On the 31st of October 1517, the German theologian Martin Luther nailed his infamous Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. This act sparked the Protestant Reformation, which later spread across Europe and the world, also finding an important place also in Slovakia.
The ideas of the 16th-century Reformation movement first spread among the German-speaking inhabitants of the towns in Upper Hungary, present-day Slovakia. Already during the 1530s and 1540s, most of the major cities installed Lutheran reformers as preachers or city pastors, especially in the eastern part of the country. The 17th century was synonymous with a strong and violent counter-reformation movement, which was supported by the Habsburg monarchs, devoted Roman-Catholics. Protestants were persecuted and forbidden from building churches. Only after the Congress of Sopron in 1681 did emperor Leopold I allow Protestants to build churches, but they could only be built to strict rules: situated on the town's outskirts and made from wood only. Wood only also meant that the nails were not made of metal, but of wood. There are still five of these, so called articular churches standing in Slovakia. And now, Martina Šimkovičová will take you to visit one…
Svaty Kriz
Máte problém s prehrávaním? Nahláste nám chybu v prehrávači.
And now from this historic place of worship, let's go to a present day one - to a chapel service at Evanjelické lýceum, Lutheran high school in Bratislava, which was founded back in 1606.
Evanjelicke lyceum
Máte problém s prehrávaním? Nahláste nám chybu v prehrávači.
After speaking about the historic, educational, but also spiritual legacy of the Reformation, lets also speak about its musical legacy. A new Slovak opera named Hrad prepevný, or A Mighty Fortress, premieres on the 31st of October in the historic opera building in downtown Bratislava.
Hrad prepevny
Máte problém s prehrávaním? Nahláste nám chybu v prehrávači.
