Background
The Gothic Evangelical church in Štítnik, in the Rožňava district of eastern Slovakia's Gemer region, is regarded as one of the crown jewels of Gemer's historic churches, prized for rare epitaphs, a late-Renaissance altar and mural paintings from the 14th and 15th centuries. A new project titled A Journey Through the Middle Ages (Cesta stredovekom) reinterprets the monument through virtual reality.
The deployment
The experience lets visitors become "time travellers," moving through different periods of the church's development and discovering its architectural transformations and original fresco decoration in a recreated medieval atmosphere. Through interactive elements, users can meet the artists behind the murals, uncover the symbolism in their work, and adjust the scope and depth of the information presented to their own interests.
Digitising the church
The project is built on detailed digital scans of the church's interior decoration. Beyond the visitor-facing tour, this digital record forms an archive intended to support future expert historical research, helping specialists and the public alike examine aspects of the building's construction and artistic heritage that a conventional visit might overlook.
Funding and access
The initiative received €13,000 through the Terra Incognita grant programme run by the Košice Self-Governing Region. It was officially presented in the village in June 2026. Because the church itself is closed for reconstruction from 1 June 2026 until 31 December 2027, the virtual tour is available at the Gothic Route Information Office near the church, keeping the monument accessible to visitors during the works.
Significance
Regional officials, quoted below, framed the Gemer churches as a European cultural asset and highlighted the project's combination of comprehensiveness and interactivity as the basis for a modern way of presenting medieval heritage.
