Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Szentháromság tér's
most prominent feature is the neo-Gothic
Mátyás Church
with its
wildly asymmetrical diamond-patterned roofs and toothy spires. Officially dedicated to Our
Lady but popularly named after “Good King Mátyás”, the building is a late nineteenth-
century recreation by architect Frigyes Schulek, grafted onto those portions of the original
thirteenth-century church that survived the siege of 1686. Ravaged yet again in World War II,
the church was laboriously restored by a Communist regime keen to show its patriotic cre-
dentials, and the transition to democracy in 1989-90 saw the sanctity of this “ancient shrine
of the Hungarian people” reaffirmed.
As you enter the church through its twin-spired
Mary Portal
, the richness of the interior
is overwhelming. Painted leaves and geometric motifs run up columns and under vaulting,
while shafts of light fall through rose windows onto gilded altars and statues with stunning
effect. Most of the
frescoes
were executed by Károly Lotz or Bertalan Székely, the foremost
historical painters of the nineteenth century. The
coat of arms of King Mátyás
can be seen
on the wall to your left, just inside; his family name, Corvinus, comes from the raven (
corvus
in Latin) that appeared on his heraldry and on every volume in his famed Corvin Library.
Loreto Chapel
Beneath the south tower is the
Loreto Chapel
, containing a Baroque Madonna, while in the
bay beneath the
Béla Tower
you can see two medieval capitals, one carved with monsters
fighting a dragon, the other with two bearded figures reading a book. The tower is named
afterBélaIV,whofoundedthechurch,ratherthanhispredecessorinthesecondchapelalong,
who shares a
double sarcophagus
with Anne of Chatillon. The tomb, originally located
in the old capital, Székesfehérvár, 60km southwest of Budapest, was moved here after its
discovery in 1848. Although Hungary's medieval kings were crowned at Székesfehérvár, it
was customary to make a prior appearance in Buda - hence the sobriquet, the “Coronation
Church”.
Treasury
The Mátyás Church has a small collection of
ecclesiastical treasures
and relics, including
the right foot of St János. The
crypt
, normally reserved for prayer, contains the red-marble
tombstone ofa nameless Árpád prince. Otherwise, climb a spiral staircase to the
RoyalOrat-
ory
overlooking the stained-glass windows and embossed vaulting of the nave; here votive
figures and vestments presage a
replica of the Coronation Regalia
, whose attached exhibi-
tion is more informative about the provenance of
St Stephen's Crown
than that accompany-
ing the originals, on display in Parliament.
Mass
is celebrated in the Mátyás Church daily, on Sundays and public holidays. The church
is also a superb venue for
concerts
during the festival seasons, and evening organ recitals
throughout the year. These are listed on the church website, while tickets are available at the
church itself or from any
booking agency
.
