The Primatial Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Adalbert ( hu, Nagyboldogasszony és Szent Adalbert prímási főszékesegyház), also known as the Esztergom Basilica ( hu, Esztergomi bazilika), is an ecclesiastic

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

, the mother church of the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest, and the seat of the Catholic Church in Hungary. It is dedicated to the

Assumption Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Assumption may also refer to: Places * Assumption, Alberta, Canada * Assumption, Illinois, United States ** Assumption Town ...

Saint Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

and Saint Adalbert. It is the largest church and the tallest building in

. Its inner area is 5,600 m². It is 118 m long and 49 m wide. It has a reverberation time of more than 9 seconds. Its dome, forming a semi-sphere, is situated in the middle, and it has 12 windows. It is 71.5 m high inside (which makes it one of the tallest domes in the world), with a diameter of 33.5 metres, and is 100 m high from outside, the stairs count 400 steps counted from the crypt. The altarpiece (13.5 × 6.6 metres, depicting the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Girolamo Michelangelo Grigoletti) is the largest painting in the world painted on a single piece of canvas. The basilica is also known for ''Bakócz Chapel'' (named after Tamás Bakócz), built by Italian masters between 1506–1507 out of red

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

of Süttő, its walls adorned with Tuscan

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

motifs. It is the most precious remaining example of Renaissance art in Hungary. The huge crypt, built in Old Egyptian style in 1831, is today the resting place of late archbishops, among others,

József Mindszenty József Mindszenty (; 29 March 18926 May 1975) was a Hungarian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Esztergom and leader of the Catholic Church in Hungary from 1945 to 1973. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', ...

, famous for his opposition to both Nazi and Communist rule.

History

The building of the present church took place on the foundation of several earlier churches. The first was built by Stephen I of Hungary between 1001–1010 (as the original Saint Adalbert church), the first cathedral in Hungary, which was burned down at the end of the 12th century. It was rebuilt, and even survived the Mongol invasion of Hungary. However, in 1304, Wenceslaus III, a probable candidate for the Hungarian throne, sacked the castle and the church. It was repaired in the following years. The archbishops of the 14th and 15th century made the church more ornate and added a huge library, the second most significant one in the country. It was ruined again under Turkish rule, in 1543. In 1820, the Archdiocese was restored and archbishop Sándor Rudnay decided to restore Esztergom's status as mother church of the country. The church maintains the relics of Catholic martyr and saint Marko Krizin. The architect was Pál Kühnel and the lead contractor was János Packh. The foundation-stone was laid and work began in 1822. The Bakócz chapel was carefully disassembled (into about 1,600 pieces) and was moved 20 metres away from its original location and attached to the new basilica. In 1838 Packh was murdered, so József Hild was placed in charge of construction. He completed it in Classicistic style. Under the next archbishop, János Scitovszky, the upper church was completed and dedicated on August 31, 1856. The 1856 consecration ceremonies featured the premiere of the ''Missa solennis zur Einweihung der Basilika in Gran (Gran Mass)'', composed and conducted by

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

, and featuring the organist

Alexander Winterberger Alexander Winterberger, by Sergey Lvovich Levitsky Alexander Winterberger (14 August 183423 September 1914) was a German organist and composer. He is mostly remembered for his association with Franz Liszt, in particular his close involvement ...

. The final completion of the cathedral took place twelve years later in 1869. Fortepan 132050 Fortepan Jánossy Virág

The organ

The renovation and enlargement of the

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

started in the 1980s, after extensive preparations, and it is currently in progress. It is supervised by István Baróti, the basilica's organist and choirmaster since 1975. As of 2008, the project is still not fully funded. The organ has five manuals and by 2006 had 85 stops working out of the planned 146. The organ contains the largest organ pipes in Hungary, 10 m, about long. The smallest pipe is 7 mm, ¼ inch (without pipe foot). When complete, it will be the third largest organ in Europe, surpassing all organs in Hungary in both volume and variety of stops. At the time of the construction in 1856, the organ was the largest in Hungary with 49 stops, 3,530 pipes and 3 manuals. The present organ preserves several stops from the instrument Liszt played. For the organ's detailed specifications, see the article in the Hungarian Wikipedia.

Burials

* Tamás Bakócz and his family * Jusztinián György Serédi *

Alexander Rudnay Alexander Stefan Rudnay de Rudna et DivékujfaluMarkó 2006, p. 325. ( hu, rudnai és divékujfalusi Rudnay Sándor István; 4 October 1760 – 13 September 1831) was a Hungarian– Slovak Roman Catholic prelate. He started as a parish priest, ...

Dénes Szécsi Dénes Szécsi de Felsőlendva (or ''Széchy; ''c. 1410 – 1 February 1465) was a Hungarian prelate and cardinal, who served as Archbishop of Esztergom from 1440 to 1465. He was the first Primate of Hungary since 1452 when donated the title an ...

Gallery

Image:Grigoletti Maria Assunta Esztergom.jpg, Assumption by Grigoletti Image:EsztergomFotoThalerTamas30.jpg, Bakócz Chapel (1506–1507) Image:Esztergom.bazilika.lights.jpg, View of the cathedral from St. Thomas hill Image:Esztergom Basilica.jpg, Várhegy.jpg, Castle Hill panorama from

Štúrovo Štúrovo (before 1948: ''Parkan''; hu, Párkány, german: Gockern, tr, Ciğerdelen) is a town in Slovakia, situated on the River Danube. Its population in 2018 was 10,279. The town is situated opposite the Hungarian city of Esztergom. The Má ...

, Slovakia

References

External links