MATTHIAS CHURCH, Budapest Overview

Located at the centre of Budapest’s Castle District, and opposite Fisherman’s Bastion, Matthias church is known to be the most unique in Europe. Also, a museum, The church inside is painted in warm colours of yellow, orange, brown, and golden, constructed in Gothic style.

, this church is approximately 700 years old. It was inaugurated. The inner beauty it holds surpasses the expectations of many visitors as it holds a very modern style of build. This is not just a church but a museum as well. The church has hosted many coronation ceremonies, royal weddings, and baptisms in the past. Due to so much being witnessed by Budapest in terms of wars and violence, not much has been left of the church that was initially constructed.The graceful Gothic architecture and building from the outside give the church a very traditional look, but when one enters they experience a whole new definition of beauty. It was originally constructed in a Romanesque style. etc. It was originally founded by St. Stephen in 1015 after the Virgin Mary. The Matyas Templom was the second largest church of Budapest and the seventh largest church of the medieval Hungarian Kingdom. The church today is home to the Ecclesiastical Art Museum. The museum holds many medieval age artefacts, sculptures and paintings.

HISTORY

The Matthias church holds a long and complex history. The church created by St. Stephen was destroyed by the Mongols. In 1242 when the Mongols left hungary, King Bela IV rebuilt this church. Ever since its genesis this church has witnessed two weddings of King Matthias, coronation ceremonies of two Habsburg kings and many other royal functions.

In the late 15th century, King Matthias Corvinus renovated the church by expanding and remodelling it, the bell tower being a highlight. After his efforts, the church became a main hub for important events like weddings. After the capture of Budapest by the Turks, this church was transformed into the city’s main mosque. For over 150 years, this church was taken as a mosque and all the major paintings, artefacts and furnishings were taken away or devoured. Most of the other churches were destroyed by them except this. Finally, with the offset of the 17th Century, the Ottoman Empire in Buda faded away and they had to leave Hungary. Then the church was rebuilt in a new Baroque fashion. In the late 19th century the church was restored by Frigyes Schulek in a Neo-Gothic style. And lastly, a 9.4 million HUF cost was borne by the government to restore the church in the 20th century which was destroyed by the German troops and Soviet around 1945.

Today the church stands beautifully in the city receiving thousands of pilgrims and tourists every day. All the major functions are celebrated here.

STRUCTURE- MAIN FEATURES

The church has 7 bells, out of which 6 hang on the bell tower and the remaining one on the cavalry tower. What gives the church an even more impeccable look is the roof of the church which is covered with Zsolnay tiles. The oldest part of the church is the mary gate which dates back to the 14th century and still stands the same at the foot of the bell tower. The bell tower is the main feature of the church which stands 60m high. It contains the bells which ring at different hours. The heaviest bell weighs 3.2 tons and rings at noon. One can climb to the lower terrace of the bell tower and enjoy the cityscape, but it allows only 15 people at once and costs about 1800 HUF. The Bela tower is a tower named after King Bela IV and has multicoloured Gothic themed roof tiles. The St. Stephen Chapel has the seven frescos on the walls and twelve windows showing Hungarian saints. The royal staircase has a replica of the Holy Crown of Hungary and the original is kept on display inside the church. There is also a tomb of King Bela and his wife which has the remains of their bodies bought in 1860. Other features of the church to look out for are: Saint Imre chapel, Loreto chapel, the crypt, museum of Ecclesiastical Art etc.

EVENTS

The church holds various events like orchestras and musical evenings almost every month. A visitor should always keep an eye on the shows by Matthias Church Choir and Orchestra as they are the oldest in the business and worth watching. Another group known as Hungarian virtuosi orchestra gives shows around twice a month, with tickets costing 3900 HUF per head.

A classical music evening is hosted by the church where the Solti chamber orchestra performs opera and other traditional forms of music. They perform romantic compositions by Vivaldi, Mozart, Corelli, Handell etc. Its tickets range from 3900 - 23900 HUF per head.

THINGS TO SEE AROUND

There are various other attractions one can cover along with the church, namely:

Fisherman’s Bastion- these are seven towers that represent seven different tribes of Hungarian. This was always created for decorative purposes. The view from here overlooks the city and the Danube River. It’s a good picturesque spot. This is only 100m away from the church

Trinity Square- it is known as the heart of Budapest’s castle district. This column was constructed in 1710-1713 by Philip Ungleich to commemorate the end of plague. This spot is just 500m from the church

Statue of St. Stephen- just next to the Bastion stands a bronze statue of St. Stephen and is worth a click for memory.