History
The early Gothic church was built in the 1270s on the site of an older Romanesque rotunda from the 12th century and an even older cemetery from the 11th century. The village of Martin was mentioned in 1284 and then the church must already exist.
During the Gothic period, the church was rebuilt and extended many times. In the mid-fourteenth century, the vaults above the nave were finished, and in the 50s and 60s of the 15th century, the building was repaired after Martin burned down in 1433. A little later, construction began on the northern chapel, which was completed in 1523. The architectural development of the building practically ended in the 17th century with the addition of a western Renaissance porch.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the church suffered from fires several times, including in 1718, 1843 and 1881, requiring reconstruction and minor corrections. During the renovation after the fire in 1881, the wall around the church was removed and replaced with a new one four years later. At the beginning of the 20th century, the building received a new roof. Repairs were also carried out in 1981-1988.
Architecture
The original church was a single-nave building with a straight-ended chancel on the eastern side, a small tower in the west (raised after 1433) and a sacristy added a little later on the northern side. In the first years of the 16th century, a northern and southern chapels were built.
Inside, a single presbytery bay was topped with a cross vault with ribs fastened with a small boss with an eight-petalled rose and falling in the corners onto quite massive shafts with capitals. The cross-ribbed vault of the nave was set on low-hung corbels. Originally there was a gallery in its western part. Late Gothic chapels were opened to the nave with large arcades.
bibliography:
Website apsida.sk, Martin.