St. Peter and Paul Cathedral (Székesegyház, Szent Péter és Pál)), Pécs
King Saint Stephen established the Bishopric of Pécs in 1009. Its first bishop was Bishop Bonipetrus of French descent. We have not much information concerning its first church, which might have been one of the Early Christian temples still standing at the time. The so called Illuminated Chronicle tells us that in 1064, when King Solomon was crowned in Pécs, the „bells fell down from the towers” owing to a fire that raged during the night following the coronation. This means that there was already a temple there which had to be reconstructed after the fire. The five-nave cross vaulted undercroft, built at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries, still preserves its monumental embellished interior space. The church above it, built slightly later, is a three-nave basilica with no transept. Of its four towers two were constructed at the beginning and two other at the end of the 12th century. In the Middle Ages the interior of the church was richly decorated with stone carvings and frescos which were partly destroyed during the Turkish occupation then the repeated reconstructions of the following centuries covered them completely. The medieval ornaments were found as a result of the reconstruction carried out between 1883-1891. The stone carvings were then taken out from the wall and water colours were made about the remains of the frescos. The reconstruction kept the basilica architecture of the 12th century cathedral. The design was the work of the Friedrich von Schmidt of Austrian, while the work was supervised by Ágoston Kirstein.
Similarly to the former Romanesque building, the cathedral, reconstructed in a Neo-Romanesque style, is a three-nave basilica with a flat ceiling, four towers and a ring of chapels. The rich paintings of its interior have their roots in the historicism of the 19th century. The walls and the ceiling are completely covered with paintings depicting various scenes from the Bible and Hungarian saints. The paintings of the naves are the work of Karl Andreä and Moritz von Beckerath of Austria, while those in the chapels were made by Bertalan Székely and Károly Lotz. The figural carvings and the copies of the original ornaments of the undercroft descents were made by György Zala, while the relief above the southern gate and the apostle sculptures standing on the columns of the arcade are the work of György Kiss. These latter ones were replaced with the sculptures of Károly Antal in 1962-63. In the open space in front of the cathedral’s gate the double bronze-gate composition of Sándor Rétfalvi was unveiled on December 30th in 2000. The outer bronze gate is decorated with leaves and clusters of grape on grapevine with birds and small lizards hiding among them. It also contains scenes recalling the foundation of the bishopric. The inner gate is embellished with 22 golden bronze high-reliefs depicting scenes from the Old Testament.
After its reconstruction the former basilica still reflects the magic of a medieval church. The cathedral with its four towers surrounded by the buildings of the Bishop’s Palace, the Prebendal Cartulary and Presbytery and the Mediterranean square in front of it is the best sight of the town and an everlasting memory that visitors may take home.
The remains of Janus Pannonius (1434-1472), the Renaissance poet and former bishop of Pécs were discovered when restoring the cathedral in 1991. The leaders of the bishopric assumed that the remains belonged to the late bishop and the results of an anthropological research received in the spring of 2008 confirmed that their suspicion had been correct. In the autumn of 2008 the former bishop was laid to rest in the undercroft of the cathedral in the form of a solemn ceremony. The remains of the great poet are deposited beside those of bishop Nándor Dulánszky. (Source: vendégváró)
Critiques | Translate
lakshmip1949 (19081) 2011-05-30 2:59
Lovely cathedral with 4 towers and a monument in the front. Perfect symmetry. Nice inclusion of the people. Superb quality image with nice colors and tone.
mursaloglu (8656) 2011-05-30 3:00
hello dear Gyorgi
Just I came from a long travel, I write this note. As usual great architecture style you took and great composition. Very symmetrical and marvelous charming design. Bravo ihsan
mauro61 (52623) 2011-05-30 3:03
molto ben presentata l'immagine della Cattedrale con una perfetta luce ad illuminarla.
Scena ricca di particolari compositivi.
timecapturer (49278) 2011-05-30 4:17
an amazing looking building and a great POV to do it full justice. Great clarity and perfect symmetry - an impressive shot of an impressive cathedral.
Have a great week - Brian
JFS (32459) 2011-05-30 4:57
Picture with lots of contrasts, well captured and perfectly observed. Thanks George!
snunney (84742) 2011-05-30 4:57
The slightly upwards point of view showcases this lovely cathedral to good effect backed by that interesting sky. The statue and flower bed help create depth and I like the framing offered by the trees, one in full leaf, the other still waiting. The image good light, colours and sharpness.
npecanhuk (66238) 2011-05-30 5:05
Different Cathedral with four towers!
Truly attractive architectural details and urban environment that surrounds that temple!
Sharpness, exposure, chosen pov, colors, horizontal format, black & white borders, contrasts and symmetrical composition are all oustanding features here!
TFS - congrats,
Have a great week,
francio64 (38276) 2011-05-30 5:06
una composizione piuttosto piacevole.
Anche se la Cattedrale č al centro della scena, l'immagine č ugualmente ben composta, con gli alberi ai lati a dare ricchezza alla composizione.
Ottimo lo sharp e la luce č ben gestita a tutto vantaggio della resa cromatica.
Well done and TFS!
Sergiom (61036) 2011-05-30 5:22
Un cadrage trčs classique mais efficace de cette cathédrale qui possčde 4 clochers ce qui est presque unique en ce qui me concerne. La lumičre est magnifique.
danos (87427) 2011-05-30 8:50
what a nice presentation of the Cathedral with the creating perspective and the depth to are superb.I like the clarity of the image as the flowers in front of it that decorates pleasantly the image.
Have a good afternoon,Danos
Bluejeans (64249) 2011-05-30 11:22
Bonita esta catedral com esta fachada simétrica , bom primeiro plano com este jardim cheio de flores, gostei muito do céu , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo
vasilpro (40933) 2011-05-30 15:16
Beautiful church with interesting architecture, excellent POV, lovely colors and atmosphere, very nice presentation, TFS!
Have a nice evening, Vasilis.
dkmurphys (49992) 2011-05-31 1:03
Perfect postcard, a very beautiful shot. Love the place, good composition.
Enjoy the day.
siamesa (27743) 2011-05-31 4:50
Bom dia George
The architecure of this church is beutiful. Four towers and a large format. Very nice the garden in front of it.
paura (47166) 2011-05-31 17:59
A incomum arquitetura do bonito prédio está mostrada em excelente fotografia. Enquadramento e composiçăo de primeira.
Graal (97765) 2011-05-31 23:26
Jó napot George,
very nice architecture of cathedral. Amazing towers. Good shot and symmetric composition. Well note and superb photo. I like it.
Have a nice day.
AiresSantos (56155) 2011-06-01 23:27
Amazing colors in this wonderful picture of the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral
Fine POV, sharpness and light managment
Have a nice day
- Copyright: George Rumpler (Budapestman) (82620)
- Genre: Places
- Medium: Color
- Date Taken: 2011-04-16
- Categories: Daily Life, Nature, Architecture, Artwork
- Camera: Pentax K10D
- Exposure: f/8, 1/750 seconds
- More Photo Info: view
- Photo Version: Original Version
- Theme(s): Discovery of Pécs [view contributor(s)]
- Date Submitted: 2011-05-30 2:54