Matthias’s Church, Budapest

The first church on this site was founded by King Stephen, later Saint Stephen of Hungary, in 1015. This church was destroyed during the Tatar invasion of 1241. After the invasion, while Buda Castle was being built on Castle Hill, the church was also rebuilt and named the Cathedral of Our Lady.  Consecrated at the end of the 13th Century, the Cathedral incorporated early Gothic design which was the height of fashion.  The whole building was then remodelled in the second half of the 14th Century in a more mature late Gothic style, this allowed the church to gain height and the large windows were added. The Cathedral did not take its current name of Matthias church until the 19th century.

King Matthias added the large bell tower to the church in the 15th Century. The King would also visit this church each morning at dawn, he is said to have knelt through two masses and he chose to hold two of his weddings here. King Matthias’s first wife was Elizabeth of Celje, daughter of Ulrich II, Count of Celje. They were married in the spring of 1455, but by the winter Elizabeth became ill, and died soon afterwards. King Matthias then married Catherine of Podebrady, daughter of the Bohemian King, George of Podebrady.  They were married at Matthias Church on the 1st of May 1461. At this time, King Matthias was just 18, and his new bride was only 13 years of age.  Queen Catherine died in childbirth at the age of 15, the child also did not survive the birth.  King Matthias then married Beatrice of Naples, daughter of Ferdinand I of Naples, and his wife Isabella of Clermont. They were married on the 22nd of December 1476, but they had no children.  King Matthias’s only offspring was an illegitimate son, named John Corvinus.

King Matthias’s reign was overshadowed by his wars, but he established one of the earliest standing armies in medieval Europe, reformed the administration of justice, reduced the power of the barons, and promoted trade and learning. He was a patron of the arts and sciences, and his royal library contained one of the largest collections of books in Europe. 

After the Ottoman occupation of the city in 1541, the church was turned into a mosque, the altars and statues were destroyed, and the frescoes were white-washed over.  Most of the churches in Buda were destroyed by the Ottomans, so we are lucky that Matthias Church survived this period at all. It did not survive unscathed however. The royal oratory, the north tower, and all the side chapels were demolished, and their stones used elsewhere.  After Buda was recaptured, the church was first used by the Franciscan’s and then Jesuits, but it eventually became the main church of the capital.  

One now famous statue of the Virgin and Child, survived inside Matthias Church during the Ottoman occupation. It didn’t survive because it was left alone, it survived because it was hidden.  A wall had been built in front of it, and legend tells us that during the retaking of the city, this wall fell and the statue was revealed. A further legend would have us believe that this happened while the Turks were at prayer, and that once the statue appeared, they fled in fear.  It is likely that the gunpowder explosion on Castle Hill, during the re-capture of Buda, is what caused the wall to fall, but the statue remains in the church today.

Matthias church was further embellished in the 17th and 18th Centuries, when a new baroque altar was added along with the lobby. Matthias bell tower was given a Baroque onion dome, and new side chapels were erected. 

By the end of the 19th Century, the church was in poor condition, and in desperate need of restoration. King Franz Joseph I of Austria, commissioned a major rebuilding project and hired Frigyes Schulek, to lead the reconstruction work on Matthias Church. The church was extensively restored to its 13th Century plan.  The roof was replaced, and the diamond pattern roof tiles were added.  The Baroque elements were removed, and gothic features were returned. Where it was known what the original features were, these were restored. While the frescos are beautiful, they are not necessarily authentic, as restoration work was also carried out on them. Still, the result is something that looks closer to a medieval church than many other medieval churches we see today, as the painted decoration is similar to how every medieval church would once have been decorated.

Just outside Matthias Church, is Budapests Plague Column. First conceived in 1694, its foundation stone was laid in 1700 and it was finished in 1706 to try to keep the plague at bay. However, just three years later, after another outbreak of the plague, it was deemed to not be large enough. It was removed and placed in the suburbs of Ujlak, so that a new plague column could replace it.  These columns were known as Holy Trinity Columns, and the one in Budapest was sculpted by Fulop Ungleich. The column was inaugurated on the 11th of June 1713, and apparently did its job, as the plague never returned to Budapest.