Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, Gyor

Opposite the Bishop's Castle, stands the town's most important historical building. The Cathedral dates back to an 11th C triple-aisled Romanesque building, which was rebuilt after having been destroyed by the Mongols (13th-15th C; north side-apse, St Ladislaus Chapel). The Early Baroque interior was added after the Turkish period; this includes the barrel vaulting with engraved coping 1639-45 by the Italian master Giovanni Battista Rava.

Picture - Cathedral of the Virgin Mary in Gyor.

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The exterior is dominated by the west façade and tower, built in 1803-23 in a mixture of 18th C plait style and Classicism by Jakob Hendler. The ceiling frescos and the main altarpiece (Assumption of the Virgin Mary) are masterpieces by Franz Anton Maulbertsch, painted between 1772 and 1781.

The Ascension can be seen depicted in the central aisle, in the north aisle the Transfiguration of Christ, in the south aisle scenes from the life of St Stephen, and in the choir Hungarian saints. The contrast between light and dark used by Maulbertsch in his paintings in the side-aisles in particular - the Crucifixion, Christ on the Mount of Olives - illustrate the power of expression he was able to achieve in his work.

The revered image above the north side-altar shows Mary with the Infant Jesus; it is Irish in origin and was brought to Gyor in the 17th C.

Related Attractions

Chapel of St Ladislaus (Héderváry Chapel)

From the south side-aisle the visitor enters the early 15th C Gothic Chapel of St Ladislaus (also known as the Héderváry Chapel, in honor of its founder); on its altar stands a masterpiece of Gothic art, a reliquary bust of St Ladislaus, King of Hungary from 1077 to 1095, who was canonized in 1192. It dates from 1405, stands 65cm (26in) high, and is made of gilded silver with cloisonné decoration (enamel patterns separated by strips of wire). On the breast can be seen the Hungarian coat-of-arms. The crown is a later addition, made in Prague c 1600.

On the south side of the Cathedral stands a Rococo statue of St Michael (1764), based on that of the Archangel Michael above the porch of St Michael's Church in Vienna.