Kalvaria Považská Bystrica ( is a collection of fourteen buildings, of which thirteen are

chapels A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are o ...

, situated in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

depicting the journey of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

through to his

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

.Pamiatkový úrad Slovenskej republiky. Register nehnuteľných NKP
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History

The complex was built from 1805 to 1807. At the time of its construction, the head clergyman in

Považská Bystrica Považská Bystrica (; ; ) is a town in northwestern Slovakia. It is located on the Váh river, around 30 km from the city of Žilina. It belongs to Upper Váh region of tourism. Profile Považská Bystrica is situated in a fold of mounta ...

was Joseph Bobošík (also spelled Bobossék). A

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

was signed on 8 June 1807 by Tomas Lovišek, the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of the city, which set out to establish a community that would maintain and refurbish the complex. The buildings themselves were rebuilt twice; the first time being in the second half of the 19th century, and the latter being in 1937. However, the site has fallen into disrepair; several chapels are now defunct, and the main chapel of

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

has a dilapidated roof and holes in the wall, causing leaks. The location is seen as a valuable national monument and several amateur restoration attempts are underway. In the 1990s, the sculpture of the crucifixion was restored and transferred to the Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary. In 2011, the local government of Považská Bystrica along with the parish clergy of the town announced the commencement of an official reconstruction program. In 2015, the roof and walls of the Chapel of Mary Magdalene was restored by the local parish. Much of the vegetation was removed in order to comply with the rules of heritage preservation in the country. Kalvaria Povazska Bystrica kaplnka exterier.JPG, Chapel of Mary Magdalene (before renovation) Kaplnka na Kalvárii Považská Bystrica.jpg, Chapel of Mary Magdalene (2015 renovation) Kalvaria_Povazska_Bystrica_pohlad_na_mesto.jpg, View of the town from the complex

References

External links

Photogallery
{{Coord, 49, 6, 49.45, N, 18, 27, 33.81, E, type:landmark_source:kolossus-skwiki, display=title Monuments and memorials in Slovakia