The Franciscan Church (Slovak: Františkánsky kostol or Kostol Zvestovania Pána) is the oldest existing religious (sacral) building in the Old Town of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The church was consecrated in the year 1297 in the presence of King Andrew III of Hungary. In the past, the church building served for larger gatherings of townspeople or Hungarian nobles. In 1526 Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor was elected here to become the King of Hungary. During coronations, kings used to knight nobles as Knights of the Order of the Golden Spur in this church. The building was damaged several times by fire and earthquake and only a small part of its original form is preserved, most notably the presbytery. The adjacent Chapel of Saint John the Evangelist with a crypt, built in the second half of the 14th century is considered one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in the city. History Legend has it that the church was built by the King Ladislaus IV of Hungary to commemorate his victory over the Czech King (Přemysl) Ottokar II of Bohemia from the year 1278. It was constructed in Bratislava (known as Pressburg / Poszony for most of its history) between 1280 and 1297 in a Gothic style and consecrated by King Andrew III on 24 March 1297. It was turned into a Renaissance church in the 17th century and into a Baroque church in the 18th century. Selected persons were knighted here in the 16th - 19th centuries as Knights of the Golden Spur, each time when kings of Royal Hungary/the Kingdom of Hungary were crowned in the Cathedral of St Martin, also located within the walled city. Two chapels and a Franciscan monastery from the 14th century stand adjacent to the church. One of them, the St. John the Evangelist Chapel, contains a crypt of the family of Jakub, an important Mayor () of Pressburg (Bratislava), modelled after the French Sainte Chapelle. The spacious rooms of the monastery have been used for meetings, mayoral elections and sessions of the Regional Parliament. Interior The main altar is flanked by statues of Saint Stephan and Saint Emeric. It is a bricked pillared construction, dating 1720-1730, above which stands a glass painting from the end of the 19th century, representing the Annunciation. Two of the side altars are dedicated to the saints Francis of Assisi and Anthony of Padua; both date