Esztergom Basilica: Encyclopedia II - Esztergom Basilica - History

Esztergom Basilica - History

The building of the present church took place on the foundation 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 burnt at the end of XII century. It was rebuilt, but not too much remained of it, and was almost completely destroyed under the Tartar (Mongol) Invasion. It was rebuilt again in the XIII and XIV century, and a huge library was added, the second most significant one in the country. It was ruined again under Turkish rule, in 1543. In 1820, the archiepiscopacy returned at last to the city, and archbishop Alexander Rudnay (Rudnay Sándor in Hungarian) decided to make Esztergom again the ecclesiastical centre of the country.

Plans were made by Pál Kühnel, and the leader of the construction was János Packh. The foundation-stone was laid and work began in 1822. The Bakócz chapel, taken to 1600 numbered pieces, was attached to the new basilica 20 metres farther, 10 metres lower. In 1838, Packh was assassinated, and the archbishop trusted József Hild with the leading of the construction, and he completed it in Classicistic style. The new archbishop, János Scitovszky, urged the completion of the high church, so it was inaugurated on August 31, 1856, a good while before the full completion in 1869. The 1856 celebration ceremony was crowned by the Mass of Esztergom, a piece composed and conducted by Franz Liszt, his largest liturgical composition.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki