Matthias Church

Matthias Church on the Castle hill of Buda deserves a separate reference and visit. It is a building so intertwined with Hungarian history that knowing the events that took place during its 700-year-old history is in essence knowledge of both the national and local story. This symbol of the city was built when Obuda was rebuilt following the Mongolian invasion (1241-42) along with the Castle and the Royal Palace.

Almost all official royal coronations, weddings, and ceremonies were held in this place. As did the rest of the city, this historic place overcame several distractions that were restored, leaving the oldest church & building of Buda standing with its magnificent paintings and frescoes proud & tall today.

The Church was turned into a mosque for over 150 years by the Ottoman Turks, it was once owned by Franciscans, and Jesuits and is now a thriving Catholic church with holy masses, concerts, plenty of weddings, as well as thousands of tourists. The graceful architecture and stunningly rich, all-embracing wall paintings of the majestic building will leave you speechless.

While the outside of Matthias Church offers the historical beauty of traditional Gothic churches with delicate turrets, the colored tile roofs already give away that this church is not following the usual recipe: entering inside the church you will experience one of the most welcoming combinations of warm lights, shadows, and colors with orange, brown, golden hewed frescoes reaching from floor to ceiling, beautiful stained glass windows, far-reaching arches, century-old wooden pews, medieval remnants. More