Excursions from Budapest - The Rough Guide to Budapest - page 190

Looming over the north side of Fő tér, the BlagovestenskaChurch or Church of the Annun-
ciation, is the most accessible of the town's Orthodox churches. Painted by Mihailo Zivkovic
ofBuda intheearly eighteenth century,its icons evokeall therichness andtragedy ofSerbian
history. Look out for the tomb of a Greek merchant of Macedonian origin to the left of the
entrance, and the Rococo windows and gate facing Görög utca (Greek Street). Next door to
the church, a portal carved with emblems of science and learning provides the entrance to a
former Serbian church school.
Templom tér and beyond
Off the opposite side of Fő tér to the Blagovestenska Church, an alley of steps ascends to
Templom tér , a walled hilltop with a great view of Szentendre's rooftops and gardens.
Parish Church and Czóbel Museum
Szent János templom • Tues-Sun 10am-5pm, but opening times not reliable • Museum Czóbel Béla Múzeum •
Tues-Sun 9am-5pm • 600Ft
Of medieval origin with Romanesque and Gothic features, the Catholic Parish Church was
rebuilt in the Baroque style after falling derelict in Turkish times. The frescoes in its sanctu-
ary were collectively painted by members of the town's artists' colony - among them Béla
Czóbel (1883-1976), whose Bonnard-like portraits hang in the Czóbel Museum at no. 12,
across from the church.
Belgrade Church and Serbian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Art Collection
Belgrád templom • Pátriáka utca 5 • April-Oct Tues-Sun 10am-6pm, but ask at the museum if the doors are
locked • 600Ft • Ecclesiastical Collection Szerb Ortodox Egyháztörténeti Gyüjtemény • Mid-March to Oct
Wed-Sun 10am-4pm; Nov to mid-March Fri-Sun 10am-4pm • 800Ft
North of Templom tér, the rust-red spire of the Orthodox cathedral or BelgradeChurch rises
above a walled garden on Alkotmány utca. Built during the late eighteenth century, it has a
lavishly ornamented interior with icons depicting scenes from the New Testament and saints
of the Orthodox Church. The old tombstones with Cyrillic inscriptions in the churchyard bear
witness to a tale of demographic decline, echoed by the Serbian Orthodox Ecclesiastical
Art Collection in the Episcopal palace, whose hoard of icons, vestments and crosses comes
from churches in Hungary that fell empty after the Serbs returned to the Balkans and the last
remaining parishioners died out.
Vajda Museum
Vajda Lajos Múzeum • Hunyadi utca 1 • Wed-Sun 10am-6pm • 600Ft
From the Belgrade Church you can follow Alkotmány utca back down towards Fő tér,
passing another artist's legacy on Hunyadi utca. The upper floor of the VajdaMuseum pays
homage to Lajos Vajda (1908-41), whose playful fusion of Serbian, Jewish and Swabian tra-
ditions with Cubism and Surrealism gave way to anguished charcoal drawings in the years
before his death in a Nazi labour camp.