Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (also known as Elisabeth of Thuringia, 1207–1231) was the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary and his first wife Gertrude, and, according to legend, was born in Pressburg Castle. She married Count Ludwig IV of Thuringia. Elizabeth used her wealth to support the poor and sick, which brought her into conflict with Ludwig's relatives after his death. She is typically associated with roses according to a famous legend in which Elizabeth, when carrying food to the poor, was scolded by a landlord who asked her what she had in her apron. Elizabeth, not wanting to admit what she was doing, replied that she was carrying roses. At that moment, all the baked goods in her apron changed into real flowers.
One of the modern monuments dedicated to St Elizabeth erected in Bratislava, her alleged birthplace, is located centrally on the second highest eastern terrace of the Bratislava Castle complex. Its placement was made possible "thanks to representatives of the Sisters of St Elizabeth from all over Europe".
The bronze work, which is not of significant artistic value, was conceived by the sculptor Norbert Sadei from South Tyrol as a realistically represented traditional scene. St Elizabeth, depicted standing in contrapposto wearing a richly draped gown, hands bread to a beggar with her right hand while her left hand holds a bouquet of roses – a symbol of the famous miracle. The beggar, in a semi-reclining position at her feet and looking up at the saint, clasps a crutch in his left hand and raises his right hand towards the bread. Both figures are portrayed life-size on a low bronze profiled pedestal. The work rests on an irregular granite base embellished at the lower end of the beggar's crutch by a large bronze bouquet of roses.
The front of the granite base bears a bronze plaque sculpted as an open scroll with a raised upper-case inscription:
"Elizabeth of Thuringia
1207–1231
Daughter of King Andrew II and his
wife Gertrude, spent her childhood at
Bratislava Castle. At the age of four, she was sent to Wartburg Castle.
In 1221, she married Ludwig of Thuringia,
and after his death, she was expelled from the castle.
In 1228, she took a vow of poverty. For her
life filled with love for her neighboUrs, the poor, and the sick, she was canoniSed in 1235.
The sisters of Saint Elizabeth venerate her as
their patroness. "
Standing on grass beside the monument is another bronze plaque sculpted as an open scroll on which a similar raised upper-case text is inscribed in English, Hungarian, and German.
The monument was blessed on 24 August 2001.
A further sculpture of St Elizabeth, created by the sculptor Sadei, was in 2001 erected in the premises of the Preventive Centre of the St Elizabeth Cancer Institute in Bratislava.
PB
Research status as of 20. 06. 2023.