The basilica, which is the largest Roman Catholic church in our capital, was built in 1851 in the neoclassical style of the time, based on the plans of József Hild. However, a year after his death, the large dome collapsed due to poor quality building materials and faulty construction. The construction was continued by Miklós Ybl, who not only corrected the faults of the design, but also rethought the whole church in the spirit of the Renaissance. It was consecrated in 1905, and later the keystone was placed in the presence of the Emperor Franz Joseph I.

The 20th century put the building to the test: first the siege of Budapest caused major damage to it, then the dome was burnt down during restoration works, and in the early 1980s a strong storm blew off the sheet metal covering elements of it. After twenty years of renovation, by 2003 not only the building had been restored, but all the church’s artefacts, mosaics, paintings, sculptures and stained glass windows had been renovated. A circular skylight was added to the dome, and the building also received new decorative lighting. For more than ten years, a Christmas fair has been held in the square in front of the basilica during the Advent season, and at that time of the year the façade is decorated with special light paintings in the evenings.

Mosaics, stained glass windows, chandelier with a time capsule

But if you are passing by, don’t just look at the church from the outside! Step inside and see how the ceiling and dome of the basilica are ornamented with beautiful glass windows and mosaics instead of frescoes. The larger of these were commissioned from the Salviati firm, which also decorated the St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice, while the smaller ones are the work of Miksa Róth, who was also the artist creating the decorative windows of the Parliament. The basilica is also very rich in works of art: In addition to the altarpieces by Árpád Feszty and Gyula Benczúr, the interior is decorated by the life-size sculptures by János Fadrusz, Béni Ferenczy and Alajos Strobl, among others.

And if you stop in front of the Chapel of St. Mary, look up at the chandelier made by the master ironsmith Nándor Páder, which had been hiding a time capsule from 1899 for 115 years. The handwritten message, enclosed in a paper cylinder, slipped out of a hollow angel figurine during the chandelier’s restoration a few years ago; the few lines of the note contained the names of the chandelier’s makers.

OPENING HOURS

Basilica ( Hall of the Church)

Monday:                       9 a.m. –  4:30  p.m.

Ticketing:                     9 a.m. –  4:00  p.m.

Tuesday – Saturday:   9 a.m. –   5:45  p.m.

Ticketing:                      9 a.m. –   5:15  p.m.

Sunday:                         1 p.m.  –  5:45   p.m.

Ticketing:                   12:30 a.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Panoramic Look-out and Treasury:

Monday – Sunday :   9 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Ticketing:                   9 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Ticket Office

Address: Budapest , Szent István square 2.

Next building to the right of the Basilica

Monday – Sunday:  9 a.m.  – 6:30 p.m.

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