St. Stephen's Basilica - Szent Istvan Bazilika, Budapest

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St Stephen's Basilica is the largest church in Budapest, and the most important Catholic church. It was completed in 1905, but construction started already 50 years earlier. When the dome collapsed during a storm in 1868 the whole building had to be demolished and work started from the ground again. The church is built in neoclassic style. Statues on the exterior shows the twelve Apostles, the four Evangelists etc. The interior is decorated with work of arts made by 19th century Hungarian artists.

The church is open every day, but not in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays.

In summertime you can climb the steps (or take the elevator) to see the view from top of the dome, but it was closed in February when I was there.

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The Holy Right is believed to be the mummified right hand of St Stephen (King Stephen I was canonised 1083, about 50 years after his death). The relic is behind glass and in darkness. To see it better you can put a 100 ft coin in a machine and there will be light for a while in the glass casket.
The Holy Right Chapel is to the left in St Stephen?s Basilica, behind the main altar.

The reconstruction of the St Stephens Basilica was finished recently and the square in front of the Basilica also got a new "design" with a very nice pattern. Worth to wlak around a bit and see the details before enterint the Basilica itself!

In 1810 charity offers began to be collected in purpose of building the Basilica, although the building up was started only on the 14th of Aug, 1851 according the plans of Jozsef Hild. He led the constructions till his dead (1867). Then Miklos Ybl (architect of the Opera House) took over his job, till his dead. The finishing touches were made in 1905 by Jozsef Kauser.

On the 22nd of Jan, 1868 the cupola collapsed because of the quality of the building materials that were received as a gift. Construction paused for a year because of reconstruction.

Start out from the beautiful square in from of the Basilica, then do the tour inside (no need for a guide, just walk arond and watch the details! :), and do_not miss the visit to the cupola!!

If you are facing the entrance, you will find the stairs on the right hand side of the main door. There is also an elevator going up.

The cupola offers a great view of the Pest side (including the Parlament, and the old stock exchange building on Szabadság tér, which is now the main building of the Hungarian National TV). You can also see the Buda side landmarks from a very diferent point of view. It's worth, that's it! :)

Prices:
Whole tour including chuch, treasury, "Saint Right" - the hand of our 1st King St Stephan and the cupola - 1500 Ft, starting tours: 9:30, 11:00, 14:00, 15:30 on weekdays, Saturday: 9:30, Sunday: 15:30, but you can simply enter the chuch or the cupola any time until 18:00 PM (price of the cupola alone is around 400 Ft).

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This neo-renaissance and classicist church is said to be second in size to St. Peter's in Rome and can allegedly hold 8.500 people. Although not a basilica in the technical sense of the word, but Hungarians like to call "the Basilica" in honor of its sheer size.
The cathedral has a height of 96 metres - exactly the same as the Parliament building. It took over 50 years to build it according to the design of Hild and Ybl. It was completed in 1905.
The bust above the main entrance is of St. Stephen, Hungary's first Christian king.
Inside the church, to the left of the Main Altar in the Holy Right Chapel you can see Hungarian Catholicism's most precious treasure, the mummified right fist of St. Stephen. On 20th August every year the Holy Right is carried around the city in a procession.
In 2003 a full-scale eight years renovation of the church and neighboring square was completed, and now the cleaned-up front of the church graces the colorful and grand St. Stephen square, where travelers sip their coffee in open-air cafes.
You can visit the viewing platform above the cupola from where, needless to say, you can admire one of Budapest's best panoramic views. The platform is open only between 1st April to 31st October.

Notice: The renovation incl. the square was organized by me and my company from 1998.

Daily Mass is held at 7:00am and 8:00am at the Holy Right Chapel, and 5:30am and 6:00pm in the Basilica
Sunday Mass at 8:00, 9:00, and 10:00am, noon, and 6:00 and 7:30pm.
Open: 9:00am - 5:00pm every day, in winter: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Price 1600 HUF/ 6 € for an adult, 800 HUF/3 € for Senior (62+) and students

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Created by Alajos Stróbl the statue of the state-founding king St Stephan on horseback was unveiled in Buda Castle in 1906. The king is wearing the Hungarian Holy Crown and has a golden halo; he is waving his sceptre over the people in blessing.

It is Budapest the largest church. It is located in the center of the Pest. The exterior suggests its clear interior layout. Construction began in 1848b to Josef Hilds neo-classical plans. After his death Milkos took over construction in his renaissance version

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St. Stephen's Basilica is named for the first King of Hungary. The King's mummified hand is in the basilica and is taken out during the festival of St. Stephen.

The building itself is very impressive with a beautiful dome. We noticed this large structure from some locations in Budapest such as Fisherman's Bastion and Gellert Hill.

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The internal of the basilica is just fantastic. The biggest masters of that period worked on the decoration for decades. The two most beautiful paintigs are:
1. Saint Stephen offers Hungary to Virgin Mary-painted by Gyula Benczúr and you find it on the right side o fthe Basilica
2. Christ on the Calvary hill- work by Gyula Stettka- visible on the opposite side.
On this page you can see all the other important paintings, statues of the Basilica.
Of course the main sight of the basilica is the huge cupola richly ornated with mosaics and of course gold.
By the way the gold is present everywhere in the Basilica, just look at these images-->