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Roman Catholic church in Budapest, Hungary
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The Church of the Assumption of the Buda Castle (Hungarian: Nagyboldogasszony-templom), more commonly known as the Matthias Church (Hungarian: Mátyás-templom) and more rarely as the Coronation Church of Buda, is a Catholic church in Holy Trinity Square, Budapest, Hungary, in front of the Fisherman's Bastion at the heart of Buda's Castle District.
According to church tradition, it was originally built in Romanesque style in 1015, although few references exist. The current building was constructed in the florid late Gothic style in the second half of the 14th century and was extensively restored in the late 19th century. It was the second largest church of medieval Buda and the seventh largest church of the medieval Hungarian Kingdom. It is a historic building with an important history. The last two Kings of Hungary were crowned within its walls: Franz Joseph I of Hungary, and Charles IV of Hungary.
The church was also the location of the "Marian Miracle" of Buda. In 1686, during the siege of Buda by the Holy League, a wall of the church - used as a mosque by the Ottoman occupiers of the city - collapsed due to cannon fire. It turned out that an old votive Madonna statue was hidden behind the wall. As the sculpture of the Virgin Mary appeared before the praying Muslims, the morale of the Muslim garrison collapsed and the city fell on the same day.
According to the tradition, the first church on the site was founded by Saint Stephen, King of Hungary, in 1015: this is based on an inscription erected in 1690 inside the church and burned in 1748, which some previous references seem to confirm. However, there is no clear evidence of the foundation by St. Stephen. This building was destroyed in 1241 by the Mongols; the current building was constructed in the latter half of the 13th century. Originally named after the Virgin Mary, taking names such as "The Church of Mary" and "The Church of Our Lady," since the 19th century the church has been referred to as Matthias Church, after King Matthias, who ordered the transformation of its original southern tower.
King Béla IV of Hungary after the Mongol invasion, between 1255 and 1269, replaced the older, smaller church with a towering three-nave basilica. During the first phase of construction (1255–1260), a main shrine and auxiliary shrines were built, under the direction of Villard de Honnecourt. The first stage of the construction of the main church of Buda is closest relative to the Lyon Cathedral. The group of masters consisted of the builders of the Cistercian Monastery of Tišnov, Czech Republic, who travelled to Hungary after the Mongol invasion probably at the behest of the cousin of king Béla IV, Agnes of Bohemia. The reasons for its disintegration of this group around 1260 are unknown.
The construction was completed through a second phase, between 1260 and 1269. The work of the second group of masters was already influenced by Northern French religious architecture, mediated by German master builders. Other works of this group are the Franciscan Kecske Church in Sopron, Hungary, and the Monastery of Klosterneuburg, Austria, probably related to the Dominican monastery of Margaret Island, Budapest, which was the home of a daughter of Béla IV, St Margaret of the Árpád House. The king, out of regard for his daughter, granted to the monastery the jus patronatus over the Buda church for a period of time.
The Church of the Assumption of the Buda Castle became the earliest and most complete work of classical Gothic church architecture in Hungary, giving a complete picture of the architectural schools of Béla's era.
In the second half of the 14th century was rebuilt into a Gothic hall church. The whole building was remodeled in a mature Gothic style. In 1370 king Louis I of Hungary began with the construction of the iconic Maria Gate at the southwest. The closest parallel to this representative two-door gate is the portal of St. Lorenz Church in Nuremberg, built fifteen years earlier. During the reign of Louis, a complete redesign of the church basilica space was begun in the spirit of mature Gothic architecture. The arches of the side naves were raised to the height of the main nave, and huge windows with rich stone lattice were placed on the high walls, thus creating a bright, airy hall. During the reign of king Sigismund, the side shrines were extended and provided with an octagonal Gothic closure. In the final phase of the construction, the masters of the Prague Parler workshop also worked on the building. Between 1412 and 1433 they ordered the burial chapel of the aristocratic Garai family beside the north side sanctuary at the request of Nicholas II Garai. The closest relative of the newly formed hall church is the Abbey of Hronský Beňadik, current Slovakia.
The church reached its peak in medieval prosperity during the reign of king Matthias Corvinus. The king built the southwest bell tower, one of the finest pieces of Gothic architecture in Hungary. According to the coat of arms of Matthias, the south tower, which collapsed in 1384, was rebuilt in 1470. Apart from its destroyed helmet, the bell tower still retains its original form, although in the late 19th century a complete replacement of its stone material became inevitable. However, the head of the great arch supporting the choir still preserves its original stone.
Matthias also erected a royal oratory near the southern sanctuary of the church, but it was completely destroyed during the Turkish occupation. At that time, at the end of the 15th century, they began the construction of the northwestern tower, which had already been completed with the exception of the helmet before the Turkish conquest.
During the first Turkish invasion in 1526, the medieval roof structure and most of its equipment were destroyed. In 1541 the rebuilt Church of the Blessed Virgin was converted into a mosque by the Turks after the final conquest of Buda; in this church the Sultan Suleiman gave thanks to Allah for the victory. Its equipment and altars were discarded and the painted walls were plastered over. While most other churches in Buda were destroyed by the Ottomans, the Church of Mary survived, converted into a mosque and called from this point Büyük (Great), Eski (Old) or Suleiman Han Cami. Of course, destruction could not be completely avoided; the Matthias royal oratory, the north tower, the Garai chapel and the side chapels were demolished to use their stones elsewhere.
After Buda was retaken (1686), the church first became the property of the Franciscans, and then of the Jesuit Order, which restored it in Baroque style. Between 1688 and 1702, a huge dormitory was built on its north side and a three-story seminary on its south side. Between 1702 and 1714, the originally free-standing church was made part of a large building complex. Although the scene of great pastoral work, the church lost almost all its medieval ornamentation, rendering its exterior façade insignificant.
In 1690 the Palatine of Hungary Paul I, Prince Esterházy built the new Baroque main altar, and in 1696 built a lobby in front of the main gate. In the same year, Matthias' bell tower was crowned with a Baroque onion dome. The Chapel of Loreto was built in 1707, this received a bell tower in 1719, and soon afterwards its side chapels were erected, and a new sacristy was erected in place of the Bride's Gate.
Baroque transformations were conducted in many medieval elements; only the few windows of the Matthias Bell tower guarded the original character of the church's facade.
After the dissolution of the Jesuit Order in 1773, the council of the city of Buda owned the church.
Under the leadership of the king Franz Joseph I of Austria, between 1874 and 1896, a major rebuilding took place, under the architect Frigyes Schulek, which restored the original image of the building. The stone carving was done by Jakab Kauser, a well-known family of architects from Pest.
The church was restored to its original 13th-century plan, but a number of early original Gothic elements were uncovered. By also adding new motifs of his own (such as the diamond pattern roof tiles and gargoyles laden spire) Schulek ensured that the work, when finished, would be highly controversial.
Schulek freed the church, enclosed in former Jesuit buildings, at the expense of the demolition of adjacent parts, restoring its original, distinctive character. The vault and walls of the building were demolished to the ground in several places to reconstruct the original architectural solutions. In all the church he removed the Baroque joints and sought to restore the ancient ones, but by completely restoring the damaged parts and surfaces. Thus Sigismund's side sanctuaries were demolished and the original, simpler closures restored; the Maria Gate dating back to Louis I of Hungary was reopened, the Matthias bell tower was renovated – at the same time almost all the original main column capitals were replaced with faithful copies. Wherever he could find no clue, the architect introduced new elements of his own design: he erected a foyer in front of the Maria Gate, he created the new St Stephen's chapel in place of the destroyed Garai chapel, he renovated the Baroque side chapels along the northern nave in a neo-Gothic style; based on old images, he topped the southern tower with the rich neo-Gothic cap and balcony row that we see today. The northern tower was equipped with a late Romanesque style top, a pediment was placed between the two towers. He built the two sacristies and a royal oratory opening to the main apse from the north. The crypt, which had been built in 1780, was also renewed in a free neo-Gothic style.
Bertalan Székely and Károly Lotz directed, together with Schulek, the interior decoration and furnishing, utilising the remains of the medieval wall paintings. They painted the figurative murals themselves, made the designs for the stained glass windows executed by Ede Kratzmann, and for the new sculptural decoration made by Ferenc Mikula. The altarpieces were painted by Mihály Zichy (St Imre's chapel) and Gyula Aggházy (Loreto chapel); the bas-relief on the main gate depicting the Our Lady of the Hungarians is by Lajos Lontay. The benches and the organ cabinet were designed by Schulek.
The church was completed in 1893; by the time of the Millenary celebrations it shone, though not in its original forms but in all of its old splendour. In 1898 the remains of Béla III of Hungary and his first wife, Agnes of Antioch, found their final burial place in the chapel of the northern nave of the church. They had been unearthed during the excavations carried out on the ruins of the royal basilica in Székesfehérvár in 1848 (basilica destroyed by the Turks).
The Southwest Virgin Mary gate, - which in the tympanum depicts the Virgin Mary falling asleep - is one of the few original medieval remains from the beginning of the 15th century. This is a replica of the 13th century main gate. The Loreto Chapel, of medieval origin, beneath the southern tower preserves a Madonna statue from the end of the 17th century. This work of art was created to replace the original medieval sculpture of the Madonna, which was walled in during the Turkish occupation in the church.
Assessing Schulek's rebuilding, he did not appreciate the historic importance of the church, which was in a very poor condition, but replaced many of its historical stones with careful copies. However, thanks to his scientific depth and precise work of form, we can today see the former state of this church in its facade. Reconstructed faithfully and, to a lesser extent, re-imagined in a worthy way, the church is the highest-quality example of Hungarian neo-Gothic architecture, and its interior decoration, one of the highest achievements of Eastern European Art Nouveau.
In 1936, on the 250th anniversary of the recapture of the Buda Castle, a Hungarian and Italian inscription commemorating the Baron Michele d'Aste was placed on the right-hand apse wall. Lieutenant-Colonel D'Aste, who died during the battle, contributed greatly to the success of the action. The inscription reads as follows: "Lieutenant Colonel Michele d'Aste, Italian Colonel, on September 2, 1686, was among the first to sacrifice his life for the liberation of Buda"
Text from the Wikipedia article “Matthias Church”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.