Near the Holy Trinity Church in Prešov stands the building of one of the most important educational institutes and an important monument to Protestant education in our cultural history - the Evangelical College.
The founding of the Prešov Evangelical College was decided in 1665. The Swedish king, the Estates of Transylvania and some German princes, among others, contributed financially to its construction.
The Evangelical College in Prešov reached a high level thanks to the personalities who taught there as well as modern teaching methods. In the first half of the 19th century, it grew to one of the most important higher schools in the whole of Hungary. Among his famous students were, for example, the English Baroque painter Jakub Bogdani, politicians and cultural figures such as Michal Miloslav Hodža, Jonáš Záborský and Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav.
The most beautiful room among the interiors is aula - Hallwhere the historical collections of the collegiate library are located. It contains more than 40 000 volumes of books.
In 1908, a monument to the victims of the Caraffa Blood Trial of 1687 was erected on the north-west corner of the college, at which, on 2 July 1995, during a visit to Prešov, the Pope paid homage to the memory of the Prešov martyrs. John Paul II.
After the renovation of the inner premises of the Prešov College, the building began to serve the Evangelical Church's Episcopal Office in the spring of 1998.
Source : www.gopresov.sk
Cover photo: Jano Štovka, MQEP
