háromfülkés

Háromfülkés is a Hungarian architectural term used to describe a structure or element that has three niches or recesses. The word combines három (three) and fülke (niche, alcove, cubicle) with the suffix -es to form an adjective meaning “three-niche” or “three-bay.” In practice, the descriptor is most often applied to churches, chapels, or altars where three distinct recessed spaces house statues, reliefs, or devotional imagery.

In architectural and art-historical contexts, a háromfülkés oltár (three-niche altar) or háromfülkés kápolna (three-niche chapel) denotes a design in which the decorative or sculptural program is organized around three separate niches. The arrangement facilitates the display of multiple figures or scenes and is a recognizable trope in certain periods of Hungarian religious architecture.

The term is relatively specialized and commonly appears in scholarly descriptions of medieval or baroque church interiors, where precise terminology helps to characterize the spatial organization and iconographic program. It can also describe other tripartite arrangements featuring three recessed compartments, beyond altars or chapels.

See also: fülke, oltár, kápolna, architektúra.

In English-language scholarship, the concept is typically translated as “three-niche” or “three-bay,” depending on context.