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St. Stephen's Basilica part 2
Other
altar-pieces:
An altar-piece of St. Cecilia, patron saint to sacred music, painted by Róbert Nádler is to be seen near the entrance.
The large altar-piece in the transept, a painting of shocking beauty by Gyula Stettka is a representation of Christ crucified.
The next altar is a tryptich of St. Joseph teaching Jesus the cild as well as of the figures of the apostle saint Peter and Paul, painted by Árpád Fesztry.
Stained glass windows:
New stained glass windows of the side-altars have been made from the cartoons of Miksa Róth by János Polyák completing the original subject of the altars with the figures of St. Catherine of Alexandria, emperor St. Henry II, Marquis St. Leopold and St. Andrew, respectively. Above the two big altars of the transept, semicircular stained glass windows representing the Holy Crown of Hungary and the Arms of the Holy Apostolic See have been placed.
Bells:
All but one of the bells in the Basilica fell victim to the vicissitudes of the war.
The Holy Virgin Bell, cast in the bell-foundry of Ferenc Walser in 1863 was the very first placed in the north-western tower. Due to its peculiar sounding and composition of a material, it could escape requisition on the strength of a clemency plea.
The bells dragged off were replaced with ones produced by the Perner Company of Passau as a free-will offering of the German Catholics as well as the Rotary Club between 1990 and 1993.
At present, the two towers of the Basilica make a home for six bells altogether, with the largest one in Hungary among them. Blessed and given the name of St. Stephen, weighing 9250 kg and occupying the south-western tower, it was cast in 1990. It tolls but on special occasions such as the St. Stephen Procession of August 20 accompanied by its deep, bass boom.
The 5 bells of the north-western tower hang on the original cast-iron support and peal by turns.
The Holy Virgin Bell weighs 3100 kg while the St. Henry, the Blessed Gisela, the St. Imre and the St. Erzsébet Bells weigh 2150, 1200, 750 and 500 kg, respectively.
Panorama Look-out:
Round the high dome of the Basilica, a stone-barred terrace has been shaped at the height of 65 meters. It is the highest look-out of Pest with a unique panorama of the metropolis. Since restoration in 2003, lifts put in the old chimney flues have been added to the 304 stairsteps leading upwards.
The undercroft:
The undercroft designed by Miklós Ybl in classicist style is an interior of representative programs of the Church. The side-walls have been furnished with a row of urnst, the resting-places of world-famous footballers Ferenc Puskás and Zoltán Varga, as well as Olympic winners Imre Polyák, being right below the chancel. A bust in circular relief of marquis Leopold, patron saint anterior to St. Stephen, cut in white marble by Károly Senyei, as well as a stone statue of Virgin Mary modeled in the last third of the 19th century stand pre-eminent among the ornaments of the crypt.
References : Szent István Bazilika Plébániai Hivatal
An altar-piece of St. Cecilia, patron saint to sacred music, painted by Róbert Nádler is to be seen near the entrance.
The large altar-piece in the transept, a painting of shocking beauty by Gyula Stettka is a representation of Christ crucified.
The next altar is a tryptich of St. Joseph teaching Jesus the cild as well as of the figures of the apostle saint Peter and Paul, painted by Árpád Fesztry.
Stained glass windows:
New stained glass windows of the side-altars have been made from the cartoons of Miksa Róth by János Polyák completing the original subject of the altars with the figures of St. Catherine of Alexandria, emperor St. Henry II, Marquis St. Leopold and St. Andrew, respectively. Above the two big altars of the transept, semicircular stained glass windows representing the Holy Crown of Hungary and the Arms of the Holy Apostolic See have been placed.
Bells:
All but one of the bells in the Basilica fell victim to the vicissitudes of the war.
The Holy Virgin Bell, cast in the bell-foundry of Ferenc Walser in 1863 was the very first placed in the north-western tower. Due to its peculiar sounding and composition of a material, it could escape requisition on the strength of a clemency plea.
The bells dragged off were replaced with ones produced by the Perner Company of Passau as a free-will offering of the German Catholics as well as the Rotary Club between 1990 and 1993.
At present, the two towers of the Basilica make a home for six bells altogether, with the largest one in Hungary among them. Blessed and given the name of St. Stephen, weighing 9250 kg and occupying the south-western tower, it was cast in 1990. It tolls but on special occasions such as the St. Stephen Procession of August 20 accompanied by its deep, bass boom.
The 5 bells of the north-western tower hang on the original cast-iron support and peal by turns.
The Holy Virgin Bell weighs 3100 kg while the St. Henry, the Blessed Gisela, the St. Imre and the St. Erzsébet Bells weigh 2150, 1200, 750 and 500 kg, respectively.
Panorama Look-out:
Round the high dome of the Basilica, a stone-barred terrace has been shaped at the height of 65 meters. It is the highest look-out of Pest with a unique panorama of the metropolis. Since restoration in 2003, lifts put in the old chimney flues have been added to the 304 stairsteps leading upwards.
The undercroft:
The undercroft designed by Miklós Ybl in classicist style is an interior of representative programs of the Church. The side-walls have been furnished with a row of urnst, the resting-places of world-famous footballers Ferenc Puskás and Zoltán Varga, as well as Olympic winners Imre Polyák, being right below the chancel. A bust in circular relief of marquis Leopold, patron saint anterior to St. Stephen, cut in white marble by Károly Senyei, as well as a stone statue of Virgin Mary modeled in the last third of the 19th century stand pre-eminent among the ornaments of the crypt.
References : Szent István Bazilika Plébániai Hivatal
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