St. Stephen's Basilica ( German :St. Stephen's Basilica, also known as the Lipótváros Parish Church ) is a neo-Renaissance style church, basilica minor rank , in the V. district of Budapest , in Lipótváros.
It is one of the most significant ecclesiastical buildings in Hungary , the co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest next to the Esztergom Basilica. The building is named after the founder of the Hungarian state, Saint Stephen, whose intact right hand, the Holy Right, is kept here as a relic.
With a height of 96 meters, it is one of the tallest buildings in the country, after the Mol Campus and the second tallest building in the capital, next to the Parliament.
In the 18th century, the Hetz Theater (Hetz-Theater) stood on the site of today's basilica, which hosted animal fights. A wealthy citizen of the new part of the city, Lipótváros , János Zitterbarth, soon had a small, temporary church built here. In 1817 , the Lipótváros parish was founded with about a thousand believers, and this raised the need for Lipótváros to have its own, serious parish church. At that time, the collection began, and several plans were made for the future church (for example, by Ignác Brein , József Hild ).
The great flood of 1838 provided the reason for the actual construction of the basilica . The center of today's Szent István Square formed a small, natural elevation in the flat Pest area, on which several hundred residents found refuge from the water's drift until they were rescued by boats. Flood survivors supported the construction of a church at the site of their miraculous escape with votive donations.
In 1845, József Hild was finally commissioned to prepare the plans. The earthworks began in 1846 , but the continuation was delayed due to the revolution and war of independence of 1848–49 (at that time, the Zitterbarth church, which was condemned to demolition, also suffered serious damage). The construction of the classicist-style church according to Hild's ideas began on August 14, 1851. Baron Sina Simon was its main patron. The foundation stone was laid on October 4, 1851. József Hild led the works until his death in 1867 , and only then did it become clear that there were defects in the quality of the building materials and the execution. On January 22, 1868 , the already walled-up dome collapsed - due to the one-sided load and the uneven subsidence of the pillars. The clearing of the rubble and the dismantling of the poorly erected parts of the building lasted until 1871. Miklós Ybl was asked to revise the construction plans and manage the works . He revised the plans in a neo-Renaissance style and performed the tasks of foreman until his death in 1891. The decorative works and the final design of the building interior were completed by 1905 , under the leadership of József Kauser .
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