Ascent to the highest church tower
Enjoying an amazing view of the town is not the only thing you can experience in overcoming 155 steps during the ascent to the highest church tower in Slovakia. A neo-gothic church tower of the Roman-Catholic Parish Church of the Virgin Mary′s Assumption with a height of 87 m provides an outstanding view of the town and its broad surroundings with a panorama of the High Tatras. Thanks to its height, the tower is entered in the Book of Slovak records.
In the tower that was rebuilt between the years 1892-1894 by design of the professor Imrich Steindel, is located the highest situated bell tower in the Spiš region. By ascent to the tower, visitors have a unique chance of admiring five real bells. The oldest one, the so-called Šmertny with a diameter of 92 cm is from 1486 and it was made by Ján Wagner, a bell-founder from Spišská Nová Ves. The two largest bells, Urban with a diameter of 206 cm (from 1857) and Concordia with a diameter of 164 cm (from 1857) were made by Andreas Schaudt from Budapest. In 1930, the bells Peter with a diameter of 143 cm and Medián with a diameter of 118 cm were cast by the bell-foundry workshop Fischer from Trnava.
On the tower, there are four sculptures of the Evangelists with a height of 3.25 m and weight of 800 kg. They were made by the sculptor Július Fuhrmann who is buried in a local cemetery. An interesting fact is that these monumental sculptures are made of wood.
Tower ascents with a guide are organized all year round by the Tourist Information Centre. Tickets are available before the ascent in the Tourist Information Centre.
Do not miss one of the prominent landmarks of the city and the Spiš region.
