Parish Church of the Birth of Virgin Mary (Farský kostol)

The Parish church on Mariánske Square serves as a kind of “opening act” for visitors heading to Trenčín Castle. Located about halfway up to the castle, it’s a pleasant place to catch your breath and take in the views of the town. From here, you can enjoy scenic sights of the opposite Piarist Church, the City Tower, and the arcaded balconies of nearby buildings.

The Parish Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is one of the most valuable and oldest sacred buildings in the city. Together with the charnel house, the town rectory, and the former armory, it formed part of the town’s fortifications that protected the road leading to the castle. These structures created a complex on Mariánsky Hill, also known as Marienberg.

The church was built in 1324, likely on the foundations of an even older structure from the mid-13th century. In 1364, the church received an exceptional and rare gift – a gilded Gothic monstrance. Emperor Charles IV donated it to King Louis the Great on the occasion of successful peace negotiations at Trenčín Castle.

The building has faced the devastation of fire several times. During Katzianer’s siege of the castle in 1528, the church was burned down along with the nearby St. Michael’s Charnel House. It was later rebuilt in the mid-16th century by Italian builders in the Renaissance style. The richly decorated entrance portal and the pulpit date from this period. Due to a fire in 1886, the parish church underwent another reconstruction at the beginning of the 20th century. Its current appearance reflects these changes. They include the addition of a dome on the tower, a new facade, and colorful stained glass windows.

 

The Funerary Chapel of the Ilešházi Family

A Gothic tombstone of the standard-bearer Martin Zima from 1498 is embedded in the wall of the church vestibule. In the left side nave of the church, you’ll find the funerary chapel of the Ilešházi family, built in 1648. It was rebuilt and decorated at the initiative of Jozef Ilešházi by Ľudovít (Ludwig) Gode. He was a pupil of Austrian sculptor Raphael Donner (author of the statue of St. Martin in St. Martin’s Cathedral in Bratislava). Gode created the sculptural group of the Crucifixion and the portrait epitaph plaque of the donor Gašpar Ilešházi.

From the church’s original Gothic furnishings, two painted altar wings from around 1400 have been partially preserved. A fragment of a small portable altar of the Virgin Mary from around 1420 has also survived. These are housed in the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest. Enlarged reproductions of these artworks can be seen in the exhibition at St. Michael’s Charnel House, located opposite the parish church.

Open: you can visit the church before or after mass, which take place on Monday – Friday at 16.00, on Saturday at 8.30 and on Sunday at 9.00 and 11.00.

Entrance fee: voluntary

Contact
Rímskokatolícky farský úrad
Mariánske námestie 2, 911 01 Trenčín
Tel.: +421 (0)32 743 42 76
E-mail: trencin@nrb.sk

Web:

Gallery

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