View of St Stephen's Basilica from Gellért Mountain by Jeroen de Jongh Photography

About "View of St Stephen's Basilica from Gellért Mountain"

by Jeroen de Jongh Photography

About the artwork

St Stephen's Basilica (Szent István Bazilika) is a basilica in Budapest, Hungary. The church was completed in 1905 after a construction period of decades and has since become the largest in the city, and the third largest in all of Hungary. The church is dedicated to Saint King Stephen, whose right hand is kept as a relic in the basilica. The basilica stands in Pest at St Stephen's Square (Szent István tér). At the back of the church, the monumental Andrássy Boulevard (Andrássy út) begins.

Construction of the church began in 1851. The architect was József Hild. After the dome collapsed in 1868, construction had to start all over again. Miklós Ybl created the neo-Renaissance design of the church as it stands today, but he too did not live to see the church's completion: he died in 1891, after which construction was completed under József Kauser.

From the outside, this church looks very monumental, with the 96-metre-high central dome - higher than any church tower in the city - and two west-facing 80-metre-high towers. On both sides of the high portal, which is shaped like a triumphal arch, the niches hold figures of church fathers. The interior is not inferior to the exterior. All the famous Hungarian painters and sculptors of the turn of the century collaborated in its creation. The dome displays a beautiful ceiling with mosaics.

Gellért Mountain (Hungarian: Gellért-hegy) is a 235-metre-high mountain in the Hungarian capital Budapest, located on the Buda side in District I. The mountain bears the name of Saint Gellért, who suffered martyrdom here. Gellért Mountain is located between Freedom Bridge and Elisabeth Bridge and on Hegyalja út. On the eastern side of the mountain plateau is the Citadel of Buda.