Haris Andrea szerk.: Koldulórendi építészet a középkori Magyarországon Tanulmányok (Művészettörténet - műemlékvédelem 7. Országos Műemlékvédelmi Hivatal,)

Bartos György: Megjegyzések a soproni ferences templom és kolostor építéstörténetéhez

Comments on the Architectural History of the Franciscan Church and Monastery of Sopron György Bartos The structural and functional analysis of the Franciscan Church and Monastery of Sopron, accompanied with observation of the details seems to suggest that the earlier definition of its architectural chronology is questionable. Although the argument for the year 1280 given as the approximate date of construction, together with the stylistic connections with Kassa (Kosice), Pozsony (Bratislava), and Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia), continue to be convincing, the differences of the details of the chancel suggest a change in the design in the course of construction; the hypothetical earlier vaulting of the nave was never in fact realized, as some kind of a wooden roof structure was used right until its replacement with the present vaulting. Concerning the vaulting of the monastery we accept József Csemegi's view. According to him at the time of construction of the church the chapter-house was already extended with three chapels and decorated with wall-paintings. The flat ceiling of the chapter-house was replaced with vaulting shortly before 1340, in preparation for the provincial chapter. In my view, the present form of the building was the result of the great construction work between 1380 and 1400; after pulling down the north wall of the nave, the lower, rectangular block of the tower and the new wall of the nave with the narrow windows were built; then the nave was vaulted, and the octagonal part of the tower with the spire were added finally. The details suggest some connections with Vienna, Wiener Neustadt, and Pozsony (Bratislava). After the erection of the tower, the main front of the church was shifted from the west side to the north side facing the main square of the town. The interior was rearranged accordingly. In the nave separated from the chancel by an arched screen, a new axis was created in the north-south direction, which spanned from the representation of the Veiled Virgin Mary painted inside the tympanum above the new entrance right to the pulpit with its door opening into the cloister and was further emphasized by the canopied sculptures of the nave pillars. The canopied sculptures imitate the vaulting of the nave and the tower. The room on the first-floor level of the tower, opening into the nave through a large arch probably served as the gallery of the advowee. The patrons of this huge construction work (who were probably also the advowee of the church right until the 15th century) could well have been members of the patrician Gaissel family of Sopron, of whom the most likely person was Miklós Gaissel, who acted as the sheriff and the mayor of the town for a long time, and whose in-laws included the Archbishop of Esztergom (from whom he inherited several villages) and the sheriff of Vienna. He had enough resources to enable him to put up the funds necessary for the construction, and he also had family connection to import the most up-to-date architectural methods; in addition, he was the one who could uniquely combine his personal (family) representation with the town's representation through the erection of the tower. The tower became the principal feature of Fő tér (the town's main square), with the irradiation of its typical elements (the portal, the spire, etc.) broadly felt in the architecture of the area around the town.