Sunday, 30 October 2011

Banská Štiavnica - Kalvária

In the 17th century, a Jesuit priest decided to build a sacral complex with donations from the local miners, craftsmen and town people.  The Banská Štiavnica Calvary Complex represents a unique architectural and landscape complex both in its extent and content: it consists of 25 buildings including three churches and chapels decorated with invaluable paintings (no longer there). The chapels and churches are built on a steep slope of a dormant volcano called Scharffenberg (Sharp Hill).  Today, the complex is by and large in a state of disrepair, with the churches locked up and the outside walls weeping in peeling plaster and paint.
Church at top of hill

Banska Stiavnica from Calvary Hill

Two of the three churches
Autumnal views from Calvary Hill