St Stephen's Basilica is named in honour of St Stephen, the first
King of Hungary (975–1038), whose mummified fist is housed in
the reliquary.
Along with the Hungarian Parliament Building, it is the tallest
building of Budapest (96 m). It has a width of 55 meters, and its
length is 87.4 meters. It was completed in 1905 after 54 years of
construction. Much of this delay can be attributed to the collapse
of the dome in 1868 which required complete demolition of the
completed works and rebuilding from the ground up. The
architectural style is neoclassical and the interior is laid out in
Greek cross. The facade is anchored by two large bell towers. In
the southern tower you can find Hungarys biggest bell. Its weight
surpasses 9 tons. Its predecessor had a weight of almost 8 tons,
but it was used for military purposes during the second World
War.
Opening hours of the basilica: Monday-Friday: 9:00 - 17:00
Saturday: 9:00 - 13:00 Sunday: 13:00 - 17:00
Chapel of holy fist: Monday-Saturday 1 April - 30 September 9.00
- 16:30 1 October - 31 March 10:00 - 16:00 Sunday 13:00 - 16:30
Visitors may access the dome by elevators or 364 stairs for a
360° view overlooking Budapest. In the winter it is closed, opening
on 15th March.
Website of the Basilica: http://www.basilica.hu
A good advice to grab the cache rapidly: push it by the left
hand and pull it with the right.
