St. Salvator Jesuit Church

When György Thurzó, a committed Protestant (+1616), was succeeded by Zsigmond Forgách as Palatine, who converted to the Catholic faith, the way was opened for the Counter-Reformation. Three further uprisings led by Gábor Bethlen, supported by almost the entire country, brought great military successes. As a result of the entry of Bratislava, in 1619 the St. Martin's Church came into the use of the Protestant majority, since the Catholics still had two churches. However, this only lasted until 1621, when they lost the right to hold their services in the cathedral. ; The desire of the Lutherans to have their own church did not subside, since the majority of the city's inhabitants were still Lutherans, and the Armpruster House was already proving to be too small. Thus, the city council, which was also mostly Protestant, applied in 1634 to build its own church instead of the Armpruster House, which was technically and in terms of capacity inadequate. They referred to peace treaties that allowed religious freedom, especially the Peace of Vienna of 1606, which granted equal rights to Catholics and Protestants. We cannot list all the arguments that the opponents used, but finally on March 31, 1636, the monarch allowed "that the Lutherans may build the church". Thus, on May 19, 1636, the foundation stone was laid. That year, a collection was organized, and every family donated generously, as the records testify. However, Palatine Pálffy soon stopped the construction for a month. Neither the deputations of councilors and priests to the Palatine, nor the repeated letters of supplication to the already sick monarch had any effect. II. Ferdinand died in February, and two months later Archbishop Péter Pázmány also died, and the people of Bratislava continued construction at a rapid pace. The fight between the Palatine and the parish only subsided during the Diet, which began on September 21, 1637, as the new king, Ferdinand III, made it clear that he would need the Protestants. So construction continued during the Diet. ; Although the completion of the church was permitted, the Palatine stipulated that it could not have a tower, and that the entrance and window openings could not be semicircular, but square, so as not to resemble church windows. Finally, even the height of the building, which had been objected to until then, was approved, as it did not exceed the height of the surrounding houses. ; The architects had to compromise with countless restrictions, but this building is still the first new, Renaissance-style sacred work in our country. ; Renaissance architecture is typically human-centered. The ground plan of the church is thus simple, rectangular, covered at equal height by a cross vault. The vault is supported by a row of columns, and the gallery rests on these on three sides, so that as many believers as possible can participate in the service. The characteristic feature is no longer the soaring Gothic interior, the meditative darkness, but the wide, hall-like space, which is perfectly illuminated by the four large windows on the facade and the five windows on the side walls, stretching over two floors. This type of storey solution appears for the first time, indicating the interior galleries, which from then on became the characteristic features of Lutheran churches. Literacy, the emphasis on preaching, the translation of the Bible into national languages, the effort to enable people to understand the Gospel through independent study, this was the goal of the Reformation, and this required a lot of light. ; The designer of the building is unknown, but the name of the carpenter Windisch, who built the roof of the church in October 1637, has survived. The following year, on December 18, 1638, the priest and dean of Bratislava, Jozua Wegelin, thanked for the completed work. The church dedication ceremony took place 2 days later, and it was named the Holy Trinity Church. ; In the 1740s of the 17th century, the number of parishioners was around 15,000, about 300 marriages were performed annually, during the Lord's Supper, due to the many participants, 12 chalices and 6 jugs lined up on the altar - gifts from parish members. The organ, altar and other church furnishings were also gifts from guilds and wealthy citizens. ; The fact that church music gained great fame through the work of such well-known organists and composers as Samuel Capricornus and Johann Kusser also caused joy and enthusiasm. ; What happened in Bratislava in the spring of 1672 resembles the script of an action movie: ; Archbishop Szelepcsényi demanded the keys to the churches and the school. The unwavering city judge Segner was no longer alive, but the citizens defended their churches with their own bodies against the castle guard sent to take them away. The Catholic youth educated by the Jesuits tried to penetrate the gymnasium, but unsuccessfully, the school was protected by the women. And Szelepcsényi watched all this from the window of the city hall. ; Szelepcsényi's furious efforts were initially unsuccessful, and he had to resort to violence. In order not to alarm the citizens, the soldiers of the 4th regiment, led by officer Nigrelli, arrived in the city on April 10, Palm Sunday, when the Lutherans were at church. They disarmed the guards of the Michael and Lawrence gates and took their keys. They lined up in the Main Square and occupied all the city gates. ; April 24 was the day of the elections to the city council in Bratislava. But since the city hall was also occupied by the soldiers, the elections could not be held. ; In May, Szelepcsényi organized an extraordinary court hearing in Nagyszombat, to which he summoned all four Lutheran priests of Bratislava, as well as the deacon Titius David, as well as all the important citizens of the city. The number of those summoned was around 320. On June 3, a verdict was announced, which was loss of life, property and honor. ; Szelepcsényi planned to liquidate the Lutheran Church by taking away its churches and schools, and forcing the priests and citizens to sign the reversal. ; Meanwhile, two more companies of infantry arrived in the city alongside the 4th regiment. Despite everything, he did not manage to get the keys to the churches and the school. ; On July 17, a picture of Mary of Loretto and a candle were displayed in front of Kollonich's house - hinting that the final day was approaching. ; On July 18, at 5 am - without any loud orders or bugles - Nigrelli's soldiers lined up on the Main Square, in front of the Green House and the City Hall, occupied the streets leading to the Lutheran Church, and stood up on the Wheat Square - in front of today's Ursolya Church. And after they again did not receive the keys to the churches and the school, because the sacristan Pihringer refused to do so, the soldiers were ordered to break down the school gate. They did so, completely destroying the door, entering the lyceum, and since it was connected to the church, they occupied it as well. Kollonich used them to break open the chests and gave them the money in them as a reward. The entire equipment was confiscated. The gates of both churches were smashed with axes. The German church was given to the Jesuits, who had been pushing for this for a long time. ; The situation of the priests languishing in the Nagyszombat prison was constantly uncertain. On July 31, the people of Bratislava declared that they would leave Hungary forever, and so at dawn on August 4, accompanied by a military escort, without farewells or financial support. ; The city was still full of soldiers. The consecration of the churches was set for September 9th, so that they would not be returned to the Lutherans. The silver altar - a gift from Count Nádassy - and the silver baptismal font were no longer there. Their name was also changed, it was called St. Margaret. The other church was acquired by the Order of the Orsulas. And with that, the time of darkness arrived. In 1673, Szelepcsényi organized the notorious Bratislava Blood Tribunal, to which he summoned Protestant priests and teachers from all over Hungary, who were convicted and then sent to galley slavery. ; The Jesuits completely transformed the inside, and on the outside, only above the gatehouse did they place their richly decorated, multi-colored order emblem (IHS), created by master Johann Wüngler. After the dissolution of the Jesuit order, the church became the court church of Maria Theresa's son-in-law, Prince Albert of Saxe-Teschen, and was returned to the Jesuits in 1854.