At the end of Kláštorská Street stands the Minorite Church, also called the Gymnasial Church or the Black Church.
Church dates from the first half of the 14th century. The money for its construction was provided in 1309 by Master Knight Donč. It is one of the largest churches in Slovakia, which is an example of the outstanding architectural art of the Gothic period.
The building of the old Minorite monastery with a paradise courtyard and an open arcaded cloister on all four sides is supported on the west side by the inner wall of the city walls and on the south side by the church. On the east side of the corridor were the chapter house, the refectory and the library. Next to the church there is Polish Gate.
The north wing of the monastery was rebuilt in the second half of the 17th century. The monastery was also rebuilt in the 1930s, when the adjacent church was also rebuilt.
On the ground floor of the monastery is located from the time of its foundation the only completely preserved cross corridor in Slovakia. The Madonna and wall paintings from the 14th and 15th centuries have been preserved from the Gothic interior. Today, the building of the old Minorite monastery houses a church gymnasium.
Around the church at night you can sometimes hear the rustling of the leather sandals of a headless monk, whose ghost still guards the place where the old well, important to the Levoča people, once stood. His body, separated from his head, was found during archaeological excavations in the former monastery.
Source: www.ik.levoca.eu, www.rkc.levoca.sk
Cover photo: Wikipedia - by Thaler Tamas - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://lnk.sk/ryS3
