St Michael's Chapel in Košice: the Gothic chapel beside the cathedral
St Michael's Chapel (Kostol svätého Michala) stands just south of the Cathedral of St Elizabeth on the Hlavná street in the centre of Košice, in eastern Slovakia. A cemetery chapel with an ossuary from the 14th century, it is among the oldest buildings in the city and, since a long restoration ended in 2006, it has officially been a church. It is worth a short stop for anyone exploring the old town.
A tiny Gothic chapel beside Košice's great cathedral was built to hold the bones of the dead, was shot at by the first artillery ever turned on the town, and once served as the Slovak Church.
The history of St Michael's Chapel in Košice
St Michael's Chapel was built in the 14th century, with the sources placing it between about 1340 and 1380, on the site of the town cemetery just south of the parish church that later became the Cathedral of St Elizabeth. It was conceived as a cemetery chapel: the lower part served as an ossuary for bones dug up when new graves were made, while the upper space was used for requiem masses and prayers for the dead. The dedication to the Archangel Michael fits this role, since in medieval belief he is the patron of the dead who weighs souls at the Last Judgement. After the Dominican church it is considered the second oldest surviving building in Košice. The first written record dates from 1452, when a couple left a vineyard in their will to keep an eternal light burning in the chapel.
The following centuries were turbulent. In the 15th century Polish-Lithuanian troops bombarded the town, reportedly the first time artillery was used against it, and the chapel, the cathedral and the town hospital were damaged. In 1508 the most radical rebuilding took place: Juraj Szatmáry, the royal chancellor and later Archbishop of Esztergom, paid for a second aisle almost as large as the original building, which nearly doubled its volume. In 1556 a great fire swept through Košice, and the chapel burned along with many other buildings.
The Reformation then shaped its fate. After 1552, when Košice came under the Kingdom of Hungary, the chapel was given to Hungarian-speaking worshippers, and later it passed to the Lutherans. In 1604 it was handed to Slovak-speaking Lutherans, and since services were held in Slovak it became known as the Slovak Church. In 1711 it returned to the Catholics. In the 18th century burials around it ended, because graves were found in up to eight layers, and the cemetery became a park. A renovation in 1821 gave the chapel a new square tower by the stonemason Gottfried Jenne.
The most visible change came in 1902–1904, when restorers, working in the spirit of Gothic purism, demolished the bulky side aisle of 1508 and gave the chapel back its slender medieval shape; it was reconsecrated on 3 September 1904. Through much of the 20th century it was rarely open, after the Second World War only on the feast of St Michael. A full reconstruction from 1998 to 2006 revealed large areas of medieval decoration, earned a Fénix award for the best restored monument of 2006, and ended with the reconsecration on 22 January 2006, when the chapel officially became a church.
Curiosities about St Michael's Chapel
- Above the door to the vestry is a coat of arms of Košice dated 1369, which the English Wikipedia calls the first municipal coat of arms in Europe.
- Because services were held in Slovak during the turbulent years of the Reformation, the chapel became known as the Slovak Church, in German the Windische Kirche.
- Seventeen old gravestones from the 14th to the 17th century were set into the outer walls in the early 1900s to save them from destruction.
- The bombardment by Polish-Lithuanian troops in the 15th century is described as the first time artillery was used against Košice.
- Small low openings in the outer wall allow a glimpse into the ossuary below the church.
- A fresco of St Ladislaus fighting a Cuman leader was reportedly painted over with whitewash during an early 20th-century restoration, a loss the conservation pioneer Viktor Myskovszky bitterly criticised.
Tours near St Michael's Chapel, Košice
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting St Michael's Chapel
- On the façade the Archangel Michael tramples the devil, with the archangels Raphael and Gabriel at his sides; statues of St Peter and St Paul stand beside the portal.
- Inside, look for the late Gothic stone tabernacle with a small Vir Dolorum figure, the richly carved sedilia by the altar, the stained-glass windows with saints and the restored medieval wall paintings.
- The building is small, with room for about 100 people, which makes a visit short but easy to combine with the neighbouring cathedral and St Urban Tower. Check the current opening hours before you go.
- Other places on this site nearby include the Archbishop's Palace, the Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary and the Plague Chapel of St Rosalie, about 2 km away.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where St Michael's Chapel, Košice is
Photos of St Michael's Chapel, Košice
Questions
Where is St Michael's Chapel in Košice?
It stands in the centre of Košice, just south of the Cathedral of St Elizabeth, in the park in the middle of Hlavná street, close to St Urban Tower.
How old is St Michael's Chapel?
It was built in the 14th century as a cemetery chapel, and the first written mention dates from 1452. After the Dominican church it is thought to be the second oldest surviving building in Košice.
Is it a chapel or a church?
It was long called a chapel, but after the reconstruction ended in 2006 it officially became a church. Both names are still in use.
Why was it called the Slovak Church?
In the unsettled years of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation it was the place where services were held in Slovak, which is why it became known as the Slovak Church.
What was the ossuary for?
The lower part of the building held the bones dug up when new graves were made in the surrounding cemetery. Requiem masses were celebrated in the chapel for the souls of the dead.
What is the coat of arms inside the chapel?
Above the door to the vestry is a Košice coat of arms dated 1369, which the English Wikipedia describes as the first municipal coat of arms in Europe. The German Wikipedia calls it the oldest depiction of the city's arms.
Also nearby
Archbishop's Palace, Košice
Košice · rococo palace where an emperor once lodged
50 m away
St. Urban Tower
Košice · bell tower with a bell that survived a fire
100 m away
Church of Virgin Mary's Birth
Košice · Neo-Romanesque cathedral that was once taken from its flock
400 m away
Plague Chapel of St Rosalie
Košice · octagonal Baroque chapel raised after the plague
2.5 km away