A
fire towards the end of the 14th century / around 1378-80
/ destroyed the Romanesque-Gothic church,and the townspeople
of Kosice decided to make use of this situation to build
a new, magnificent cathedral. Construction started on
the church some time after 1378.
The
original location of the parish church was not changed,
as it was sacrosanct / Ex.3, 5; Josh. 5,16 / it was
also permanent for other places, and it was for this
reason that the new church was built physically on the
same spot where its predecessor had stood.
The
Cathedral started being built as a five-aisled basilica,
but during construction the plans were changed in such
a way that what emerged was an original, centrally -
arranged, hall-type structure with trasepts in the form
of a Greek cross, eked out with narrower and lower lateral
extensions. With the addition of the transepts the need
arose to create monumental portals not only for the
west end but also for the north and south facades; their
sculptural decoration from the first quarter of the
15th century is a unique piece of heritage, an example
of monumental sculpture with outstanding artistic quality
and of European-scale importance.