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The
Church of Our Lady
History
The Church of Our Lady is generally called the
Matthias Church, because its southern tower
bears the coat of arms with the raven (in Latin:
Corvus) of Matthias (Corvinus) Hunyadi (1458-1490).
Until the invasion of the Tatars the capital
of Hungary was in another town, that was in
1241-42.
After the invasion the king decided to move
the royal court from there to Buda.
It is first mentioned in a deed from 1247.
It was built originally in romanesque style.
It first served as the royal chapel and later
as the parish church of the Germans who lived
in the Castle District.
In the fourteenth century it was rebuilt as
a Gothic hall church, but its construction,
just as that of so many Gothic churches in Europe,
was never finished, and the northern tower was
not built.
In Turkish times it became the main mosque and
its interior furnishings were destroyed.
According to their holy book the "Quran"
it was forbidden to represent any human beings,
no men, women, no animals, just these kinds
of patterns on the columns.
All the walls were whitewashed, the columns
were colorful only.
Two of the candelabras were taken by the Turks
to Istanbul - they can be seen today in the
Agia Sophia.
After the Turkish occupation, when the church
was restored, those frescoes were founded.
During the Second World War the damage suffered
by the church was so heavy that it took two
decades to repair it.
Outside
It is a three-isled hall church with a nave,
two side aisles and a pseudo-transept.
The north side is occupied by the row of chapels
built by Schulek.
From outside the most beautiful part of the
church is the 80-meter (260 ft.) high stone-laced
Gothic tower.
The Matthias Tower is the most characteristic
and most artistic part of the church - it is
a relatively faithful copy of the original tower
of Matthias' age, which had been pulled down
by Schulek (it is 80 m high).
Inside
One of the reasons for the nice decorations
was the fact, that many of the Hungarian kings
were crowned here.
The flags you can to see all over here were
brought here for the coronation of 1867.
At the south-side-entrance we can see the coat-of-arms
of the family of king Matthias, on the lower
part of the wall you can see two armored knights
from the famous 'Black Army' of King Matthias
and a profile portrait of the king.
The frescoes depict the lives of Hungarian saints.
The stained glass windows are not copies, they
are original, because they were removed in 1942
and replaced after WW2.
The organ was made in the Rieger factory in
Pécs (here was made the largest organ
of Europe, which is situated in Passau, Germany).
Museum
Near the chancel, in the former crypt, we find
a museum of stonework remains, including medieval
carvings.
In the gallery a collection of ecclesiastical
art is exhibited, containing old chalices and
vestments as well as a replica of the crown
of the Hungarian kings.
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