Levoča

Template:Infobox Slovak town Levoča (Hungarian: Lőcse, German: Leutschau) is a town in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia with a population of 14,000. The town has a historic center with a well-preserved town wall, a Renaissance church with the highest wooden altar in the world, carved by Master Paul of Levoča, and many other Renaissance buildings.

History

The region was inhabited as early as in the Stone Age. After the Mongol invasions of 1241/1242, the area was settled by German colonists. The oldest written reference to Levoča dates back to 1249. In 1317, Levoča received the status of a royal town. In the 15th century the town, located on an intersection of trade routes, became a rich centre of commerce. The town kept this status until the end of 16th century, in spite of two damaging fires in 1550 and 1599. In this period of prosperity several churches were built and the town had a school, library, pharmacy and physicians. There was a printing press in Levoča since 1624. Levoča was a centre of the Protestant Reformation in Slovakia. The town started to decline during the anti-Habsburg uprisings in the 17th century. The economic importance of the town was further diminished in 1871 when a new important railway line was built, bypassing Levoča and leading through the nearby town of Spišská Nová Ves.

On July 3, 1995 Levoča was visited by Pope John Paul II. He celebrated a mass for 650,000 at the traditional pilgrim site of Mariánska hora just outside the town.

Sights

The old town is picturesquely sited and still surrounded by most of its ancient walls. The town square boasts three major monuments; the quaint Old Town Hall (15th-17th century) which now contains a museum, the Lutheran church (1837) and the 14th century Church of St. Jacob. This houses a magnificent gothic carved and painted wooden altar, the largest in Europe, (18.62 m. in height), created by Master Paul around 1520. The square is generally very well preserved (despite one or two modern incursions) and contains a number of striking buildings which were the town-houses of the local nobility in the late middle ages.