Esztergom – the Basilica

“Far away on the other bank I could see my destination; it had been growing steadily in size since my first glimpse that morning. A cliff loomed over a long sweep of the river and on this ledge was perched a white fane that resembled St Peter’s in Rome. A light circle of pillars lifted a gleaming dome into the sky. It was dramatic, mysterious, as improbable as a mirage and unmistakable as a landmark for many miles across the desert of liquid and solid.” A Time of Gifts, Patrick Leigh Fermor

I wish I had been able to approach from the other side of the Danube, but my approach to Esztergom was by train, and then by courtesy of Tourist Information who took me to a little hotel, not yet really ready for tourists.  

The Basilica is magnificent, as befitting “the Metropolitan Cathedral of all Hungary, the largest religious building in the Kingdom”.  its importance as such means that it has been subjected to a major restoration operation.  So, most photos I took included the netting and scaffolding, and I was unable to get close to the altar.  So, for those who would like to see the wonders of the edifice and its beautiful situation above the surrounding, I suggest that this YouTube video is worth watching.

But I think what struck me most, perhaps after seeing the poverty which I witnessed in much of the town below, was that such an operation must be incredibly costly.  And, I wondered, was it the Hungarian State, who, according to my acquaintance inTourist Information,spent all on Budapest’s attraction and none in Esztergom, and was acknowledging the Basislica – and the Castle, as potential honeypots? Or was it the Catholic Church, which I understand to be  particularly strong in Esztergom, responsible? 

“the vast sacristy where the tiers of presses and the rows of treasure-chests have disgorged their silk and their brocade, all unfolded now, and their sacred instruments and their vessels. Mitres are clicked open, copes spread, the jewelled gloves and the pallium laid ready, candelabra and monstrances and crosiers”,

I walked down the hill a different path and found myself among the “monasteries, the churches, the palaces and the libraries that encrust the steep little town were all in baulk .”

Did this same concern inspire the 19 year old Paddy’s vision of the peasants with their tapers witnessing the pomp and circumstance of the preparations for the Cardinal-Prince of the Church for his procession – the incredible riches that were evident:

I found myself walking along the Danube, which was a great relief, somehow helping me to feel more related to Paddy’s writings.  Even though I had walked beside it in Budapest, the pressure of crowds and the roadside sellers took away from the experience.  My glimpses of it from the train to Bratislava reminded me of the importance of the river to Paddy.  I even saw a cargo boat heading upstream.