St. Stephen’s Basilica
City: Budapest
Area: District 5. City center
Phone: 3172859
The St. Stephen’s Basilica is Budapest’s largest church; it can hold 8,500 worshippers simultaneously, and its official ecclesiastical name is Lipót City Parish Church. Its main façade overlooks Szent István tér and the Danube via Zrínyi utca. The construction started in 1851, but for various reasons, such as the death of the original architect and the collapse of the dome, it was fully completed only in 1905.
Due to its proximity to the Danube, a triple cellar system was built underneath it - so the building is almost as large under the ground as above it. The church was severely damaged during World War II; the reconstruction took 20 years, between 1983 and 2003, during the course of which Szent István tér was also rebuilt.
The church commemorates the first Christian king of Hungary, who founded the Hungarian state in the year 1000 AD. His mummified right arm is on display inside the church. The church has Hungary's largest and heaviest bell, weighing 9 tons. There is a magnificent view of the city from the cupola of the church. There is a modern elevator taking visitors most of the way up, from where a 360-degree view of Budapest can be observed, from a height of 96 metres.
