Churches, Roman-Catholic

Church of the Holy Trinity

  • Slovak Name: Kostol Najsvätejšej Trojice / Premonštrátny kostol
  • Location: Main Street
  • Confession: Roman-Catholic
  • Foundation: 1681
  • Style: Baroque
  • Initially a Jesuit church (Jezuitský kostol)

Where now the Church of the Holy Trinity is located, originally stood the Kammerhof from the late Middle Ages, serving as a royal residence, later as the seat of royal officials, and during the anti-Habsburg uprisings as the seat of the Hungarian nobility. During the re-catholicisation in 1607, the Jesuits received their own living quarters with a chapel in the courtyard. This was at that time the only provisional Catholic church in the Protestant Košice.

However, it did not last long and during another anti-Habsburg uprising, the last three Catholic priests were murdered on the night of September 6th/7th 1619. These priests are known today as the Holy Martyrs of Košice (sv. košickí mučeníci). With the new attempts at re-catholicisation, some Jesuits were again called to Košice in 1650, who, in addition to their spiritual mission, also pursued pedagogical goals and established a college. In 1654 Emperor Ferdinand III. gifted the building to the Jesuit order as compensation for the murder of the three martyrs. The Kammerhof was only demolished in 1671 and a new church was built in its place, which was consecrated to the Holy Trinity after ten years of construction.

Next to the church, Bishop Benedikt Kisdy had a university built in 1657 and managed by the Jesuits. The college was also incorporated and transformed into a Jesuit high school. Accordingly, the church was also called the University Church (Univerzitný kostol). After the dissolution of the Jesuit order in 1773, the building was administered by the parish office, and the university, as well as the grammar school, were nationalised. In the 1780s, other religious orders were dissolved, including the Premonstratensians. The reason why the Trinity Church now belongs to the Premonstratensian Order is also related to the Hungarian educational system. In 1802 the Premonstratensian order was renewed, under the condition that they, in addition to their religious activities, participate in the royal-imperial school system. So it was that in 1811 the canons taught at the Royal Academy in Košice and administered it with the Royal Convict. The order thus received not only the academic buildings, but also the church.