Budapest Guide
Gellért-hegy and the Tabán
The Cave Church
Opening time: Daily 8am–9pm
Price: Free
On the hillside opposite the Gellért Hotel you'll find the Cave Church (Szikla-templom), where masses are conducted by white-robed monks of the Pauline order, the only religious order indigenous to Hungary. Founded in 1256, its monks served as confessors to the Hungarian kings until Josef II dissolved the order in 1773, though it was re-established 150 years later. The church itself was created in the 1930s by monks from the nearby Pauline monastery, and functioned until the whole community was arrested by the ÁVO at midnight mass on Easter Monday, 1951, whereupon the chapel was sealed up until 1989. Flickering candles and mournful organ music create an eerie atmosphere during services (daily 8.30–9.30am, 11am– noon, 4.30–6.30pm & 8–9pm), but tourists are only allowed to enter between times. Outside the entrance stands a statue of St Stephen with his horse.