Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CARDINAL MINDSZENTY
When the much-travelled body of Cardinal József Mindszenty was finally laid to rest
with state honours in 1991, it was a vindication of his uncompromising heroism - and the
Vatican realpolitik that he despised. As a conservative and monarchist, Mindszenty had
stubbornly opposed the postwar Communist takeover, warning that “cruel hands are reach-
ing out to seize hold of our children, claws belonging to people who have nothing but evil
to teach them”. Arrested in 1948, tortured for 39 days and nights, and sentenced to life im-
prisonment for treason, Mindszenty was freed during the Uprising and took refuge in the
US Embassy, where he remained for the next fifteen years - an exile in the heart of Bud-
apest.
When the Vatican struck a deal with the Kádár regime in 1971, Mindszenty had to be
pushed into resigning his position and going to Austria, where he died in 1975. Although
hiswillstated thathisbodyshouldnotreturnhomeuntil“theredstarofMoscowhadfallen
from Hungarian skies”, his reburial occurred some weeks before the last Soviet soldier left,
in preparation for Pope John Paul II's visit. Nowadays the Vatican proclaims his greatness,
without any hint of apology for its past actions.
The Castle Museum
Vármúzeum • Tues-Sun 10am-6pm • 900Ft
On higher ground 30m south of the basilica are the red-roofed, reconstructed remains of the
palace founded by Prince Géza, now presented as the Castle Museum . A royal seat for al-
most three hundred years, it was here that Béla III entertained Philip of France and Freder-
ick Barbarossa on their way to the Third Crusade, while the Renaissance prelate János Vitéz
made it a centre of humanist culture, where Queen Beatrice spent her widowhood. Despite
being sacked by the Turks and twice besieged before they were evicted in 1683, enough sur-
vived to be excavated in the 1930s.
The main entrance is round to the left on the courtyard: past archeological finds and visu-
alizations of the palace in various epochs, you reach the best part of the museum, the royal
suite. Traces of the frescoes that once covered every wall can be seen in the vaulted living
hall from Béla III's reign, from which stairs ascend to the study of Archbishop Vitéz - known
as the HallofVirtues after its allegorical murals. Beyond lies the royalchapel , whose Goth-
ic rose window and Romanesque arches were executed by craftsmen brought over by Béla's
French wives, while the reconstructed tower offers a panoramic view of Esztergom and the
river.
Returning to the courtyard, there is a lapidarium and a further section of the museum, where
you can see archeological finds and a less enthralling collection of weapons.
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