We confess we don’t know how to convey our emotions to you, since about a month ago we were contacted by Archduchess Paola Von Habsburg-Lorraine from Luxembourg with an undisguised interest to visit the 12 churches of the Gothic Route. Thanks to our communication, the circle of visitors expanded from the original four people to ten, including the Archduke of Austria and Prince Karl Philipp Habsburg-Lorraine of Hungary and Bohemia with his wife Annie-Claire and his younger brother, Archduke István Habsburg-Lorraine with his wife Paola, who organised the whole excursion. On Friday and Saturday last week, our team of six had the honour of accompanying the representatives of the noble families of de Temesvár, Degenfeld and Machay.
We started the program on the Gothic Route in Rimavská Baná, where the honorable guests were welcomed by the mayor Elena Polóniová and accompanied in the church by the parish priest Janka Miháliková, who continued with us to Rimavské Brezovo. In Kyjatice and Kraskovo, we were guided by a young enthusiast Slavomír Kujan. After lunch, we continued to Plešivec, where the guests were welcomed by the local guide and the mayor Iveta Šušánová and the local historian László Kardos. Then we moved on to Štítnik, where the guests met with Mrs. Jana Hrivniaková, the parish priest. They had the opportunity to see the church just before its closure due to a multi-year complex restoration.
On the second day of the visit to the Gothic Route we continued in our home church in Henckovce, where we talked about the beginnings of the work on the restoration of the sacral heritage of the region and the story of our association. The expedition, which together numbered sixteen people, then visited the church in Koceľovce, where we were welcomed by activist Diana Semanová. This was followed by a visit to the church in Ochtiná, where the guests were introduced to the ongoing archaeological research by the archaeologist Zuzana Poláková in the presence of deacon Martin Dudáš.
After lunch we moved to the rotunda in Šivetice and then to Kameňany, where the guests were warmly welcomed by the pastor Ivan Bojna, sub-warden Ďuriška and members of the church congregation. This was followed by a tour of the church in Rákoš and before sunset we visited the church in Rybník, which was not part of the original plan. Mr. Vančík, the pastor, spoke about the ongoing restoration.
With their cordiality, refinement, historical insight and the precision with which they had studied the individual churches in advance, the distinguished guests convinced us of their sincere interest in our common spiritual and cultural heritage. It was a pleasure to give them a powerful experience by visiting the treasures of the Gothic Route. We would like to thank the owners of the monuments, the members of the church congregations and the representatives of the municipalities for their helpfulness and assistance in organizing the excursion, as well as the providers of all the services. We believe that this visit is the beginning of a long-term fruitful partnership.
Návšteva kostola v Koceľovciach
Návšteva kostola v Kraskove, naľavo Karl Philipp Habsbursko-Lotrinský, napravo Annie-Claire Habsbursko-Lotrinská, uprastred István Habsbursko-Lotrinský a sediaca v pozadí jeho manželka Paola Habsbursko-Lotrinská
István Habsbursko-Lotrinský a Annie-Claire Habsbursko-Lotrinská počas návštevy kostola v Plešivci
Prehliadka kostola v Rybníku, uprostred arcivojvodkyňa Annie-Claire Habsbursko-Lotrinská, napravo administrátor, p. farár Vladimír Vančík
Karl Philipp Habsbursko-Lotrinský pri vstupe do kostola v Henckovciach
István Habsbursko-Lotrinský (v popredí ) s archeologičkou Zuzanou Polákovou v Ochtinej, kde prebieha archeologický výskum
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Karl Philipp Habsbursko-Lotrinský (uprostred), jeho manželka Annie-Claire Habsbursko-Lotrinská (s kyticou) v spoločnosti kamenianskeho administrátora, p. farára Ivana Bojnu, p. poddozorcu Ďurišku a členiek miestneho zboru
Vzácni hostia pred kostolom v Ochtinej