Museum of History

On the first floor of Bratislava Castle, in the "anteroom" of the chapel, the Slovak National Museum – Historical Museum presents the Baroque retable of the main altar from the Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Dravce.

In this exceptional installation, visitors are allowed immediate contact with the altar retable as a comprehensive work of art, which often serves as the ideological center of sacred space. Through its construction and arrangement, they can explore its multilayered nature, which encompasses a whole spectrum of artistic and artisanal creation alongside its ideological and iconographic elements: the painter's ability to depict biblical stories or moments from the life of a saint on the canvas of the altar paintings, the sculptor's skill in addressing the visual program of monumental architectural altar ensembles with rich sculptural and relief features, the carpenter's proficiency in realizing the complex structure of these interior monuments, and the work of various artistic and craftsmasters who provide the final decorative surface finishes such as polychromy, glazing, marbling, gilding, and so on.

The retable is also interesting for its use of historicism, incorporating elements from a century-old altar—such as the central edicule and the sculpture of St. Michael defeating the demon—into a new altar concept in the second half of the 18th century.

The retable itself has a poignant history. The Historical Museum acquired it in 1968, during the completion of the first modern reconstruction of Bratislava Castle (1950s–1960s), when it had not fulfilled its purpose for ten years. At that time, it was intended to be part of the chapel's furnishings at Bratislava Castle. This represented a unique and natural way to address the preservation of a cultural monument that was at risk of extinction. However, due to a change in the concept of the chapel's use, which ultimately became a Music Hall, the retable remained in storage as a collection item. It was gradually restored, a financially demanding project for the museum that was completed only with the current castle reconstruction.

Despite everything, the retable from the main altar of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in the anteroom of the castle chapel provides visitors with knowledge and an extraordinary experience of viewing from various perspectives.

PhDr. Hana Kližanová, curator of art painting and sculpture