History
The church was built in the twenties of the fourteenth century, more or less at the time of the foundation of the village itself, whose name comes from the dedication of the temple. About half a century later, the first reconstruction under which the chancel was changed was made, at the initiative of the zupan of Zvolen, Donč. In 1413 nearby Banská Bystrica was visited by bishop Benedykt, vicar of the Esztergom archbishop John III, who gave the temple indulgences, and then in 1473 another Esztergom vicar, Michael Milkoviensis, gave another. Thanks to the prosperity and mining of Bystrica, these subsidies ensured development and funds for further reconstructions, lasting until 1516. Then vaults of the nave and presbytery were created, as well as new Gothic windows. In the restless 17th century, during the anti-Habsburg uprisings and the threat from the Turks, the church was fortified with a stone wall with shooting holes.
Architecture
The original church from the fourteenth century consisted of a rectangular nave, and a square chancel in the east. Additionally, on the north side there was a sacristy with a rectangular shape and one small window. Reconstruction in the second half of the fourteenth century transformed the old chancel of the church into the present polygonal, Gothic one.
The nave was about 14 meters long and 8.6 meters high. It was supported by 6 internal and 2 external buttresses, probably added after the vaults were established in the 15th century. Its lighting was provided by four Gothic windows: one of which was pierced on the west side, and the other three from the south. They were filled with rich tracery with motifs of, among others, trefoils and fish bladders. The entire northern wall of the nave was devoid of openings and windows, while the chancel windows, compared to that in nave, received narrower and longer openings, which testifies to their earlier creation.
A late-Gothic saddle portal set in the southern wall of the nave and a pointed, moulded western portal led to the interior of the church. Inside, the nave and presbytery were crowned with a beautiful stellar vault from the 15th century, while the sacristy was covered with a cross-rib vault.
bibliography:
Website apsida.sk, Banská Bystrica-Jakub.
Website wikipedia.org, Kostol svätého Jakuba (Banská Bystrica).