The Cathedral and Primatial Basilica
of The Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed Into Heaven,
and Saint Adalbert, Esztergom, Hungary.
Photo: 13 August 2011.
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramoncutanda/6100881117/
Author: Ramón Cutanda López.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Coat-of-Arms of Hungary.
the second Gules, on a mount Vert a crown Or,
issuant therefrom a double cross Argent.
In crest the Holy Crown of Hungary.”
Date: 1 January 2009.
Source: Own work, based on Flags of the World - Hungary - Coat of Arms, The Holy Crown of Hungary, National and historical symbols of Hungary - Arms of the country and Magyar Nemzeti Lap - Magyarország ma használatos címere
Author: Thommy
(Wikimedia Commons)
Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless otherwise stated.
unless otherwise stated.
The Primatial Basilica of The Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed Into Heaven and Saint Adalbert (Hungarian: Nagyboldogasszony és Szent Adalbert prímási főszékesegyház), also known as The Esztergom Basilica (Hungarian: Esztergomi bazilika), is an Ecclesiastic Basilica in Esztergom, Hungary, the Mother Church of The Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest, and the Seat of The Catholic Church in Hungary. It is Dedicated to Saint Mary of The Assumption, and Saint Adalbert.
English: The Altarpiece of Esztergom Basilica.
Painted by Michelangelo Grigoletti. It is the biggest
Altarpiece in the World painted onto a single canvas.
Magyar: Az esztergomi bazilika oltárképe, melyet Michelangelo Grigoletti festett. A világ legnagyobb, egy vászonra festett olajképe.
Photo: 9 September 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Ivanhoe
(Wikimedia Commons)
It is the biggest building in Hungary and the eighteenth biggest Church in the World. 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 twelve windows. It is 71.5 m high inside, with a diameter of 33.5 metres, and is 100 m high from outside, 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.
English: Esztergom Cathedral.
Magyar: Az Esztergomi Bazilika éjjel.
Photo: 21 February 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Villy
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Basilica is also known as the Bakócz Chapel (named after Tamás Bakócz), built by Italian Masters between 1506–1507, out of Red Marble of Süttő, its walls adorned with Tuscan Renaissance 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, famous for his opposition to both Nazi and Communist rule.
English: Esztergom Basilica,
Esztergom, Hungary.
Photo: April 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Karelj
(Wikimedia Commons)
The building of the present Church took place on the Foundations 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-Centuries, made the Church more ornate and added a huge Library, the second most significant one in the Country.
Esztergom Basilica.
Photo: 15 June 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Cristian Damaschin
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Archbishops, of the 14th- and 15th-Centuries, 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 the 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 twenty 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 Classic Style. Under the next Archbishop, János Scitovszky, the Upper Church was completed and Dedicated on 31 August 1856.
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 twenty metres away from its original location and attached to the new Basilica.
Coronation Chasuble.
Hungarian embroidery from the 17th-Century.
Photo: 18 February 2013.
Current location: Főszékesegyházi kincstár,
Esztergom, Hungary.
Source: Own work, scanned by Szilas from
A magyar Szent Korona by Tóth Endre,
Szelényi Károly, Kossuth 2000, Budapest.
Author: Szilas
(Wikimedia Commons)
In 1838, Packh was murdered, so József Hild was placed in charge of construction. He completed it in Classic Style. Under the next Archbishop, János Scitovszky, the Upper Church was completed and Dedicated on 31 August 1856.
The 1856 Consecration Ceremonies featured the premiere of the Missa Solennis zur Einweihung der Basilika in Gran (Grand Mass), composed and conducted by Franz Liszt, and featuring the Organist Alexander Winterberger.
The final completion of the Cathedral took place twelve years later, in 1869.
The renovation and enlargement of the Organ 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 eighty-five Stops working out of the planned 146.
English: The Organ,
Basilica in Esztergom, Hungary.
Magyar: Az esztergomi bazilika orgonája.
Photo: 9 September 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Ivanhoe
(Wikimedia Commons)
The renovation and enlargement of the Organ 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 eighty-five Stops working out of the planned 146.
The Organ contains the largest Organ Pipes in Hungary, 10 m, about 35 feet (11 m) long. 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 forty-nine Stops, 3,530 Pipes and three Manuals. The present Organ preserves several Stops from the instrument that Liszt played.
For the Organ’s detailed specifications, see its article in the Hungarian Wikipedia.
At the time of the construction, in 1856, the Organ was the largest in Hungary with forty-nine Stops, 3,530 Pipes and three Manuals. The present Organ preserves several Stops from the instrument that Liszt played.
For the Organ’s detailed specifications, see its article in the Hungarian Wikipedia.
Thank you, Zephyrinus: what a remarkable structure. The Basilica of Our Lady of Esztergom. Wikipedia says it is built in “neo classical architectural style,” but what a unique interpretation, with the soaring dome surmounting the majestically immense pillars.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it is remarkable to read its history of being destroyed, and “resurrected:” Caught fire and burned at the end of the 12th C.; then sacked by the ignoble Wenceslaus III in 1304 (a king unworthy of his name); and then ruined by the invading Turks in 1534. And somehow and the last two centuries it survived Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin and it still stands today. Amazing. -Notes by Dante P
As always, many thanks, Dante P, for your welcome Comment. As you say, it is remarkable that this wonderful edifice has somehow survived so many ravages and still remains, today, a most beautiful edifice.
DeleteVery kind of you, as always, Dom Zephyrinus.
ReplyDeleteI took up your suggestion regarding the pipe organ of the great Esztergom Basilica, and it is quite a saga. Hey three manual 49-rank-and-pedal instrument was originally commissioned to be built starting in 1854 by the Austrian organbuilder, Ludwig Mooser, who was in renowned creator of pipe organs in his home is Salzburg (all this according to Esztergom-basilica.hu). This instrument was completed in 1856, and none other than Franz Lizst himself conducted his newly completed Coronation Mass for Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1867 at the basilica on this organ (although list, a very able organist himself, did not play the organ himself and only conducted).
The plan was to create a much larger instrument, suitable for this majestic sanctuary, of over 140 stops on five manuals, which would’ve made it one of the largest pipe organs in all of Europe. Unfortunately the instrument was damaged during World War I, requiring extensive repairs. Also it had several engineering issues such as insufficient wind-supply as it grew in size. And then, during World War II, the organ was damaged again and was allowed to lapse into a subsequent state of almost entire neglect. (A smaller pipe organ by the German firm of Rieger was installed. Rieger, although a very competent pipe organ firm, could not possibly build a pipe organ of only two manuals and roughly 35 ranks to fill this vast space). (continued, Notes by Dante P)
(part 2, Esztergom Basilica pipe organ) Finally, in 1975 artist Istvan Baroti was named to the position of Basilica organist, and through his immense efforts, the Hungarian firm of Gyuli Vagi and Janos Farkas was engaged, and virtually rank by rank, they restored the original plan and registers of the Mooser design. Baroti passed away in 2014, but his life’s work to complete the organ continues on today, and at present 77 of the roughly 144 registers have been restored, including the 32’ pedal diapausing, and there are many samples of the instrument’s majestic sound on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, with these extraordinarily great Catholic sanctuaries that Zephyrinus presents for us, there is often a fascinating story of the building, often of the stained glass and art, and of course also parallel to these, of the pipe organ, which is often “the voice box” of these profoundly stunning great and holy edifices. —Notes by Dante P
As always, a big Thank You, Dante P, for your outstanding contribution to this Article. Zephyrinus's knowledge of Pipe Organs is now significantly enhanced !!!
Delete