical role
The Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist is a stone church in the Gothic style, a medieval architectural form, in Kremnické Bane, Slovakia. It was built and consecrated in the thirteenth century. Its nave was added about two centuries later, and the building was expanded in 1910.
The Roman Catholic church belongs to the Western ecclesiastical province, the Diocese of Banská Bystrica, the deanery of Žiar nad Hronom, and the parish of Kremnické Bane. It is administered by the Capuchin Order, a Catholic religious order in the Franciscan tradition, whose monastery is nearby. Slovakia designated the church a National Cultural Monument in 1963.
The 1992 sovereignty bonfire
On 17 July 1992, a bonfire of sovereignty was lit at the church to celebrate the Slovak National Council’s adoption of a declaration asserting the sovereignty of the Slovak Republic. The Council was Slovakia’s legislature. This was the first bonfire of sovereignty, and it was televised live. About 1,400 people attended; politicians and representatives of Matica slovenská, a Slovak cultural and scholarly institution, gave speeches.
Remains
The surviving stone church stands on a watershed. Rainwater from the northern half of its roof drains into the Váh River basin, while water from the southern half drains into the Hron River basin.
