Cathedral in Szeged

With architectural antiquity, Szeged, the third largest city in Hungary, frankly, was not lucky. The thing is that it is located on both banks of the Tisza, somewhat south of the place where another river flows into it - Marosh (Mures).

The flood of 1879 from several thousand city buildings left only two hundred and a little more. Emperor Franz Joseph, who then ruled in Austria-Hungary, promised to rebuild Szeged and kept his word. Which, of course, does not mean that the townspeople themselves did not have a hand in the construction of new buildings - they were the ones who were involved in the construction. Including, of course, the main church of the city.
Temples, built in accordance with this promise, in the Western tradition are called votive (although we are used to the word 'vowed'). Szeged Cathedral is one of these. The emperor said - the town hall did. On January 22, 1883, the city council of Szeged decided to build a new church on the site of the old one. The place in this case was of great importance: it was here that the medieval temple of St. Demeter stood, then destroyed by the water element. Only one bell tower of the 13th century remained from it, which was later thoroughly fortified, partially rebuilt and survived to this day under the name of the tower of St. Demeter.
The architect of the new cathedral was Shulek Frigies, the creator of the well-known Fisherman's Bastion in Budapest. According to the plan of Frigyesh, the Temple of the Vow was to become a neo-Romanesque cathedral, lined with white stone. Later, working in tandem with another architect named Foer Ernev, he slightly modified the original project - and, finally, on March 16, 1913, he received the approval of the city authorities.
The foundation stone for the foundation of the future cathedral was placed in the place prepared for it on June 21, 1914 - at that time preparatory work for the future construction had been going on for almost a year. However, the Great War, as the First World War would later be called, made its own adjustments to the timing of the project. The construction of the Temple of the Vow resumed only in 1923.
Business, however, went quickly - and already in August 1924 a gilded dome was erected on the cathedral under construction. And in 1925 and 1926, hipped roofs with crosses crowned the bell towers of the cathedral. Due to constant upheavals in the socio-political situation in the country, work on the interior of the temple was carried out irregularly, with long downtime - which, however, did not in the least prevent the painters who worked here from performing their work impeccably. Finally, on October 24, 1930, the completed cathedral was consecrated.
Today the cathedral in Szeged, also known as the Temple of the Vow, is an informal symbol of the city. Located in its main square the cathedral is adjacent to a Catholic boarding school, a local university, and an institute of technology. The cathedral is a large-scale building made of bricks, made in the eclectic style - it can accommodate, no more, no less, five thousand believers. Whereas the population of the city itself is a little more than one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants.
The interior of the cathedral is magnificent with vaulted ceilings and colorful paintings. Its main attraction, mentioned by all tourist guides and guides around the country, without exception, is the grandiose mosaic image of the Blessed Virgin, dressed in the national Hungarian costume and Segedian shoes.
The bell on the belfry of the cathedral weighs 8,600 kilograms and is the second largest in Hungary. The local magnificent organ is also famous throughout the country: people from other cities come to listen to its sound. And outside the cathedral, in the wall, there is a one-of-a-kind musical clock.
Next to the cathedral there is a sculptural image called 'Hungarian pietà' (from the Italian pietà, 'pity' - the iconography of the scene of the Lamentation of Jesus Christ by the Virgin Mary with the image of the Mother of God with Her dead Son lying on Her lap. The first and most significant sculpture in this genre was performed by Michelangelo Buonarroti.Of all his works, only this one the great sculptor signed with his name).
The pieta at the Szeged Cathedral has a significant difference from the classical model: The one who is mourned by the Mother of God is invisible. To understand the author's intention, you need to pay attention to the date of installation of the sculpture: 1956. It was in this year that an uprising was suppressed in Hungary, which had the goal of overthrowing the godless socialist regime and expelling Soviet troops from the country. During the unsuccessful uprising, according to official sources, 2,652 insurgents and 348 civilians were killed; 19,226 people were injured.
Whatever it is, life goes on: the troops of the Warsaw Pact countries long ago left the country, where now there is little reminiscent of the socialist past. The exit from the Szeged Cathedral leads to the main square of the city. Every summer a grandiose theater festival is held here - as well as many other spectacular events that gather thousands of participants and guests.
Of course, there are other notable churches in Szeged - for example, the nearby Serbian Church, rebuilt after the flood of 1879, with a unique iconostasis. Or the Church of the Franciscans - one of the few historical buildings in the city that survived the flood of 1879, the battles of the Second World War and survived to this day. However, it is the Temple of the Vow is a kind of spiritual center of the city and one of the most magnificent cathedrals in all of Hungary.

You can write a letter to God or light a candle in the temple .