Katedrála svätého Martina / St. Martin's Cathedral - Spišská Kapitula (North-East Slovakia) - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

This Slovak post stamp issued in 2002 depicts one of the most valuable sacral structures in Spiš region of Slovakia, seat of Roman Catholic diocese of Spiš (Spišská diecéza), and also a part of UNESCO World Heritage site - Romanesque-Gothic St. Martin's Cathedral (Katedrála sv. Martina) in Spišská Kapitula.

The St. Martin's Cathedral is a great example of the development of individual architectural styles. The first phase of construction of this church was the Romanesque phase of the 13th century (1245-1273), when the church ground plan was with three naves with transverse nave (transept). Determining construction phase in the development of the look of today's church appeared in 1462-1478 when the church was rebuilt in the Gothic style and extended by extensive sanctuary. The church also got a new arcade and thus obtained a character of a hall church with three naves. A chapel was erected at the south wall of the church by Zapolsky family in 1493-1499. Various Baroque modifications took place in the second half of the 18th century. The last stage of the church's structural modifications took place in the late 19th century. The oldest and most valuable monument of the church is Romanesque sculpture White Lion (Leo Albus), which is the only surviving Romanesque sculpture of its kind in Slovakia.

St. Martin's Cathedral and whole Spišská Kapitula (in ENG: Spiš Chapter; nowadays part of town Spišské Podhradie) entered the UNESCO World Heritage list as a part of site "Levoca, Spiš Castle and the associated cultural monuments" in 1993.