Esztergom - Christian Museum

The Palace of the Primate of Hungary was completed in 1882. It is now the Christian Museum. This provincial museum has become known far and wide and - apart from those in the Budapest museums - its collections of works by old Hungarian and early Italian Renaissance artists are beyond compare. It came into being largely as a result of the collecting passion of Archbishop János Simor, who allowed the public in to see his paintings as early as 1875. His collection was complemented by the purchase of the Bertinelli Collection of early Italian sacred art and also that of medieval work owned by Alexander Schnütgen of the Cologne cathedral chapter, together with an inheritance from Bishop Arnold Ipolyi who had systematically tracked down and purchased Late Gothic panels by Hungarian masters which had become scattered abroad. The highlight of the collection is the Picture Gallery, where the main paintings on view are by Italian masters of the 13th to 18th C, including Filippo Lippi, Duccio di Buoninsegna and Lorenzo di Credi. The main Hungarian Late Gothic work comprises the four tablets portraying Our Lord's Passion on a Lady altar (1506) with the monogram "M. S.". 15th to 18th C Austrian and German artists include Franz Anton Maulbertsch and Lucas Cranach the Elder. Outstanding among the Early Dutch works is "Man's Suffering" by Hans Memling.

In addition to the superb Picture Gallery the museum also boasts a high-quality sculpture collection with Hungarian and German work from the 14th-18th C. The most beautiful Hungarian wood-carving is the "Holy Sepulchre of Garamszentbenedek", a 15th C reliquary carried in processions. The exhibits in the Applied Arts department include gold and silver work, ceramics, tapestries and textiles.