Štítnik Evangelical Church

Štítnik has a Gothic hall church of the fourteenth century, large for a village of its size because the place was rich on iron, and its interior carries wall paintings of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries that were whitewashed over during the Reformation and uncovered again in the twentieth. Italian and Central European influence both show in them. The church also holds an organ of 1723. It is one of the churches on the Gothic Route through Gemer.

What to look for

• The wall paintings - fourteenth and fifteenth-century frescoes uncovered from whitewash.
• The hall church - a large Gothic interior for a small village.
• The 1723 organ - an eighteenth-century instrument still in the church.
• The Gothic Route - the regional trail linking the medieval churches of Gemer.

When to go

April to October is the main season. The church is locked and a keyholder opens it; arrangements are made in the village or in advance. Winter access is limited.

What to expect

The church is locked and getting in depends on finding the keyholder, which can take time. The frescoes are faded in places and the light inside is dim. The village has few facilities.

Nearby

Roznava is southeast, and Betliar is east.