The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady (also called Győr Cathedral; ) is a Catholic church that serves as cathedral basilica in

Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, being the seat of the

Diocese of Győr In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

. The early 11th-century Romanesque church was destroyed by the Mongols and rebuilt from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. After the expulsion of the Turks, the interior was redesigned between 1635 and 1650 by the Italian master Giovanni Battista Rava in early

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

. The tower was completed only in 1680. The construction of the church lasted until the 1770s. The last restoration was carried out between 1968 and 1972. In 1997, the cathedral obtained the status of

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

, awarded by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. Pulpit The pulpit belongs to the same period as the interior when the most important Baroque features were added under Bishop Count Ferenc Zichy in the 1770s. Its architect and sculptor remains unknown but it is attributed to Melchior Hefele. The classicizing late Baroque structure was built at the first pillar of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

on the left side. It was made of red marble with a marble side stair supported by a pillar; the main support forms a Doric column with a fluted shaft. The pulpit itself is shaped like a shell with a solid parapet articulated by panels and pilasters and decorated with gilt wooden carvings of rosettes, bay leaf garlands and acanthus leaves. The wrought-iron railing was made in 1783 by a craftsman who carved the date and his initials (J. K.) into the doorway post. The railing and the door are richly decorated with roses, garlands, leaves and bows. The abat-voix is painted woodwork with dark yellow

marbleizing Marbleizing (also spelt marbleising) or faux marbling is the preparation and finishing of a surface to imitate the appearance of polished marble. It is typically used in buildings where the cost or weight of genuine marble would be prohibitive. F ...

, decorated with rosettes, brackets and leaves. On the underside there is a silvery dove surrounded by a meander strip; on the top an allegorical female statue representing the Church is holding a chalice and a church model. The canopy-like base of the statue is decorated with wreathes and it is surrounded by four

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and very often winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University ...

holding the

Tablets of Stone According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tablets of the Law (also Tablets of Stone, Stone Tablets, or Tablets of Testimony; Biblical Hebrew: לוּחֹת הַבְּרִית ''lūḥōṯ habbǝrīṯ'' "tablets of the covenant", לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶ ...

and the cross, flanked by flowering urns. The statues of the abat-voix were created in a more traditional Baroque style than the other parts of the pulpit, which show the growing influence of

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

.Bedy Vince: A győri székesegyház története, Győr, 1936, pp. 27 and 132

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assumption, Church Roman Catholic cathedrals in Hungary Buildings and structures in Győr Roman Catholic churches completed in 1770 Basilica churches in Hungary 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Hungary

See also

References