380 CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE
The sombre interior of Eger Cathedral, brightened by ceiling frescoes
Eger d
Situated off the main road from Budapest to the east of
Hungary, Eger is a sleepy, provincial town dominated by
its castle (see pp382–3) and the legend of the great siege
of 1552. Eger has been rebuilt twice, almost from scratch,
by the church. After destruction by the Mongols in 1241,
it was reconstructed with money from the Minorite and
Franciscan Orders. After the with drawal of the Ottomans
in 1687, the local bish opric revived the town by commis-
sioning many of the Baroque masterpieces that remain
today, including the cathedral, the Lyceum and the
Bishop’s Palace. Nowadays, Eger is also known for its
Bull’s Blood wine (see p383) and its university.
Façade of the Lyceum, built as a
Catholic universityR Eger Cathedral
Pyrker János tér 1. Tel (036) 515
8am–8pm daily. 7 5
The second largest church in
Hungary, Eger Cathedral
(Főszékesegyház – Szent
János Apostol És Evangélista
Szent Mihály Főangyal) is the
most astonishing sight in the
town, though its mixture of
Neo-Classical and Neo-
Romanesque styles, in bright
yellow, may not be to every-
one’s taste. It was built
between 1831 and 1837 to a
design by the architect József
Hild, who would later design
the even larger and more
stunn ing basilica at Esztergom
(see p360).
The cathedral is unique in
Hungary, with a cupola, which
at 40 m (131 ft) is shorter than
the two western towers, which
mea sure 44 m (144 ft). At the
other end of the building,
three gargantuan statues loom
over the colonnaded Neo-
Classical façade. These
represent Faith, Hope and
Charity, and were the work
P Kossuth Lajos Utca
The wide boulevard of
Kossuth Lajos utca has
long been home to Eger’s
most impor tant admin istrative
and eccle si as tical buildings.
At No. 4 is the Vice-Provost’s
Palace, a pastel-shaded
Rococo man sion with a
façade of hewn stone dating
from 1758. On the same side
of the street, at No. 14, is
the Franciscan Church and
Monastery, a single-nave
church built in 1738 on
the ruins of a mosque.
Opposite, at No. 9, is
the Baroque County Hall,
completed in 1758. It is famed
for the two grand wrought-
iron gates, crafted by the
black smith Henrik Fazola
(1730–79), who moved to
Eger from Germany to take
the city’s waters. He is alsoE Lyceum
Eszterházy Károly tér 1. Tel (036)
520 400. # 9:30am–1pm Sat–Sun.
& 8 7
Founded in 1765 by Bishop
Károly Eszterházy as a
Catholic university, this uni-
ver sity (Líceum, Eszterházy
Károly Főiskola) was rele-
gated to the ranks of a lyceum
by the imperial authori ties
who opposed the idea of a
church university. The high-
light is the library, which
holds over 150,000 volumes,
includ ing the first book ever
printed in Hungary, in 1473.
The library boasts Johann
Kracker’s fresco of 132 fig-
ures, depicting the meet ing
of the Council of Trent
(1545–63). The tower is
Hungary’s leading centre of
astronomy, with a collection
of astro nomical items and a
19th-cen tury camera obscura.P Bishop’s Palace
Széchenyi utca 1. Tel (036) 517 589.
# 9am–5pm Tue–Sat.
The second element of central
Eger’s ecclesiastical architec-
tural triumvirate is the former
Bishop’s Palace (Római
Katolikus Érseki Palota). It
was built in Baroque style to
the designs of 18th-century
architect Jakab Kellner and
completed in 1766.
The palace houses the
Ecclesiastical Collection of
the Eger Bishopric, and the
coronation cloak of Habsburg
Empress Maria Theresa
among other priceless objects.For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp390–93 and pp394–7
of the Italian sculptor Marco
Casagrande. The cathedral’s
interior is sombre, brightened
primarily by Viennese artist
Johann Kracker’s ceiling
frescoes of the Kingdom of
Heaven on the inside of the
cupola. The cathedral is also
home to Hungary’s largest
organ, which is played every
Sunday after morning mass
at 12:45pm.