Places to visit

Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Ružomberok

The Roman-Catholic Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which is in the administration of the Jesuit Order, was built in 1806 as a supplementary construction to the Piarist College.

It is situated in the centre of the town, at A. Hlinka Square, closing the square from the end opposite to the town hall building.

It is a part of the Piarist College complex, along with the Piarist monastery and the building of the former “Realschule” state grammar school.

Inside the church, visitors can view the paintings by Jozef Hanula with his characteristic creative expression. Perhaps the first thing that a visitor of the church notices is the painting located in the sanctuary area, above the altar. The scene is linked to the educational activities of the Piarists in Ružomberok, with a foreground depiction of the founder of the Order, St. Jozef Kalazanský, surrounded by children brought to him by an angel. The background depicts the building of the Ružomberok’s Piarist grammar school. The flying angels in the central area are carrying coat-of-arms shields with the symbol of Ružomberok (a rose) and the Piarist Order (with the name cryptogram of Virgin Mary). Depicted on the right is the church and the figures of a Piarist and an angel with a torch.  Depicted on the arch of the sanctuary is the Holy Trinity on the clouds, with two angels on the sides. Another field of the sanctuary’s arch depicts Hanula’s favourite theme, the Adoration of the Sacrament of the Altar by a couple of angels.

Noteworthy are also the stone statues of St. Ján Nepomucký and St. Jozef Kalazanský made by sculptor Alexander Belopotocký, located on the front facade of the church.

The church was built with the financial aid from Andrej Zvada – Paračka, Ružomberok’s townsman and entrepreneur. It is built in the Empire style. The main altar was gifted for the church by Koloman Belopotocký, bishop from Veľký Varadín, in 1902. In 2011, a new pipe organ was installed in the church, replacing the former one from 1883.