Matthias Church (Budapest)

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Matthias Church with Trinity Column (2017)
Matthias Church
Layout
Interior view of the main nave

The Matthias Church ( Hungarian Mátyás-templom ) is a Roman Catholic church in the Hungarian capital Budapest . It is located in the Vár castle district on the Buda side and is therefore part of the 1st district . The Matthias Church - officially Liebfrauenkirche ( Nagyboldogasszony-templom ) - was the first church on the Schlossberg. It is registered as part of the UNESCO World Heritage . The coronation ceremonies of Charles I Robert von Anjou (1309), Franz Joseph I (1867) and Charles IV (1916) took place here. It is therefore also known under the name "Coronation Church".

The church serves as the cathedral of the Hungarian military ordinariate .

history

Foundation of the Church

According to the tradition of the diocese of Esztergom , King Stephen I (1000-1038) built a church here as early as 1015. Sources from the 17th century confirm it, and it is believed that the remains of St. Gellért , who was martyred on the nearby Gellért Hill , were buried here. However, no traces of any settlement prior to the 13th century can be found on the castle hill.

Romanesque basilica

The current church was built between 1255 and 1269 on the orders of King Béla IV. (1235–1270) as a Romanesque basilica . Hungary was devastated by the Mongol storm, and because there were no castles as retreats, around 40 percent of the population perished. As a consequence, Béla IV began to build castles in strategically important places. The most important of these was the Buda Castle. As part of this castle, the Matthias Church was built as a church for the German citizens of Buda. We find the first written mention of this Church of Our Lady in 1255 as "to be built", then in 1269 as "built". The basic shape of today's church goes back to this basilica, and we can still find some capitals within the church from the 13th century . The ground plan of the church is very similar to that of the Dominican monastery on Margaret Island , which was also built by Béla IV. When in 1301 Andreas III. , the last king of the Árpáden family died, the 13-year-old son of the Bohemian King Wenceslaus was appointed King of Hungary as Ladislaus V (1301–1305). In 1309 the Matthias Church was the scene of the coronation of Charles I Robert (1308–1342) from the French house of Anjou .

City of Buda in 1493, Matthias Church on the right
The city of Buda was still in Turkish hands in 1684. In addition to the many minarets, you can also see the tower of Matthias Church (No. 3) on the right.
Church in the 18th century

Gothic hall church

Around 1370, the Matthias Church was converted into a Gothic hall church with three naves by King Ludwig the Great (1342-1382) . The side aisles were brought up to the level of the central nave and the Marientor was created based on the model of the west portal of the Laurentius Church in Nuremberg . A capital right next to the Marientor, which depicts Ludwig and his wife Elisabeth , also dates from this period . King Sigismund of Luxembourg (1387–1437) extended the church by two altar rooms, which were removed during the reconstruction in the 19th century. From 1402 to 1433, Count Palatine Miklós Gara had a burial chapel built for his family next to the northern side chapel (today Ladislaus Chapel). The chapel at this point still bears his name today. After their election as king, Albrecht von Habsburg (1437–1439) and later Wladyslaw of Poland (1440–1444) were received in this church. In 1455 St. John Capistranus called for a crusade against the Turks here.

Matthias Church

The current name of the church goes back to King Matthias Corvinus (1458–1490), who had the church expanded in 1470 with a five-storey tower and the royal oratory . Today we can still find his coat of arms right next to the Marientor, but it was originally placed on the tower. King Matthias promoted art and brought many artists into the country, especially from Italy , which is why the Matthias Tower is an interesting mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles, the dominant style in Italy at the time. Matthias also celebrated his two weddings here, first with Katharina von Podiebrad (1461), daughter of the Bohemian King George , and after her death with Beatrix von Aragón (1476), daughter of the King of Naples Ferdinand I. Since then, the south-eastern gate of the church referred to as the "Bridal Gate".

Buyuk Camii

In 1526 Sultan Suleyman I inflicted a devastating defeat on Hungary in the Battle of Mohács, as a result of which King Ludwig II died while fleeing and Hungary was leaderless. On August 25, 1541, the Turks captured the city ​​of Buda and turned the church into their main mosque . Matthias Church was known as Büyük Camii, Great Mosque, for almost 150 years. Almost the entire furnishings of the church were subsequently destroyed, the walls were painted over and all the figures of saints were beheaded, which is still visible today at the Marientor. Sultan Suleyman thanked Allah here for conquering the city and Gül Baba , an Islamic saint whose Türbe is still a pilgrimage site in Buda , is said to have died here.

Baroque

When Buda was conquered by the Holy League on September 2, 1686 , the church was almost completely destroyed and then handed over to the Jesuits . They set up their headquarters in Hungary here and added a monastery on the north side and a seminary on the south side to the building. So the medieval, free-standing character of the church was lost. Both outside and inside the church was redesigned in baroque style. When the Jesuit order was dissolved in 1773, the church was given to the Buda City Council.

Coronation Church

Coronation of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth in 1867
Oath of King Charles IV at the Trinity Column in front of Matthias Church in 1916

In 1867, the coronation of the Hungarian royal couple Franz Joseph I and Elisabeth took place in Matthias Church . There are many indications of this in the church to this day: the flags on the pillars, their coats of arms on the Elisabeth window and of course the large coronation fresco in the oratory of the Order of Malta.

Between 1873 and 1896, the Matthias Church was rebuilt and expanded according to plans by Frigyes Schulek . He gave the Matthias Church its current neo-Gothic design. However, the basic structure of the building has been preserved from the Middle Ages, plus some details such as the Marientor.

In 1916 the last Hungarian royal couple Charles IV and Zita were coronated in Matthias Church . After the coronation, the new king took the oath at the Trinity Column in front of the Matthias Church.

The Matthias Church was badly damaged in the Second World War , but was rebuilt from 1950 to 1960 according to Schulek's original plans.

The Matthias Church is characterized by the two completely unequal towers. The tower to the left of the nave, the so-called Belaturm, is compact and decorated with colorful bricks that form a mosaic. To the right of the nave is the 80 meter high, octagonal, Gothic Matthias Tower. The majolica tiles on the church roof were made by the Zsolnay factory in Pécs .

Church interior

Marientor

The church received its current interior decorations during renovation in the 19th century . Among them are the rich decorative paintings, which consist of multicolored geometric and vegetable elements and are the work of Bertalan Székely and Károly Lotz .

Marientor

When walking through the southern gate into the interior of the church, the first thing you notice at the end of the front hall is the Marientor from the 14th century. It is one of the most important examples of Gothic sculpture in Hungary. The artistically crafted relief on the tympanum is supposed to represent the death of Mary, but only fragments are preserved today. The heads of the figures were cut off by the Turks in the 16th century.

Raven coat of arms

Coat of arms of Matthias Corvinus
Virgin Mary statue in the Loreto Chapel
Romanesque column capital
Belgrade fresco
Emmerich Altar

On the east wall of the south tower is the coat of arms of King Matthias Corvinus . It consists of the coat of arms of the kingdoms of Hungary (above - four red and four white horizontal stripes and a double cross), Dalmatia (below left - three lion heads) and Bohemia (below right - double-tailed lion) as well as the coat of arms of the House of Hunyadi (central - raven with golden Ring in the beak). Above the coat of arms is a crown and the year 1470, the year in which the south tower was built by King Matthias. Next to the coat of arms are two soldiers of the black army , the mercenary army of King Matthias, which formed the basis of his strength.

Loreto chapel

To the left of the main portal is the Loreto Chapel . Here is a baroque statue of the virgin made of red marble, commemorating the reconquest of Buda in 1686. According to legend, immediately before the Ottoman conquest of the city in 1541 , a statue of the Virgin Mary, a gift from King Vladislav II , was walled up inside the church to protect it from being destroyed by the Turks . It is said to have remained undiscovered in the church that was converted into a mosque until 1686 . In 1686 there was a siege by the Christians and during the fighting a gunpowder warehouse of the Turks is said to have exploded near the church . As a result of the force of the explosion, the wall in front of the statue collapsed and, to her horror, the Virgin Mary appeared in front of the praying Muslims. On the same evening, September 2, 1686, the city was recaptured. The victory was attributed to this miracle, which makes this chapel a place of pilgrimage to this day .

Baptistery

To the right of the main portal we find the baptistery with a Romanesque column capital , which dates from the time the church was founded in the 13th century. It depicts two monks pointing to a book, probably the Bible, and shows astonishing similarities to the works of the Naumburg master . This capital is the oldest surviving part of the interior of the church. On the north wall of the chapel we find the fresco depicting the Battle of Belgrade , a work by Károly Lotz . It commemorates the unsuccessful siege of the city of Belgrade (then part of Hungary) by the Turks in 1456. Constantinople , the last Christian bastion in the Balkans, had fallen only three years earlier and Mehmed II subsequently tried the Kingdom of Hungary in a lightning campaign to subjugate, an event that naturally caught the attention of the Catholic Church. The Franciscan Johannes Capistranus was sent to Hungary and he preached the crusade so effectively that the Hungarian army could be reinforced by numerous peasants enthusiastic about war. He is shown in the left part of the fresco. The then Pope Calixtus III. can be found in the upper part of the fresco. It was he who recognized the importance of this battle for Christianity as well and therefore had the bells ring at noon in all churches of the world, as a sign of the support of the troops in Belgrade by all of Christianity. A tradition that continues to this day in every Catholic Church through the midday Angelus. This bells and the reading of the Pope's decree in front of Matthias Church is shown in the right part of the fresco. There you can see the victorious general Johann Hunyadi with his son, who later became King Matthias, on the left. On the western wall there is a round window with stepped cladding and the depiction of the sacrificial lamb, in front of which a baptismal font made in neo-Romanesque style is attached.

Emmerich Chapel

On the north side of the church is the chapel of St. Emmerich ( Hungarian: Imre ). On the west wall are frescoes depicting the life of St. Francis of Assisi .

Opposite is the so-called Imre Altar, a work by Mihály Zichy . The winged altar consists of three parts ( triptych ), scenes from the life of St. Imre are depicted on the left and right. In the center you can find his statue flanked by the statues of Saint Stephen and Saint Gellért, his father and his teacher.

Trinity Chapel

Resting place of Béla III.
In the Ladislaus Chapel

The Trinity Chapel is right next to the Emmerich Chapel . Today it is the final resting place for King Béla III. (1172–1196) and his wife Agnes de Châtillon . They were moved here from the Székesfehérvár basilica in 1860 . Today both rest under a stone canopy, a work by Ferenc Mikula , on which the couple is represented in the form of two reclining figures.

The chapel is separated from the rest of the church by a grid, on which the coats of arms of the royal couple are attached. In the chapel there is also a small organ that is used in the church services during the week. Also in the chapel is a plaque of the Cistercian order in honor of Béla III. attached, who had invited the Order to Hungary.

Ladislaus Chapel

To the left of the choir is the chapel of St. Ladislaus. Károly Lotz depicts six legends of King Ladislaus (1077-1095) (Hungarian László) in his murals , which led to his canonization . On the left first the rescue of a Hungarian woman from a pagan Cuman - representing the defense of the eastern border of Christianity -, next to it the foundation of the city and the cathedral in Nagyvárad . In the upper part is shown one of the miracles that are said to have happened to him. In the fight against the Cumans, his fighters ran out of water, Ladislaus took his ax and split a rock, immediately a spring rose up and his army was again abundantly supplied with water. On the east wall on the left the events after his death are described. According to legend, his last will was to be buried in “his” city Nagyvárad. But since he died near the city of Esztergom , this seemed hopeless, because there are almost 400 km between the two cities, at that time many day trips. In this situation, two angels appeared and carried his body to Nagyvárad, where he was buried. His canonization is shown to the right. When his coffin was opened to remove relics in 1192, almost 100 years after his death , it was found that it was intact. According to legend, he slept soundly and wakes up as soon as Hungary needs his help again. The last fresco shows his grave, which was used to settle conflicts in the Middle Ages . Both parties to the conflict had to swear at his grave that they spoke the truth, one lied, and he died before he had finished speaking. In the chapel there is also a copy of his head reliquary, the original is kept in Győr .

presbytery

Virgin Mary statue on the main altar

The presbytery with the main altar adjoins the nave at the eastern end of the church. On both long sides there are neo-Gothic choir stalls , on the left is the entrance to the sacristy .

At the end of the choir is the neo-Gothic main altar, a work by Frigyes Schulek. In the center of the altar is a Tyrolean wooden statue of the Virgin Mary, represented as Regina Hungariae with a copy of St. Stephen's crown. This type of representation goes back to the Hungarian tradition, according to which the first king of Hungary, Saint Stephen , bequeathed the land to the Virgin Mary after he had remained without an heir to the throne . As early as the Middle Ages, there are sources that describe Hungary as Regnum Marianum , i.e. the Kingdom of Mary. However, the crown above the statue on the altar was only placed here in a solemn mass in 2000, the thousandth anniversary of the founding of the Hungarian state . She had previously been taken to Buda by members of the community on foot from the Vatican in Rome after she was blessed by Pope John Paul II .

Behind the altar we find two rows of windows, the upper row in the neo-Gothic style shows the most important saints of the Hungarian Church, the lower row in the neo-Romanesque style the most important saints of the Catholic Church. Among these, the middle window depicting Jesus stands out. Since the window is located directly behind the altar and behind the statue of the Virgin Mary, the representation of Jesus is only visible through the wreath of stars surrounding Mary. However, this is intentional because it emphasizes the role of the Virgin as Mater Domini and her importance in the Catholic Church.

Holy Cross Chapel

Holy Cross Chapel

To the right of the altar we find the neo-Romanesque Holy Cross chapel. This stands out particularly within the church because it clearly sets itself apart from the otherwise predominantly neo-Gothic furnishings through shapes and colors. Here we find Christ on the cross in the center flanked by the Mother of God and Mary Magdalene , including a Pietà . The windows on the side walls of the chapel are also particularly worth seeing. The descent into the crypt of the church can also be found here.

crypt

The crypt is used today as a lower church for baptisms and funeral masses and as a sacrament chapel during visiting hours . The common sarcophagus of the Hungarian kings of the Middle Ages is located here. With its bright colors, the crypt is an interesting contrast to the rest of the church.

pulpit

pulpit

The neo-Gothic pulpit is the work of architect Frigyes Schulek and sculptor Ferenc Mikula. Here the four evangelists and the four original doctors of the church are shown with their respective attributes. Evangelist Matthew with a winged person , Saint Ambrose of Milan with a beehive, Evangelist Mark with a lion, Saint Augustine of Hippo with a child who draws water, the Evangelist Luke with an ox, Saint Jerome in cardinal costume, Evangelist John with an eagle and Pope Gregory the Great with the dove of the Holy Spirit . At the top of the pulpit is a statue of the Good Shepherd .

South window

On the south side of the church there are three neo-Gothic stained glass windows, which, like the paintings, come from Bertalan Székely and Károly Lotz. The left, slightly smaller window depicts the life of St. Margaret of Hungary , daughter of the founder of the church, King Béla IV. The middle window is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Here we also find the coats of arms of the kings who were involved in building the church below. On the left first the coat of arms of Bela IV, next to that of Sigismund of Luxembourg and Ludwig the Great and finally the coat of arms of Matthias Corvinus . The right window shows the life of St. Elisabeth of Thuringia . Here, too, we find coats of arms, in this case the coat of arms of the coronation ceremony from 1867. On the left, first the Hungarian coat of arms, followed by the coat of arms of the House of Habsburg for Emperor Franz Joseph and the coat of arms von Wittelsbach (Bavaria) for Empress Elisabeth and finally the Budapest coat of arms.

Flags

The flags on the pillars are also striking. They come from the coronation ceremony of Franz Joseph and show the coats of arms of the countries of St. Stephen's crown . After the Treaty of Trianon , only one of these countries is still part of Hungary today. Nevertheless, the flags were left in the church as a symbol that the Matthias Church is the national church of all Hungarians, including that of the millions of Hungarians who live in neighboring countries.

Church music

Organ prospectus

The main organ on the west gallery was built in 1909 by the Rieger company and today, after renovations and restorations, it has 88 registers with five manuals . The choir organ was built in 2010 by the organ manufacturer Pécs and has 23 registers. Both can also be played together, making them one of the largest organs in Hungary. Around 80 organ concerts take place in the church every year.

The choir and orchestra were already mentioned in the time of King Matthias . They have been active without interruption since 1686. Important works by famous composers were also premiered in Matthias Church, such as the coronation mass by Franz Liszt for the coronation of Emperor Franz Joseph in 1867. However, the composer was not allowed to direct the performance himself because it was played by the court choir and orchestra from Vienna. He therefore watched the ceremony from this gallery. The Budavári Te Deum by Zoltán Kodály was also premiered here.

Church Museum

Coat of arms of Archduke Joseph August (1872–1962)
Coronation fresco

The ascent to the church museum is in the baptistery.

Béla halls

First, the visitor reaches the Béla halls , named after the founder of the church, King Béla IV . The cathedral treasure is located here, the coronation robe (today a casula ) of Empress Elisabeth (Sissi) and the "Black Madonna" from Loreto (17th century) are particularly worth seeing . From here there is also a good panoramic view of the interior of the church and in particular of the windows on the south side.

Oratory of the Order of Malta

Another staircase leads to the Oratory of the Order of Malta . On the walls are the coats of arms of important members of the order, including those of Emperor Joseph II of Habsburg , imperial administrator Miklós Horthy and the Dutch Prince Consort Heinrich of Mecklenburg , as well as the first Catholic translation of the Bible into Hungarian and a statue of Queen Elisabeth made of white marble . The coronation fresco on the east wall of the chapel depicts the coronation in 1867. Here you can see the Virgin Mary in the center as she crowns Franz Joseph King of Hungary, on her left is Sissi. The scene is surrounded by the coats of arms of the most important regions of the Hungarian kingdom. On the left first the coat of arms of the Hungarian war port Fiume followed by the kingdoms of Slavonia , Dalmatia , Hungary and Croatia as well as Transylvania and the city of Budapest.

Royal Oratory

A hallway leads to the Royal Oratory . The Hungarian kings watched the mass from here and the enthronement chairs of Charles IV and his wife Zita von Bourbon-Parma from 1916 are on display here to this day, with a copy of the “ Holy Crown of Hungary ” in between. The original is in the domed hall of the Hungarian Parliament building .

Gara chapel

The Gara or St. Stephen's Chapel can be reached via the Königstreppe . The walls are decorated with frescoes by Bertalan Székely, who praise St. Stephen , the king . In the center is a shrine designed by Frigyes Schulek, which was specially made for the holy right, Hungary's most important relic . The right was never transferred here, instead the St. Stephen's Basilica in Pest was built especially for them . In the chapel there are at least the most important relics of the church, including the foot of John the Almsgiver , a gift from the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II to King Matthias and relics of Saints Francis of Assisi , Anthony of Padua , Bishop Stanislaus of Cracow and John from Nepomuk .

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Matthias Church, along with the Castle District , the Danube bank and Andrássy Street , is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the reference number 400. The entry was made in 1987 in category (II) and (IV).

gallery

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. organ Matthias Church Orgelbits (German)
  2. Main organ of the Matthias Church organ index (German)

Web links

Commons : Matthias Church (Budapest)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 47 ° 30 ′ 7 ″  N , 19 ° 2 ′ 3 ″  E