//
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Villy assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
The town's claim to fame and the largest basilica in the country. It was in a church built on the same spot that the Hungarian king Vajk was baptised and from then on known as Saint Stephen. Rebuilt according the plans of Pál Kühnel, János Páckh and József Hild from 1822 to 1869. The Basilica of Esztergom, being the cathedral of the Primate of Hungary, is the first in rank, and also the largest among the churches in the country. The church in the place of the present Basilica was founded by King St. Stephen during the first decade of our statehood. The classicist church is enormous: the height of the dome is 71.5 meters; it has giant arches and an enormous altar-piece by Michelangelo Grigoletti and contains the relics of Saint Marko Krizin who was beheaded by Calvinists for refusing to denounce his Catholic faith. On one side, in the Saint Stephen chapel, the glittering relics of Hungarian and other nations’ saints and valuable jewellery can be seen. On the south side, the Bakócz Chapel, the only one that survived the Middle Ages, can be seen.
The Primatial Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Adalbert, also known as the Basilica of Esztergom, is an ecclesiastic basilica in Esztergom, Hungary, the mother church of the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest, and the seat of the Catholic Church in Hungary. It is dedicated to the Assumption of Saint Mary and Saint Adalbert.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Kupola kilátó
Almost 400 steps lead up to the dome's balcony from the entrance of the basilica. The spherical over dome is 2.5 m in diameter, the cross is 7 m tall.
Orgona
The organ has five manuals and by 2006 had 85 stops working out of the planned 146. The organ contains the largest organ pipes in Hungary, 10 m long. The smallest pipe is 7 mm. It is one of the largest organs in Europe, surpassing all organs in Hungary in volume and in the variety of stops.
Kripta
The huge crypt, built in Old Egyptian style in 1831, is today the resting place of late archbishops, among others, József Mindszenty, famous for his opposition to Nazi and Communist rule.
Kincstár
It has many masterpieces of medieval goldsmith's works. The western European masters hands are praised by such items as the crown silver cross that has been used since the 13th century, the ornate chalices, Francesco Francia’s processional cross, the upper part of the well-known ‘Matthias-Calvary’ which is decorated in the rare ronde-bosse enamel technique, also there is a vast collection of traditional Hungarian and European textiles, including chasubles, liturgical vestments and robes.
Magyarok Nagyasszonya szobor
bronze, which is erected by a canon of Esztergom (Pór Antal), the occasion of the millennium of conquest. György Kis was the sculptor. This been set up in 1905. The 2m high statue is on a 3.7-meter pedestal.
Sötétkapu
This is a passage in the huge artificial slope of Castle Hill. Built in front of the basilica. The length is approximately 90 m. In one end is the Old Seminary (Ószeminárium), in the other is the Faculty John Vitez of Peter Pázmány Catholic University ( Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem, Vitéz János Kar).