Budapest Guide
Várhegy and central Buda
Mátyás Church
Opening time: Daily 9am–5pm
Price: 700Ft; audioguide 400Ft
Address: Szentháromság tér
Szentháromság tér's most prominent feature is the Neo-Gothic Mátyás Church (Mátyás templom), with its wildly asymmetrical diamond-patterned roofs and toothy spires. Officially dedicated to Our Lady but popularly named after "Good King Mátyás", the building is a late nineteenth-century recreation by architect Frigyes Schulek, grafted onto those portions of the original thirteenth-century church that survived the siege of 1686. Ravaged yet again in World War II, the church was laboriously restored by a Communist regime keen to show its patriotic credentials, and the transition to democracy in 1989–90 saw the sanctity of this "ancient shrine of the Hungarian people" reaffirmed – which means that visitors are expected to be properly dressed and respectfully behaved.
As you enter the church through its twin-spired Mary Portal, the richness of the interior is overwhelming. Painted leaves and geometric motifs run up columns and under vaulting, while shafts of light fall through rose windows onto gilded altars and statues with stunning effect. Most of the frescoes were executed by Károly Lotz or Bertalan Székely, the foremost historical painters of the nineteenth century. The coat of arms of King Mátyás can be seen on the wall to your left, just inside; his family name, Corvinus, comes from the raven (corvus in Latin) that appeared on his heraldry and on every volume in his famed Corvin Library.
Around the corner, beneath the south tower, is the Loreto Chapel, containing a Baroque Madonna, while in the bay beneath the Béla Tower you can see two medieval capitals, one carved with monsters fighting a dragon, the other with two bearded figures reading a book. The tower is named after Béla IV, who founded the church, rather than his predecessor in the second chapel along, who shares a double sarcophagus with Anne of Chatillon. The tomb, originally located in the old capital, Székesfehérvár, 60km southwest of Budapest, was moved here after its discovery in 1848.
The church is also a superb venue for concerts during the festival seasons, and evening organ recitals throughout the year. Details appear on the church's own website,www.matyas-templom.hu. Tickets are available from any booking agency.