History
The original romanesque church of St. John was built in the first half of the 13th century. Its consecration took place in 1243. In the sixteenth century, it was rebuilt in the late-Gothic style. Probably then the tower received an octagonal superstructure. Further modifications and renovations were made in the nineteenth century, when the sacristy and outbuildings were added on both sides of the tower.
Architecture
The Romanesque church was an orientated, single-nave temple with a four-sided tower on the west side located on the axis of the facade and a presbytery on the eastern side of unknown appearance. It is also unknown whether the gallery was on the first floor of the tower, but it ground floor was open with a pointed arch to the nave. The ground floor of the tower was covered with a cross vault with prismatic ribs not fastened with a boss.
During the sixteenth-century reconstruction, two four-sided pillars were inserted into the nave, which resulted in a two-aisle structure, additionally supported from the outside with buttresses. On the eastern side, a narrower, three-side ended chancel was also erected. The church was surrounded by a stone wall since the mid-16th century, and a roofed staircase led to a rather steep hill.
bibliography:
Mencl V., Stredoveká architektúra na Slovensku, Praha 1937.
Website banskabela.sk, Farský kostol sv. Jána apoštola a evanjelistu v Banskej Belej.