Can anybody reveal the location of this Slovakian Photo?

Question

Hi, this picture was taken when a relative of mine ( who has since passed away) was holidaying in Slovakia....

I would greatly love what the background building is, and who/what is the story behind the statue?

Best answer rewarded to first correct answer, Thank you!!!

http://www.theforumsite.com/images/galleries/full_9651a79305edbd2cffa6d76c1601972a.jpg

Answer 1

La Fee Fan just took my breath away....

a great answer

Answer 2

The background building is the castle (Hrad) of Bratislava. The statue is of Saint Elizabeth.

Elizabeth of Thuringia, daughter of Hungarian king Andrew II. (1205 - 1235) was born in 1207 in Bratislava. At the age of 4 she was engaged with Ludwig IV, son of the Thuringia landgrave Hermann. Ceremonies were held in Bratislava in 1211.

The couple was married nine years later. Elizabeth had 3 children. All her life she was helping the poor and the sick. In 1228 she confessed devotion to serve the poor. She died in 1231 and because of being devoted lifelong friend of the poor and entirely devoted to relieving the hungry she was canonized only four years after her death. Saint Elizabeth is today patron saint of Hesse and Thuringia in Germany, patron of charity circles, widows, orphans and the poor.

Cult of Saint Elizabeth was very strong in Bratislava. There were two churches built that bear her name. Primate Imrich Eszterházy ordered a project of Elizabethan church and hospital from Austrian architect Franz Anton Pilgram, decoration was made by Paul Troger. Feminine Elizabethan order was established by Elizabeth of Thuringia in Germany in 1229.

Sisters of the order were nurses in hospitals, cared for poor. In Bratislava the order operated since 1420 and the Elizabethan church is considered as one of the most beautiful Baroque sacral monuments in Slovakia.

Second church connected to Elizabethan order is the pastorate church of St. Elizabeth, generally known as Modrý kostolík (Blue church). The church was painted blue together with the nearby school building at Grösslingova street. The compound was built according to the project of architect Edmund Lerchner in 1906.

Statue at the castle

Statue of Saint Elizabeth at Bratislava Castle was blessed by Jan Sokol, Archbishop, metropolitan of Bratislava - Trnava Parish. Statue comes from Italian artist Norberto Sadei. The ceremony was attended by several political representatives as well as by sisters of the Elizabethan orders from around Europe.