St. László Roman Catholic Cathedral
St. László Roman Catholic Cathedral
Address:
Strada Șirul Canonicilor 2
Historical Hungarian county:
Bihar
GPS coordinates:
47.0689555023, 21.9320935802
History
The church was founded by King László I of Hungary (Saint László), and he was probably buried here in 1116, in the church dedicated to the Assumption. After the Mongol and Turkish destructions, the cathedral was struck by an earthquake, when its two towers fell down. The church was finally destroyed during the reign of Bethlen Gábor of Transylvania. The present church was designed in 1750 by the famous Austrian architect Franz Anton Hillebrandt. Work, led by Giovanni Battista Ricca, began on 1 May 1752, when the foundation stone was laid by Bishop Forgách Pál (1747-1757). The Italian architect's death in 1756 led to the work being halted. Finally, Domenico Lucchini took over the building work. Work on the bishop's palace also began at this time. The construction was completed on 8 December 1779 and consecrated by Bishop Count Kollonits László on 25 June 1780. Its organ was donated by Empress Maria Theresa.
Legend has it that Saint László is buried in the church. On major feasts, a procession is held with the reliquary of St. László, which holds the relic. The relic is a piece of the skull of St. László, and the reliquary is a sixty-centimetre-high gilded silver bust that faithfully reproduces the features of St. László.
The cathedral is the largest Baroque church in Transylvania and Romania. The central nave is 70 m long and 30-40 m wide. Its walls are covered by marble from Vaskó and Carrara. Its altarpiece painted in 1779 depicts the Assumption of Mary. The altar stands between the wooden statues of King St Stephen of Hungary and his son St Imre. The church has two side naves and two towers. In 1991 Pope John Paul II elevated the church to the rank of basilica minor.
In front of the cathedral you can see the statue of St. László, which originally stood in the main square, but was moved here in 1921 in order to protect it from the occupying Romanian authorities. Near it, you can see another smaller statue of St. László, which was put on its pedestal in 2000 after restoration work was completed. The statue was hidden underground for 52 years. It is the oldest Baroque stone statue in Nagyvárad.
The Bishop's Palace, the Canons' Row and the Cathedral together form the Baroque quarter of Nagyvárad.
The remains of the medieval cathedral are in the southeastern part of the inner courtyard of the castle, partly under the palace wing, and cannot be seen on the surface. The Diocese of Várad was founded by King Saint László in 1092 and he also started the construction of the cathedral.
It was probably consecrated in the 1110s, when the king's remains were brought here from Somogyvár. The cathedral was destroyed by the Mongols in 1241, but it was rebuilt. It was remodelled in Gothic style between 1342 and 1372. The cathedral burned down in 1403. Its towers were damaged in an earthquake in 1443. It was also badly damaged in the Turkish siege of 1562 and was never rebuilt.
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