In the early 13th C, probably c 1214, the influential Hungarian nobleman Márton Ják, known as "the Great", laid the foundation stone of a dynastic church on a hill in the center of his -extensive estates. At the same time he called upon some Benedictine monks and invited them to found a modest monastery near the church. By the time of the Mongol attacks of 1241 the triple-aisled nave, the choir and the twin-towered façade had been built, but only the most westerly bay under the gallery and the square choir had been covered with the Early Gothic groin-vaulted roof - the remaining parts of the church were roofed over in a simple way after the interruption in the building work. It was finally consecrated in 1256. During the Turkish wars the monks left the abbey, and it was burned down a few years later. The church retained the Late Renaissance gateway (1663) in the church wall dating from the time when it was renovated by Abbot Ferenc Folnay; the door is embellished with the abbot's coat-of-arms.
The famous architect Frigyes Schulek undertook an extensive restoration of the church in 1896-1904, shortly after he had completed the rebuilding of the Gothic Matthias Church in Budapest. He removed the Baroque additions, rebuilt the towers on the lines of the church in Zsámbék, replaced numerous sections of the building and erected a groin-vaulted roof over the central and south aisles.
Passing through Abbot Folnay's Late Renaissance gateway the visitor will find himself facing the imposing west front, where his attention will immediately be drawn to the magnificent recessed doorway. Surmounted by a triangular gable, it stands forward of the wall between two massive towers which have double campanile arcades in their two upper floors. The doorway is richly decorated with geometric patterns, human figures and plant ornamentation in the Norman Romanesque style. Extremely important examples of Late Romanesque art in Hungary are the almost life-size figures of Christ (in the center) and ten of His Apostles which stand in the recessed niches above the door and in the two niches in the fronts of the towers. These almost true to life, avant-garde figures are modeled on the architectural sculptures in Bamberg Cathedral (Germany) and in the "Giant's Doorway" of St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. The heads of Christ and the two Apostles on either side of Him are original, whereas the others were torn down by the Turks and replaced in the 18th C. A Madonna on her throne (head missing) and a representation of Samson and the Lion embellish the two niches level with the tops of the door columns. The relief on the tympanum is a modern copy of the original which is now in the Savaria Museum in Szombathely. There is also some remarkable architectural sculpture to be seen on the other sides of the church. On the east side there is a pleasing statue of a young king with his scepter on the north apse, and on the main apse a sculpture of Androcles and the Lion. The south door is surmounted by a simple tympanum with the Lamb of God between two Dragons.
Interior
The fact that this was originally a dynastic church for the use of the family and relatives is clearly shown inside; above the west porch can be seen the characteristic gallery used by the senior members of the family, fitted with three niche-seats (entrance above the spiral staircase in the south tower). The rich sculptural decoration on the outside was at one time complemented by expensive interior paintings, only fragments of which still remain. The frescos in the porch show the founder Márton Ják and his family together with angels bearing the souls of the departed up to Heaven. In the roof-panels the faithful are shown praying to saints whose identity has not yet been established. The fresco in the choir, showing St George and the Dragon, is sadly very much the worse for wear. The 15th C carved wooden figure of the Virgin Mary on the side-altar in the choir has considerable rarity value, because very few medieval Hungarian sculptures have been preserved. A further major medieval work of art came to light during restoration work in the summer of 1991 - a unique Gothic winged altar dating from about 1400 was found hidden under a Baroque altar painting of 1705. Some individual sections have already had the overpainting removed to reveal the apostles Peter and Paul and John the Baptist.
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