Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Stained-Glass
^
Sunday Mass
Windows
DesignedbyFrigyes
Schulekandpaintedby
KárolyLotz,thethreewin-
dowsonthechurch's
southernsidedepictthe
VirginMary'slife,thefam-
ilyofBélaIVandthelife
ofStElizabethofÁrpádház,
whomarriedat13,divor-
cedat19anddiedat24.
Thechurch'stwo
1909Riegerorgans,
restoredin1984,arethe
inestinHungary.Sunday
Mass,heldat10am,
featurestheorgansand
thechurch'schoir.A
traditionalcentreofspir-
itualmusic,thechurch
alsoplayshosttomore
than100concertsayear.
(
Rose Window
TheNeo-GothicRose
WindowabovetheMain
Portalwasrecreatedby
FrigyesSchulekafterhe
unearthedfragmentsof
theoriginalduringthe
restorationofthechurch.
Theoriginalhadbeen
brickedupduringthe
Baroqueperiod.
&
Tomb of King
Béla III and Anne
de Châtillon
FrigyesSchulekdesigned
thiselaboratetomb
(above)
afterthemortal
remainsofBélaIIIand
hisirstwifehadbeen
foundduringexcavations
atSzékesfehérvár
Cathedralin1862.
)
Roof
Thesplendidmulti-
colouredtiledroof
(above)
isarecentaddition,built
between1950and1970.
Theoriginalroof,aplain
affair,burntdownafter
Sovietshellingduringthe
siegeofBudain1944-5.
King Mátyás
Oneofthegreatest
iguresinHungarian
history,KingMátyásis
oftenclaimedbyboth
RomaniansandSerbs
asbeingoneoftheir
own.What'scertainis
thatMateiCorvin,ashe
isknowninRomania,
wasborninCluj-Napoca,
inpresent-dayRomania.
Hewasthesonof
JánosHunyadi,whoin
turnwasthegrandson
ofnativeSerbs.Hisfam-
ilyoriginsremainoneof
themaincausesoften-
sionbetweenHungarian
andRomanianhisto-
rians
(see p11).
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Loreto Chapel
*
Altar
and Baroque
Madonna
Legendhasitthatin
1686,theMadonna
(right)
appeared
beforetheTurks
defendingBuda
Castle,whosawit
asasignofimminent
defeat.Habsburg
troopstookthecas-
tlethatverynight.
Theearly
Gothic-stylealtar
(above)
featuresa
replicaoftheholy
Hungariancrown
atopastatueof
theVirginMary.
Ashrinetothe
Madonna,itwas
designedbyFrigyes
Schulekandcom-
pletedin1893.
Much of the church's original details were lost when it was
turned into the Great Mosque by the Turks in 1541.
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