St Martin's Cathedral, Coronation Church, Bratislava, Slovak Republic, Europe

Getty Images/Robert Harding World Imagery

St Martin's Cathedral

Top choice in Bratislava


The coronations of 19 royals have taken place within three-nave St Martin's Cathedral, alluded to by the 300kg replica crown atop its spire. The interior of this 14th-century Gothic sanctuary has four chapels dedicated to saints and luminaries, a horseback statue of St Martin, and huge rib vaults and stained-glass windows that lift the gaze.

St Martin's was built on the site of an earlier Romanesque church as part of the city's fortified walls, giving it a stocky appearance, reminiscent of a castle. The 85m Gothic tower was formerly a lookout point.

Ninety-odd graves are concealed 6m beneath the church in its crypts.


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