Robe and Anolis light up Gothic cathedral
Published: WORSHIP
WORLD: The Gothic cathedral of St Elizabeth in Košice, Slovak Republic, was the centrepiece of the opening ceremony for the city’s year as European Capital of Culture, with a lighting scheme featuring Robe and Anolis LED fixtures.
The two-day event featured 1,000 artists performing in 70 locations around the city. The cathedral, the largest in Slovakia, dating back to 1230, and accommodating 5,000 people, was lit for the entire time, providing a backdrop for the event’s finale.
Branislav Bernár from Showmedia, which produced the opening ceremony, approached Anolis’s Czech based brand manager, Petr Kolmačka to assist in developing his concept. Kolmačka added plans to highlight the whole cathedral exterior in an energy efficient LED scheme.
‘I knew this was an opportunity to illuminate a unique building and illustrate exactly what can be achieved by using modern LED technology on beautiful, historic architecture,’ said Mr Kolmačka.
The lighting scheme used 18 City Scape Xtreme wireless fixtures with nine degree lenses, six Anolis ArcPad Xtremes with a mixture of nine and 22 degree lenses, 18 Robe CitySource 96 Integrals, six Robe CitySkape 48s, 32 lengths of Anolis ArcLine Outdoor Optic 80 MC/SW 27° and eight Anolis ArcPower 384 rack-mount of Robe RUnit WTX wireless data.
Half the fixtures were run via Lumen Radio wireless DMX to reducing cabling and the time needed for setup. Larger surfaces were lit with the ArcPad Xtremes, while individual columns and detailed Gothic features were picked out using the CitySkape 96s. The areas between the columns were highlighted with the ArcLine 80 MC/SWs, and the roof was shaded with the same ArcLine fixtures. The lights were programmed and run using a grandMA2 light console.
With just three weeks to carry out the project after the scheme was confirmed, Kolmačka employed the services of Q-99 from Slovakia and AV Media from the Czech Republic in a cross rental agreement to provide the kit.
The ceremony, attended by approximately 60,000 people including Slovakian president Ivan Gašparovič, and a host of other politicians, dignitaries and VIPs, was broadcast live by national broadcaster RTVS.
Discussions are now underway regarding a permanent lighting installation for the cathedral, in response to around 300 calls a day to the council asking why St Elizabeth’s was no longer lit.