Articular church, Kežmarok

The Articular church in Kežmarok is a wooden church in Kežmarok, Slovakia. The local Lutherans built it following a period of religious persecution, when in 1681 the Congress of Sopron permitted Lutherans, in articles 26 and 27 of an agreement, to erect two churches in each of eleven counties of the Kingdom of Hungary, nine of which are in present-day Slovakia. The churchers were to be made of the cheapest possible materials - this meant wood; even nails were made exclusively of wood. The construction was financially supported by Protestants from various countries, including Sweden and Denmark. The only stone part of the church is its sacristy, originally built in 1593 as a pub outside the city walls. In the 17th century, the Roman Catholic dynasty of Habsburgs persecuted Protestantism in the Habsburg monarchy, which included territory of present Slovakia at that time. The number of churches was limited to one in each free royal town, Kežmarok being one of them. The construction material had to be the cheapest possible (wood at that time) and a church had to be completed in 365 days.