Budapest - Matthias Church (Church of Our Lady, Coronation Church)

(Local Name: Mátyás Templom) The Church of Our Lady in Buda is one of the principal sights of the Hungarian capital. It is the successor to a church built in the time of King Béla IV between 1255 and 1269, which was rebuilt on several occasions. Its side aisles were extended and given polygonal ends in the 14th C; the magnificent south doorway with its relief in the tympanum depicting the "Death of Mary" also dates from that period. In 1309 Charles Robert of Anjou was crowned King Charles I of Hungary in this church. Under King Matthias, after whom the church is named, side-chapels were added, together with an oratory for the royal family and a new south tower, which bears the arms of Matthias Corvinus, dated 1470 (the original arms are now to be found inside the church). In 1526 the building was destroyed by fire and fifteen years later was converted into a mosque. When the Turks were driven out by the Austrians the Jesuits made themselves responsible for the Church of our Lady and renovated it in Baroque style. In 1867 Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and his consort Elisabeth ("Sissi") were crowned rulers of Hungary here; Franz Liszt composed the famous coronation mass. The church was rebuilt in its present form between 1874 and 1896 by F, Schulek, who adopted the Gothic style. At the end of the Second World War it was severely damaged but has been faithfully restored after years of patient work.

The west front, facing Szentháromság tér, has an ornamented doorway and a fine rose-window and is largely the work of Schulek. The relief in the tympanum above the door is by L. Lontai and shows the Virgin Mary between two angels. Schulek added a further storey with patterned roof-tiles and a spire to the 13th C Béla Tower. The Matthias Tower (80m/262ft high) is square at the bottom but octagonal from the second storey.

A jewel of the Gothic church is the Mary doorway on the south side, protected by a portico built by Schulek. The fine relief in the tympanum representing the Death of Mary is 14th C. On either side of the entrance are statues of King Stephen I (The Holy) and King Ladislaus I.

The interior of the Matthias Church is decorated with geometrical designs and plant ornamentation reminiscent of that of a mosque. The frescoes and stained-glass date from the 1890s and were designed by B. Székely and K. Lotz and the Neo-Gothic high altar by F. Schulek.