The Slovak "Vatican" is the church town of SPišská KAPITULA, from which the prefects, bishops and canons have been organizing the church life not only in Spiš for a long time. The most important building of the Spiš Chapter is the late Romanesque Cathedral of St. Martin.
It took the form of a massive three-nave building with two towers between 1245 and 1275. In 1382, the Corpus Christi Chapel was added to it, and between 1488 and 1493 it was replaced by the present chapel built on the model of the French Saint Chapelle. The Baroque alterations were wiped out by the restoration works between 1873 and 1889, which sought to give the cathedral a medieval character in keeping with the tastes of the Romantic period.
The Bishop's Palace was built at the same time as the Cathedral as the Prepostal Palace. In the past, there was a French park next to the palace, which was entered through the Clock Tower from 1739, which still stands today. In the eastern part of the Spišská Kapitula there are the so-called canons of the chapter canons on narrow Gothic plots, accessible through the only alley in the town. The fortification of the ecclesiastical town with two entrance gates was built in the 14th century and rebuilt several times. Spišská Kapitula is an urban part of Spišské Podhradie.
Source: publishing house Dajama
Cover photo: OOCR Tatry - Spiš - Pieniny
