Tihany - Abbey

(Local Name: Apátság) Visible from afar is Tihany's symbol and landmark, the towers on the front of the Baroque abbey which was built by Abbot Ágoston Lécs between 1740 and 1745 on the foundations of the original church dedicated in 1060. Although it may appear somewhat plain from the outside, the Late Baroque interior is quite magnificent. The pulpit, which portrays the personification of the Christian virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity between the seated figures of the four Fathers of the Church, is particularly worthy of note. The high altar is decorated with carved figures of St Benedict and St Scholastika, as well as of saintly kings Stephen and Ladislaus. Like those of the pulpit and the side-altars, these are the work of the cabinet-maker Sebastian Stuhlhoff. a lay brother in the monastery. His excellent reputation and the esteem in which he was held are reflected in the fact that he is buried in the crypt next to the abbots. More high quality carvings by him can be seen in the sacristy. The crypt under the raised choir formed part of the original Romanesque church. This gloomy, somber room with its heavy round pillars hewn from blocks of stone contrasts sharply with the jubilant Baroque style of the church above.

The patron of the abbey, King Andrew I, lies interred in the central aisle beneath a marble slab adorned with an abbot's cross. In the cellar of this former Benedictine abbey is a lapidarium containing Roman, Early Christian and medieval memorials in stone, and on the upper floors is the Tihany local history museum.