Matthias Church

Matthias Church is one of the finest churches in Budapest, and the most unique churches in Europe. Located atop the Buda Castle hill, it has been serving the citizens of the Buda Castle Hill since 1015, its foundation by the first Hungarian king. The official name of the temple is: the church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but it is known to both residents of Budapest and tourists as the Church of Matthias. The current building is a reconstruction of a Gothic church with 19th-century elements. Attention is drawn to the bright facade combined with the roof made of colorful tiles.

The history of the temple goes back to the beginning of the 11th century, when King of Hungary, Stefan I, founded a Romanesque church in this place. It was completely destroyed in the 13th century, and a Gothic building was erected in its place. Only fragments of the original fourteenth-century church have survived to this day: the main portal, the oratory in the southern chapel and the southern tower.

Sometimes this church is wrongly called the Church of Saint Matthias, but its name does not come from the saint, but from the King of Hungary, Matthias Corvinus. Next to the church is the Fisherman's Bastion and a statue of Stefan I on a horse. In the early 19th century the church was finally restored in Neo-Gothic style by Frigyes Schulek between 1873 and 1896. Not only did he restore Matthias Church, but he also made it a beautiful gem on the Buda Castle hill, surrounded by the Fisherman’s Bastion viewing towers, the historical Holy Trinity Square, and the five star luxury Hilton Hotel.

Today Matthias Church is a lively religious and cultural focal point in Budapest, with several church events, weddings, beautiful classical music concerts, choir performances, Christmas masses, Easter celebrations and more.