St. Helena Church in Nagyszombat
Building, structure
The oldest church in the city, the 13th century Eastern Gothic single-nave St. Helena Church, also known as the Hospital Church, has a closed presbytery and a cross-ribbed ceiling. From the end of the Middle Ages, it was owned by the charitable, together with the hospital building. Above the Gothic portal, a three-part statue group can be seen: ; - St. Helena, with the cross of Jesus, which she found - according to legend - during her pilgrimage to the Holy Land, ; - St. Barbara with the tower in which she was imprisoned, ; - St. Elizabeth of Hungary, with the beggar at her feet, to whom she gave alms. ; The statue of St. Helena is the oldest, its creation is dated around 1400. The other two statues were probably made in the 18th century. ; Like most of the churches in Nagyszombat, this one was rebuilt, first in the Renaissance and then in the Baroque style. The interior cross ceiling and the sanctuary's pastophorium have survived from the original Gothic church. ; Hungarian students studying in Nagyszombat, as well as local and surrounding Hungarians, have the opportunity to attend a Hungarian-language mass in this church on the second Tuesday of every month.