History
The church was built at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. Around 1340, its interior was decorated with wall paintings. In the 17th century, it underwent a major Renaissance reconstruction, during which the nave and the chancel were vaulted. The temple was repaired at the end of the 19th century, and in 1905 the murals in the nave were rediscovered. The building was renovated in 2013.
Architecture
St. Philip and James church was erected as a typical small village building, situated on the bank of the stream flowing into the nearby Hron River. It received the form of an early Gothic aisleless building with a square, only slightly narrower chancel on the eastern side, a four-sided tower on the west side and a sacristy on the north side. Originally it was illuminated by very narrow and high windows in the presbytery and nave, as well as by pointed two-light windows on the highest floor of the tower, originally separated by columns. They were placed on three sides, while on the fourth, eastern side, the façade of the tower was pierced with quatrefoil embedded in a circular recess.
Current state
The windows of the tower of the church have preserved the original medieval architectural details have, as well as the rosette on its eastern side. The eastern window of the chancel is also original, but the remaining windows were unfortunately enlarged in the early modern period. Inside, fragments of Gothic wall frescoes on the northern wall of the nave and the chancel arch have been preserved.
bibliography:
Website apsida.sk, Vítkovce.