Churches of Budapest (4)

As the previous post indicated Hungary is a largely Christian country, and mainly Catholic. Budapest's largest church is St. Stephen's Basilica. The church was completed in 1905 after a major mishap in 1868 - the dome fell in - whoops! Here is a pic.


















This is an inside view of the reconstructed dome, which is 96 meters high with a fresco of God the Father at the center.














The church also houses the most sacred relic for Hungarian Catholics, the mummified right fist of St. Stephan the first King of Hungary. Unfortunately, visiting hours for the fist were closed by the time we got there...oh well.

Another interesting church in Budapest, on the Pest side is the Cave Church. It was founded in 1926 by the Pauline monks and was essentially an expansion of St. Istvan's residence, a hermit monk who cured the sick. Here is a pic of the outside.


















In 1951 the Communist secret police arrested all the Pauline monks and their leader condemned to death, with the others received harsh sentences. The church was closed during the Soviet period but re-opened in immediately after the fall of Communism in 1989. Here is a pic of the inside of the small church.