Slovakia will have an encyclopedia of its churches on DVD

BANSKÁ BYSTRICA - The Encyclopedia of Slovak Churches on DVD has begun to be prepared in collaboration with the regional development agency in Rimavská Sobota by the company Digital Art in Fiľakovo. The encyclopedia, which will contain descriptions, histories, and several photographs of each building, is expected to be completed by the end of this year. To date, the first hundred buildings from the Banskobystrický region have been documented, said Štefan Bodor, director of Digital Art, to ČTK.
"A large number of churches, for which there is no money for repairs, are deteriorating right before our eyes; some are thus condemned to extinction. Our project aims to preserve these buildings for the future at least in digital form," Bodor said.
The mapping of individual buildings began in the Banskobystrický region. Since the entire initiative was launched in November of last year, churches in more than a hundred out of 570 municipalities have been documented. The Regional Development Agency in Rimavská Sobota has also promised further assistance in gathering data from other regions. According to agency worker Xenia Husárová, the project will contribute to the development of rural tourism.
"Many visitors to Slovakia are not even aware of many interesting buildings," Husárová states. An example is the evangelical churches from the time of Turkish dominance, where a Turkish crescent moon is depicted instead of a cross on their towers. These buildings can be found in municipalities like Španie Pole, Budikovany, Nadraž, and Šivetice.
Bodor believes that the set deadline for the publication of the church encyclopedia by the end of the year will be met. However, it depends on how long the review of the work by heritage experts will take. The extent of the work is evident in that there are 1599 churches listed in the register of cultural monuments of Slovakia alone. Hundreds more are on the periphery of public interest.