The Dömötör tower is the oldest building in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

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 ...

. The foundation was most probably laid during the 11th century, while the lower part was built (in

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

) from the 12th century, and the upper part (

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

) from the 13th century. The tower was once part of the former ''Szent Dömötör templom'' ( St. Demetrius church), but today it stands in Dóm Square, in front of the much larger

Votive Church of Szeged The Votive Church and Cathedral of Our Lady of Hungary ( or ''Fogadalmi templom'') is a twin-spired church in Szeged. It lies on Dóm square beside the Dömötör tower. Construction began in 1913, but due to the outbreak of the First World War, i ...

. The upper part was rebuilt from the original stones in 1926. The architecture of the tower is similar to another found in Southern France, or in the territory of the former Byzantine Empire.

Features

On the upper part, there are 48 pointed windows in three levels (sixteen on each level, two on every side of the octagonal levels). On the lower part, a gate was cut and turned to a baptismal chapel in 1931. Above the gate there is a replica of the oldest sculpture in Szeged, the "''Kőbárány''" (stone lamb), an ''agnus dei'' (

Lamb of God Lamb of God (; , ) is a Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at wikisource:Bible (American Standard)/John#1:29, John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, " ...

) representation from the early 12th century. The replica replaced the original sculpture in 1991. Inside the tower, there is a fresco by

Vilmos Aba-Novák Vilmos Aba-Novák (, until 1912: ; March 15, 1894 – September 29, 1941"Aba Novák, Vilmos."
''Encyclop ...

of the baptism of Hungarians in the 11th century. Due to the mould growing on the rear wall, the baptismal chapel is no longer in use.

Gate of Life

The tower's "Gate of Life" was made by János Bille in 1931 and explains a Christian life through symbols. At the top and at the bottom, there are two numbers: 1272 and 1931. The former was thought to represent the year in which the upper part was built, while 1931 is when it was turned to a baptismal chapel. There are 20 symbols, not including the numbers, the first one an

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...

and the last an

Omega Omega (, ; uppercase Ω, lowercase ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and last letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numerals, Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value ...

. The Alpha and the Omega were symbols of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

, and birth and death.

References

*Somorjai Ferenc: Szeged és környéke. 2012 United p.c. *Csongrád megye építészeti emlékei. szerk.: Tóth Ferenc, Szeged 2000. {{DEFAULTSORT:Domotor Tower Towers in Hungary Buildings and structures in Szeged Tourist attractions in Szeged