Basilica of St Giles

St Giles's temple is a three-aisled basilica. Its aisles run an east to west; the main entrance is on the south side. The presbytery is closed by the polygonal ending. The sacristy was brought up to the north wall, where there is a hallway with two side chapels and stoppage at the third chapel on the south side. The presbytery is vaulted by a net vault. It is separated from the central nave with a triumphal arch, which is partly filled with a wooden Calvary sculpture from the late 15th century. A square-based tower lives on the southwest corner of the church. It is finished by wooden arcade gallery, covered by the pyramidal roof and complemented by four small pyramidal roofs in the corners. ==Exterior of the church==

The Church of St Giles is situated on the north side of the Town-Hall Square. It is built in the traditional east - west axis. The presbytery is situated in the eastern part. The central nave is 24 metres high and dominates to the church. There are also two aisles and a presbytery. The 10-metre-high roofs of the presbytery and the nave are separated from each other by a wall, topped by a spire with a cross. An imposing tower dominates the southwest corner of the church. The tower was completed in the neo-Gothic style of the late 19th century. With its height of 76 metres, it is one of the highest church towers in Slovakia. It has six storeys, separated from each other by stone cornices. The belfry is in the fourth story; the bells "Urban" and "John" and the bell called "Signum" are situated there. The fifth story has been adapted for the clock mechanism. A wooden balcony, topped by a pyramidal roof and a four-meter-high metal cross, is situated on sixth story. The decoration of the south wall includes a stone relief with a city's coat-of-arms. The western facade of the church is reinforced by support pillars and includes Gothic arches and a big rosette window with stone tracery. On the south side of the church are the chapels, prominently grouped around the main entrance. The three chapels are named: the Chapel of the Virgin Mary, the Chapel of St Elisabeth, and the Chapel of St Andrew. The whole church is lit through high, mostly three-part, glazed Gothic windows; glass fillings of the windows were replaced in the 19th century. The south side is decorated by an ornamental stone sculpture of St. Florian. ==Interior of the church==

Nave and presbytery The central nave is lightened by Gothic windows on the south side. The presbytery has the same high as the nave, it is separated from its with profiled stone triumphal arch. The whole central space is vaulted with bays of net vault, placing on pentagonal chaplets decorated with floral ornaments with the coat of arms in the middle of the chaplet. On the western side of the nave is a Royal - Organ oratory, vaulted with the star-vault. The stone spiral staircase leads to the oratory. Both side naves are vaulted with three bays of the simple cross-vault, their ribs set on the wall on figural brackets. Sacristy and choir The sacristy and the northern choir above the main nave are accessible by two separate Gothic portals. The sacristy and the choir have a ribbed net vault. The oratory's vault contains ribs, which are placed directly into the wall on figural consoles portraying St George in battle with the dragon. Chapels The eastern chapel has an irregular polygonal swallow tails, and reticulated vault with ribs. Southern oratory also has a vault with a simple conical consoles. West Chapel has a rectangular wall. The room is vaulted with simple rectangular vault, which ribs end on different kinds of brackets. The chapel is lightened by a window on the south side and geometric tracery. Tower The tower has a wooden gallery with an arcade on the sixth storey. Roof The roof of the church is the result of the reconstruction in the 1880s. The nave and the presbytery have a gable roof. The south nave has a very shallow aisle roof covered with metal sheets. Floor Floors in the main and side aisle and in both southern chapels are made of stoneware tiles laid in concrete. Ground plan of the St Giles Altars • Main Neo-Gothic altar of St. Giles (1888) • Gothic winged altar of the Nativity (1480–1490) • Gothic winged altar Vir Dolorum (1500–1510) • Gothic winged altar of the Crucifixion (1480–1490) • Gothic winged altar of Virgin Mary (1505) • Gothic winged altar of St. Apollonia (1490–1510) • Gothic winged altar of the Pietá (1480–1490) • Gothic winged altar of St. Ann (1490–1500) • Gothic winged altar of St. Andrew (1440–1460) • Gothic winged altar of St. Elisabeth of Hungary (1480–1490) • Gothic winged altar of St. Barbara (1450–1470) • Gothic winged altar of Virgin Mary (1485) == References ==