St Stephen’s Basilica, Budapest

Speaking of damaged religious buildings………………

Everyone in Ireland knows St Stephen’s Day. It’s the day after Christmas Day. The day when much sporting activities and socialising takes place. The Irish never refer to it as ‘Boxing Day’, as our British neighbours do.

St Stephen’s RC Basilica (SSB) in Budapest is the 3rd largest church in Hungary. It was completed in 1905, following 54 years of construction, much of that time resulting from the collapse of the main dome in 1868. That construction accident resulted in the entire building being demolished and having to start from scratch again. Local lawyers and claims consultants made fortunes as a result!

The site on which the church is built was previously a theatre where animal fights entertained the locals. (Wikipedia – if you wish to know more).

MB took some shots during daylight hours, externally and internally, and also took a few night shots, during his recent city visit. It’s also possible to climb up into the dome roof space and go outside on to a stone balcony the fully circles the dome and which provides great views out over the cityscape (MB’s second shot below).

Herewith: