The Capuchin Church of St. Stephen (Kostelem Nalezeni sv. Krize a Kapucinska) belongs to the Capuchin monastic order and stands just outside the confines of the Old Town of Bratislava, at the north west corner close to Michael's Gate. The church was built in the mid 1700's. Today it has a salmon pink exterior, fronted by a row of statues of various saints. The Baroque church has one nave, and is built in accordance with all the Capuchin churches throughout Europe. This one is dedicated to St Stephen, and a statue of Stephen is installed above the front portico on the outside.

Probably the most famous thing about the church is the crypt, which has a unique micro-climate causing the bodies interred here to mummify rather than decompose. Most of the interred were Capuchin monks, but among the bodies is the corpse of Baron Trenck who died in 1749. He was born Italian nobleman, served as an officer in the Austrian army, and ended up a prisoner in the Spilberk Castle in Moravia (part of the Czech Republic. A portrait of the baron hangs next to his coffin. Many of the bodies here are laid out in glass topped coffins.

Photo 1015, Sept 2008