The Church of the Assumption of the Buda Castle (Hungarian: Nagyboldogasszony-templom), more commonly known as the Matthias Church (Hungarian: Mátyás-templom) and more rarely as the Coronation Church of Buda, is a Catholic church in Holy Trinity Square, Budapest, Hungary, in front of the Fisherman's Bastion at the heart of Buda's Castle District. According to church tradition, it was originally built in Romanesque style in 1015, although few references exist. The current building was constructed in the florid late Gothic style in the second half of the 14th century and was extensively restored in the late 19th century. It was the second largest church of medieval Buda and the seventh largest church of the medieval Hungarian Kingdom. It is a historic building with an important history. The last two Kings of Hungary were crowned within its walls: Franz Joseph I of Hungary, and Charles IV of Hungary. The church was also the location of the "Marian Miracle" of Buda. In 1686, during the siege of Buda by the Holy League, a wall of the church - used as a mosque by the Ottoman occupiers of the city - collapsed due to cannon fire. It turned out that an old votive Madonna statue was hidden behind the wall. As the sculpture of the Virgin Mary appeared before the praying Muslims, the morale of the Muslim garrison collapsed and the city fell on the same day.
History
According to the tradition, the first church on the site was founded by Saint Stephen, King of Hungary, in 1015: this is based on an inscription erected in 1690 inside the church and burned in 1748, which some previous references seem to confirm. However, there is no clear evidence of the foundation by St. Stephen. This building was destroyed in 1241 by the Mongols; the current building was constructed in the latter half of the 13th century. Originally named after the Virgin Mary, taking names such as "The Church of Mary" and "The Church of Our Lady," since the 19th century the church has been referred to as Matthias Church, after King Matthias, who ordered the transformation of its original southern tower.
Re-foundation in the 13th Century King Béla IV of Hungary after the Mongol invasion, between 1255 and 1269, replaced the older, smaller church with a towering three-nave basilica. During the first phase of construction (1255–1260), a main shrine and auxiliary shrines were built, under the direction of Villard de Honnecourt. The first stage of the construction of the main church of Buda is closest relative to the Lyon Cathedral. The group of masters consisted of the builders of the Cistercian Monastery of Tišnov, Czech Republic, who travelled to Hungary after the Mongol invasion probably at the behest of the cousin of king Béla IV, Agnes of Bohemia. The reasons for its disintegration of this group around 1260 are unknown. The construction was completed through a second phase, between 1260 and 1269. The work of the second group of masters was already influenced by Northern French religious architecture, mediated by German master builders. Other works of this group are the Franciscan Kecske Church in Sopron, Hungary, and the Monastery of Klosterneuburg, Austria, probably related to the Dominican monastery of Margaret Island, Budapest, which was the home of a daughter of Béla IV, St Margaret of the Árpád House. The king, out of regard for his daughter, granted to the monastery the jus patronatus over the Buda church for a period of time. The Church of the Assumption of the Buda Castle became the earliest and most complete work of classical Gothic church architecture in Hungary, giving a complete picture of the architectural schools of Béla's era.
14th century: Gothic hall church In the second half of the 14th century was rebuilt into a Gothic hall church. The whole building was remodeled in a mature Gothic style. In 1370 king Louis I of Hungary began with the construction of the iconic Maria Gate at the southwest. The closest parallel to this representative two-door gate is the portal of St. Lorenz Church in Nuremberg, built fifteen years earlier. During the reign of Louis, a complete redesign of the church basilica space was begun in the spirit of mature Gothic architecture. The arches of the side naves were raised to the height of the main nave, and huge windows with rich stone lattice were placed on the high walls, thus creating a bright, airy hall. During the reign of king Sigismund, the side shrines were extended and provided with an octagonal Gothic closure. In the final phase of the construction, the masters of the Prague Parler workshop also worked on the building. Between 1412 and 1433 they ordered the burial chapel of the aristocratic Garai family beside the north side sanctuary at the request of Nicholas II Garai. The closest relative of the newly formed hall church is the Abbey of Hronský Beňadik, current Slovakia.
15th century: Matthias Church
The church reached its peak in medieval prosperity during the reign of king Matthias Corvinus. The king built the southwest bell tower, one of the finest pieces of Gothic architecture in Hungary. According to the coat of arms of Matthias, the south tower, which collapsed in 1384, was rebuilt in 1470. Apart from its destroyed helmet, the bell tower still retains its original form, although in the late 19th century a complete replacement of its stone material became inevitable. However, the head of the great arch supporting the choir still preserves its original stone. Matthias also erected a royal oratory near the southern sanctuary of the church, but it was completely destroyed during the Turkish occupation. At that time, at the end of the 15th century, they began the construction of the northwestern tower, which had already been completed with the exception of the helmet before the Turkish conquest.
16th century: Ottoman invasion
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