Monuments - Silická Jablonica - Gothic Church of the Holy Cross

The Gothic Church of the Holy Cross was built at the central part of the village. It stands on a high ground as the village’s most emblematic building. Its size backs up the assertion that Silická Jablonica was much more populated in the past than it is today. Aside from its basic purpose it served as a place of pilgrimage as well. On the Day of St. Peter and St. Paul, whom the church’s altar is dedicated to, a pilgrimage is held here, when people of Silicka Jablonica and the neighboring settlements like Hrusov, Jablonov nad Turnou and the currently extinct village of Derenk come to pay their respects and pray.
According to data from the Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic the church originates from the 1500s. The first written mention of Silická Jablonica from 1386 allows to assume that the village is much older. Based on this fact the Church of the Holy Cross presumably wasn’t the first one in Silická Jablonica, but remains of no other church were found and there is virtually no information regarding an exact place. In the 18th and 19th centuries the local fruit-growing and wine-making region was dominated by the Andrássy family. The church’s restoration to its current form was funded by them as well. Unfortunately, the reconstruction was quite insensitive to the original architecture and it resulted in complete disappearance of the original Gothic style. The church’s style is classified nowadays as Neo-Gothic, although it is quite atypical. Compared to Catholic churches in general the interior is relatively austere. Noteworthy is the large wooden gallery. There is a historical document in the altar from 1871 reporting about the Andrássy family’s contribution to the church’s reconstruction.
Currently the Church of the Holy Cross belongs to the Roman Catholic parsonage in Jablonov nad Turnou, but keys can be acquired from the municipal office in Silicka Jablonica.