Franciscan Monastery, Church and Crypts (below the church)

When the Balassa family line died out in 1621, Malacky came into the Pálffy family’s possession. Pál Pálffy’s (IV) forceful re-catholicisation in the area, including ordering the construction of the Franciscan monastery and church with its underground crypts. The monastery was given to the Franciscans in 1653. The church still had no altar, organ or pulpit at this time, so it was only consecrated in December 1660 by Csanád (Chanad) bishop, Tamás Pálffy. The church is connected to the monastery by both corridors and the gallery. The church’s nave is Baroque in style. It is girded by chapels at the sides and closed in the front by the sanctuary where the main altar is located. An epitaph of Miklós Pálffy (V) is situated on the left of the sanctuary, created in his memory by his grandchildren, Lipót, Miklós and Rudolf. Johann Nikolaus Moll is named as the work’s creator. When entering the church, every visitor is stopped in their tracks by the stunning 18th-century, carved wooden high altar, which is painted and richly gilded. Like the church, the altar was also consecrated in the honour of the immaculate conception. This is also evidenced by the central motif of the rear, decorative part – a larger than life-size statue of the Virgin Mary (the immaculate conception).