Székesfehérvár Basilica Ruins

Székesfehérvár, Hungary

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Stephen was built in the late 1010s by Saint Stephen I, the first King of Hungary. It was the most significant place of the Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages, as it contained the crown jewels, including the throne, the Holy Crown of Hungary, the treasury and the archives. 37 kings and 39 queens consort were crowned in this basilica and 15 were buried in it. In 1543, the Turks occupied Székesfehérvár. The royal graves were ransacked and the basilica was used to store gunpowder while St. Martin's Cathedral in Pozsony became the new coronation site.

In 1601, the valuable building was destroyed by fire. Just in 1601, the Ottoman rule of the city was interrupted for about one year. Illustrations of the 17th century suggest that the fire and probable blow up was caused by Christian artillery in the course of the Christian conquest.

References:

Wikipedia

Miscellaneous historic sites in Hungary

Address

Koronázó tér 1-2, Székesfehérvár, Hungary

See all sites in Székesfehérvár

Details

Founded: c. 1010
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Hungary

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.8/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Bory Castle (3,7 km)

Tata Castle (51,3 km)
Zsámbék Monastery Church (45,9 km)
Pipo Castle (48,8 km)
Simontornya Castle (50 km)
Fehérvárcsurgó Palace (15,2 km)
Öskü Church (25,8 km)
Zsámbék Castle (45,7 km)
Sóly Church (29,4 km)

User Reviews

Paul Heller (4 years ago)
Must admit I did not go inside, but on the backside of the church is something resembling the tomb of the unknown soldier. Nothing outside to explain what exactly it is. But the outside of the church is also very pretty.

Bruni Sini (4 years ago)
Nice renovated church

diana sterescu (7 years ago)
Beautiful place

Marker K. (8 years ago)
One of the best historical buildings in Székesfehérvár.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright Christian Lauw

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.