Medieval Ruin Garden

A national memorial on Koronázó tér, just east of the main square. In the middle ages this was the site of Hungary's most important church and had it not been for the Turks blowing it up. Here is the ruins of the main church of the medieval Hungary, Here stand the basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary, it would be to Hungary what Westminster Abbey is to England. The church was begun in 1016 under Hungary's first Christian king, Szent István. At the time, Székesfehérvár was the capital of the kingdom, and this church was the site of numerous coronations. In addition, from 1038 to 1543 fifteen Hungarian kings were put to eternal rest here (starting with Szent István himself and ending with Szapolyai János). As already mentioned, the church was destroyed by the Turks in 1601 and in 1800 the remains were used to build the Bishops Palace on nearby Városház square. Today all that remains of the once great basilica are stone walls outlining its form. The big draw, however, is to visit the mausoleum containing Szent István's sarchaphogus. This was discovered in 1803 during the building of the Bishop's Palace. The cherubic forms on the outside and royal relics contained within clearly identified this as the tomb of Szent István. The sarchaphogus originally was taken to the National Museum in Budapest, but was brought back to Székesfehérvár in 1936, and since then has remained in the attractive mausoleum at the entrance of the garden. Photography is not allowed in the mausoleum.